The Urban Transformation of Copenhagen

Photograph of the canal system in Copenhagen. Active cafes and restaurants border the canal and provide a lively public space for people to socialize. Image Copyright by Mitchell Rocheleau

On my recent visit to Copenhagen, I was struck by its uniqueness. The city embodied a distinct vision of urban life, and the people seemed to thrive in this environment. It became clear that a high degree of thought and care had gone into the city's design, and there was a commitment to offer its inhabitants a high-quality lifestyle. Over the next few days, I walked through the town searching for the formula for its essence. I found answers in books and newspapers but mostly in my experience walking through the city streets, plazas, canals, and harbor.

Revitalizing a City

In the early 1960s, like many cities worldwide, Copenhagen began carving out spaces for the automobile by building streets, highways, and parking inside the city. A group of architects and urban designers predicted the detrimental impacts this could have on the form and life of their town. When the city began to fall into economic decline, the local government showed receptivity to the Architects' ideas and began taking action to revitalize the city. At the core of their thesis was the idea that by prioritizing automobiles, the town was becoming dehumanized, losing its public spaces, pedestrian-friendly streets, and ability to facilitate human interaction. They believed that the automobile was jeopardizing the city's social and cultural fabric and effectively squeezing the life out of the city.

The local government started investing resources and taking risks to limit automobiles strategically. Over the next few decades, they took back many streets, boulevards, and plazas. A revitalization of the city had begun.

Car Traffic

When the minimization of the automobile emerged as a primary goal, many were skeptical. People were concerned about the effects of closing streets and parking. They believed it would negatively affect the economy and increase traffic in other city areas. They were worried it would stunt the city's growth relative to other developing cities of the time, as many welcomed the automobile with open arms.

They remained steadfast in their commitment to the philosophy. Over time, they discovered that many of their concerns did not come to fruition. In fact, the opposite occurred. Their economy rebounded, and the city's culture flourished.

Studies of other cities later showed that more cars would come when more cars were invited. When cities attempt to relieve traffic by building more roads and parking spaces, the traffic does not lessen. Instead, those additional roads just become filled with more traffic. After Copenhagen closed its roads, the automobile congestion of the remaining roads did not become over-congested. The people adapted by utilizing other forms of transit, such as walking and bicycling.

Walkability

The city re-established a network of walking pathways and pedestrian bridges all over the city. It was critical to the city that these were as unobstructed as possible, allowing a comfortable flow of people without having excessive stops or obstacles.

Implementing more pedestrian and bike paths throughout a city should be compared to the cost of constructing automobile infrastructure. We must also consider the downstream effects of more people walking and biking in the city. This will help curb the rising healthcare costs, especially in America. With more people walking, socializing, and spending time outdoors, a more stable and sustainable population will emerge. This is evident in Copenhagen.

One of Copenhagen's most prominent streets, Stroget, was converted from an automobile-accessible street to a fully pedestrian promenade in 1962. From 1962 to 2005, the city area dedicated to pedestrians and public spaces grew sevenfold.

Various social events, interactions, exchanges of ideas, and building of relationships naturally occur when people are out walking in the city. People inherently want to be where other people are. Observing other people is a fascinating and captivating spectacle. A deep desire to connect with other humans is satisfied when we see others walking about, healthy and engaging in public life. When we improve people's ability to walk around the city, we strengthen the fabric of city life.

Photograph of pedestrian area in Copenhagen with a flourishing urban life. Image copyright by Mitchell Rocheleau

Bike Transport

In tandem with the installation of pedestrian pathways, was the goal to create a network of bicycle paths that would allow people to travel across the city, safely and comfortably on a bike. The city's prioritization of bikes is impressive. Many streets have a dedicated bike lane on a separate elevation and are separated by curbs from the sidewalk and automobile path. There are also individual, smaller bike traffic lights with lower wait times than the automobile lights. The bike paths are generous and clear, with many paths painted blue at traffic crossings to reduce confusion and accidents. Today, biking is the primary means of transport in Copenhagen. It is faster and less expensive than other options.

Lille Langebro Cycle and Pedestrian Bridge in Copenhagen. Photograph Copyright 2024 Mitchell Rocheleau

Public Spaces and Amenities

Copenhagen offers a wide range of communal public spaces. I walked through many of these public spaces, and I saw several common characteristics they shared. They were inviting to use, felt safe, and were well-proportioned. They were oriented towards a key feature: the harbor, landscape, or public art. They created a space through outdoor furniture landscapes or building edges. Many were cozy, well-lit, and quiet. They had tactile materials that felt native to their surroundings.

Many of these spaces were created with minimal investment. Small groupings of urban furniture, planted pots, umbrellas, and screens were the elements used to create amazing and comfortable outdoor public spaces. These details can drastically change an urban space's usability and desirability.

Human Scale Eye Level Experience

In Copenhagen, the human experience at eye level, where most buildings meet the ground, has been thoughtfully curated and designed. The visual and physical experience of walking on the sidewalks is pleasurable.

Walking through the city stimulates and evokes a variety of senses. The storefronts of shops, cafes, restaurants, and many other building types open up to the street, inviting pedestrians to look into their spaces to witness the life inside. The building facades at eye level varied, with very few monolithic monotonous spans of surfaces. The pedestrian is offered a consistent theater of urban life as they walk down the various streets and promenades of the city.

The Harbor

The Harbor lies at the center of the city. It is the organizing element that gives Copenhagen its principal form and identity. It was the economic driver that helped the city develop its shipping industry and its most significant natural resource. It is the aesthetic focal point for many buildings, public spaces, and recreational areas. Its canals and bridges create unique and memorable places of the city that make up the composition of many people's images of the town.

The harbor bathing pools are a notable example of the city's clever and playful use of its natural resources. Wooden pathways on piers peel off the harbor's edge to create internally protected pools for the public to bathe, swim laps, and sunbathe. They are a gentle nod to the city's interest in public health, allowing people to exercise or enjoy the benefits of cold-water exposure.

Without the harbor, Copenhagen would not be what it is today. Like many cities worldwide, the body of water is inseparable from the city and profoundly embedded in its culture, industry, and identity.

Old and New

The Architects and designers who have contributed to Copenhagen's new developments have thoughtfully integrated new architecture into the city's historic fabric. Many newer developments utilize materials that give a nod to the historic buildings. However, the materials are implemented in a contemporary way. For example, they utilize bricks similar to the historical buildings; however, the pattern or formation in which they are used is executed in a new contemporary design. Corten steel was used on many surfaces to celebrate the clean lines of modern architecture while simultaneously suggesting a feeling of agedness and raw materiality consistent with the rest of the city.

Smooth granite pavers are installed within the courses of cobble along the foot and bike paths to allow pedestrians and bikers to walk or ride more efficiently. The old cobble paths can be challenging to walk/run/bike on due to the stones' uneven and highly irregular surface.

Summary

We can learn a lot from Copenhagen. At the core of the city are its people. As simple as this seems, many cities have lost sight of this. For centuries, the city has been where people engage with each other, trade, exchange news, entertain, and build relationships. People walked everywhere and as a result the tightly woven cultural fabric and strong identiy was created. These elements served as the foundation to build a thriving city.  

Cities worldwide, such as Copenhagen, Melbourne, and New York, are recognizing the positive effects of reprioritizing and designing around human experience. They are seeing rises in physical and mental health, along with growing economies. As we design our cities for the future and renovate our current cities, we need to take note of Copenhagen's successes.

Bibliography

Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language. Oxford University Press, 1977.

Gehl, Jan. Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space. Island Press, 2011.

Gehl, Jan. Cities for People. Pidgeon Digital, 2011.

Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Vintage Books, 1961.