Copenhagen wants a driver-less world
KAYAKING FOR GROCERIES, CYCLING TO WORK, WALKING TO MEETINGS, COPENHAGEN SHOWS HOW TO GO GREEN
Kayaking along canals to pick up your groceries, walking a few minutes to the metro station, or cycling down pedestrianised streets to meet the neighbours: if you want to live in Copenhagen’s North Harbour, a car would be obsolete.
That, at least, is the aim of architect Rita Justesen. Since 2007 she has been tasked with transforming the former industrial harbour in Denmark’s capital into a brand-new neighbourhood, and ensuring its 3.5 million square metres of residential and commercial floor space is financially viable and climate-smart.
That means cars tucked away, inconveniently, in centralised carparks to discourage driving; more cycle paths; canals and harbour pools clean enough to swim in; and the construction of a well-connected metro station for its projected 40,000 residents and 40,000 workers by 2060.
Sustainable design
As nations race to reach ambitious climate goals to lower carbon emissions, many cities have been looking to sustainable urban designs to help residents cut energy use, boost social well-being and cohesion, and cope with rising heat and flooding.
Designing spaces that acknowledge the impact of climate change can help to change behaviour and make it easier for people to live greener lives, according to a report by the British Psychological Society.
“We said we would make a sustainable city ‘the Copenhagen way’. That means that to live sustainably, it has to be easy. So that means short distances to the metro, shops and recreational functions,” Justesen, lead architect at city councilowned firm By & Havn, said.
“We also really want to make an attractive district where people want to live and stay — that for us is also sustainable in the long term,” said Justesen, as she walked past construction sites in North Harbour, which has housed 1,500 residents since 2015.
Like Justesen, architect Peter Raaschou-Nielsen said creating spaces that help people cope with climate shocks has been at the core of all his designs at Danish firm Gehl.
But fostering social cohesion and interactions are also crucial for sustainable cities of the future, he said.
“The projects I’ve been working on have had this focus on the environment — socially, financially, well-being, nature — to create better cities for the people living there and also to do something positive for the environment,” he said at his studio.
Raaschou-Nielsen cited the positive effects of a 2012 redevelopment project he worked on in the floodprone town of Kokkedal, 30km north of Copenhagen.
Though the rundown area had a reputation for crime and gangs, it was revitalised through features like better lighting for improved safety, green spaces and community gardens.
“It’s no longer the ‘ghetto’ but it’s transformed into lively neighbourhoods with a new identity,” said Raaschou-Nielsen.
“It’s great that you can do a solution like that... and at the same time you solve these climate challenges,” he said.