Frå privat initiativ til kommunalt monopol. Lysverk, sporvegar og renovasjon i Bergen og Oslo 1850–1935

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Norwegian cities were marked by a strong and accelerating growth in the production of common goods under municipal control. This municipalization brought also private activities under municipal government. Here we concentrate upon gas and later electricity, tramways and refuse disposal service from they were established in Bergen and Oslo (Kristiania) at the middle of the 19th century. How were these activities established, and how were they organised? What kind of ownership were chosen? Why were particular forms of organisation chosen, and how were these changed? What differences and similarities were there between the chosen forms of organisation, and what differences and similarities were there in the organisational changes in these activities the two cities from 1850 to 1935? The establishment and municipalization of gas and electricity, the refuse disposal service and tramways took place in different ways in Bergen and Oslo. In the capital, all activities started earlier than in Bergen, and took mainly place through private companies. Bergen had municipal refuse disposal service from the beginning, while the tramway in both cities were private when they started, and were taken over by the city under and after World War I. When the electrical supply where organised in the 1890s, both the cities set up its own company. The gas works were already taken over by the municipalities, and were organised together with the electrical works into one works. From 1920 these «lightning works» got a more independent position towards the municipality, underlining its businesslike character. Though, concerning all activities, the impact on the city` s economy were important for the way they were taken care of at different times. At the same time, it must be emphasized how the municipalization also were understood as inevitable and modern. At its strongest, municipal take-over and management of the activities in question, were seen as tasks a municipality should take care of, considering the needs of the inhabitants, efficiency and – not least important – demands of being modern. In this way the municipalization processes we have looked upon stresses how the relation between what we see as private and municipal tasks changes as part of the state and conditions in society as a whole