Making urban ecosystem mapping accessible to the public the Urban Nature Atlas of Oslo (Norway)

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and maps have typically been used for technical support purposes within various agencies and for model and methodology development by researchers. Maps have been identified as a valuable tool to provide knowledge and skills to various user groups. Through ecosystem service assessment and accounting of urban nature, researchers and municipal staff have generated a number of GIS datasets and maps on urban ecosystem extent, condition and selected ecosystem services in Norway. In this study, we discuss how the City of Oslo could report on trends in the extent and condition of urban nature and ecosystem services flows. Ecosystem accounting at national level is often focused on reporting in aggregate tabular format. We argue that this aggregate reporting is not conducive to promoting public awareness and engagement at local level. However, Oslo’s urban ecosystem map layers used for assessment and accounting have not been designed with only public access and awareness-raising in mind. The Urban Nature Atlas could bridge several application results (e.g. public and official) in a more accurate coverage of the complexity in valuation. In this study, we give an overview of the Urban Nature Atlas of Oslo and discuss the purposes such an atlas could have in the future (e.g. supporting local interests in public hearings). Finally, we discuss public expectations of accuracy and reliability of maps and potential barriers to public use.