Skal der være boliger på Esbjerg havn? En kritisk diskursanalyse af hvordan diskussionen om boliger på Esbjerg Havn er blevet til

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is on a small part of the industrial port in the town Esbjerg called the dock harbour. The port of Esbjerg has historically always been used for industrial purposes, and there has been a natural distance and division between the city and the port. It has been a political goal to make a closer connection between the port and the city.
In the progress of making a closer connection between the two, the dock harbour went from being a part of the industrial port to being a part of the city centre in 2004. During the same period of time, a private developer started developing the dock harbour and made plans of building offices, hotels, restaurants and shops. These plans were made in accordance to the City. It was then decided that housing could not be placed on the dock harbour due to industrial activities and manufacturing on the dock harbour.
Within the last two years quite a lot has happened in Esbjerg and on the dock harbour, and there are no longer any industrial manufacturing on this area of the port. In the end of 2014 the City of Esbjerg presented a new 5 year strategy focusing on increasing the number of citizens with 5,000 people before 2020. The solution: attractive housing in the city centre. It was not explicitly communicated that housing on the dock harbour was out of the question.
Six months after the strategy was presented by the City of Esbjerg, the private developer presented an immense property project with housing on the dock harbour. This project does not have political support but is gaining still more support from the citizens.
The purpose of this thesis is to examine and analyse how the discussion about the dock harbours future has been affected by the city’s overall goals. I will examine if there are any dominating patterns in the discussion about the dock harbour and clarify some of the discussions dilemmas which I hope will generate new knowledge that can contribute to a better understanding of the discussion in general.