Longyearbyen's industrial origin...

as a coal mining town is still evident, especially from the bay, where coal still fires a power plant that provides heat and energy to the remote community of about 1,600. However, typical Norwegian charm dresses up the somewhat dingy landscape as the following picture shows:

I wonder if there's a law in Norway requiring that no two neighboring houses are allowed to share the same paint color? Furthermore, arctic cotton springs forth in the tundra where snowmobiles are parked during the off season bringing even more contrast to the gray scene: