Strengthen and Build Up Eyrin

I recently met a woman who had just moved to Oddeyrin. She told me she had regularly been welcomed “to Eyrin” since she moved there and could not recall ever being welcomed to a particular neighbourhood before. It is fair to say that considerable prejudice towards this fine neighbourhood has been around for at least many decades. Perhaps that is precisely the reason for the togetherness that has formed there among the residents. We stand together and place emphasis on welcoming new “Eyrarpúkar” (Eyrin-folk). I have sometimes explained to South Icelanders that the townspeople’s attitude towards Eyrin is probably somewhat comparable to the way they view Breiðholt — the image often being that only low-income people in run-down dwellings live there.

Let’s not forget the good

It is easily forgotten, however, that there is much that is wonderful about Eyrin. I grew up there from just over one year old until I was twenty and have great memories from there. Over the years, I have sometimes had to apologise for having grown up there and tried to convince people that Eyrin really is not so bad. The proximity to everything important in town is of course one of the main advantages of the neighbourhood. My parents usually walked to work and arrived within a few minutes. We kids reached the town centre or Glerártorg in just a few moments. We had the best restaurant in town on the corner of Eyrarvegur on one hand and a great grocery shop behind Grenivellir on the other. Everything you needed in a relatively small area. In addition, some are of the view that the best weather in town is on Eyrin — in my memory it was particularly sheltered in the summers and had little snow in the winters. Honestly, I believe that if Akureyri were a blank page and we had to plan the town from scratch, Eyrin could have a lot to offer as a sought-after neighbourhood to live in.

Oh, who cares about Eyrin? Does it matter?

Both Eyrin and Innbærinn share the role of preserving the town’s history to some extent and giving the town a certain charm. Eyrin is also the first thing that meets the enormous number of tourists who come to our town on cruise ships every year. Said tourists rarely end up taking a walk in Naustahverfi or Síðuhverfi, but there is a fair chance that this summer you might see a whole group on Hríseyjargata or quite a few on Fjólugata. In a perfect world, it would be desirable for all these people to also get to admire tidy houses with character. Let us look at an example.

House A is a fantastic example of a tidily restored house in Eyrin and has no doubt caught the attention of tourists. House B is unfortunately an example of the opposite, at least so far. But can anything be done about this? Can we better support those who want to restore old houses in this way?

I am not talking about large expenditure, only modest encouragement that would make our town attractive into the future. For example, a small fund that could be applied to, or a temporary waiver of property taxes if results were demonstrated. Examples of this can be found in many places in the Nordic countries. In Stavanger, the municipality annually allocates funds to homeowners who want to restore houses with cultural value. The support is intended to get such projects off the ground with an emphasis on the exterior appearance and on preserving what gives the neighbourhoods their distinct character.

Building for the future

But Eyrin is not just about preserving the past. There are also opportunities for development. East of Hjalteyrargata is an area that I imagine could work well for tidy apartments — there is plenty of breathing room there for several storeys. I know that Eyrarpúkar absolutely do not want to see tall buildings in the middle of the neighbourhood, but taller buildings on the edge of the neighbourhood are, in my view, a good middle ground that could breathe new life into it. I picture a great view there, and it would be ideal to have services on the lower floors. If we then want people to actually live in these apartments, the surroundings need to be people-friendly and well planned. I would therefore want to improve traffic safety in the area with a safe route for children to cross Hjalteyrargata on their way to school. I have come to know people who held prejudices against the neighbourhood but are very pleased with both Iðavöllur and Oddeyrarskóli. New buildings in Eyrin and better housing stock would allow more people to enjoy the quality of life that Eyrin has to offer.

Preserve or forget

Of course there are differing opinions on this. Some want to take a bulldozer to the entire neighbourhood. Others do not want a single doorknob to be replaced. I believe the golden middle road is somewhere in between. I say that we preserve what makes Eyrin special, strengthen what is already there, and build it up for the future.

Darri Rafn Hólmarsson is in 5th place on Akureyrarlistinn for the local elections in May.