ABSTRACT
This chapter looks back at the history of planning in Iceland through the lens of sustainability. The settlement in Reykjavík expanded directly and quite rapidly from being a small village with detached wooden houses into being a modern town, planned according to the principles of the ruling ideology. The chapter focuses on the chronology of the changing emphasis in Icelandic planning practice, drawing special attention to the three sustainability milestones: equity, the environment, and the economy. Hannesson had studied in Denmark where doctors had been fighting for housing and planning reform on the basis that one's accommodation and surroundings were important for mental and physical wellbeing. Danish planning experts introduced the transportation ideology in Iceland in the 1960s. Planning laws were revised in 1964 and the first master plan, based on the new ideology, was published in 1966. Favourable economic conditions resulted in rapidly growing purchasing power and increased consumption of all goods, including housing.
