Copenhagen, Denmark

Paul Cahasan & Arielle Farina Clark 5 Fingers Plan

Aerial view of Copenhagen source: www.arrakeen.ch/europe/ europe1.html

Source: www.arrakeen.ch/europe/europe1.html

The goals of Copenhagens Green Structure Plan are to control urban development to ensure that people are always able to access to open space, parks and undeveloped, natural areas on a regional scale. The plan strives to weave new green elements into the existing mosaic of neighborhoods in the city by means of the following key principals. + + + + + Urbanization will develop in slender ngers Green wedges of u ndeveloped land will remain between ngers Finger development will follow public transport (esp. railways) Suburbs will develop like pearls on a string Inhabitants will live in close proximity to green spaces

The main principle of the Fingerplan implying that the layer-upon-layer growth should stop and that most of the future city should develop in narrow town ngers along exiting and future railways. -John Jrgensen
COPENHAGEN: Evolution of the Finger Structure

The guiding principles of the Green Structure apply both to recreational possibilities as well as the greater environmental context of the city. In developing their strategy, planners took into account cultural-historical and ecological concerns.

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Despite the condensed city centre, Copenhagen is not short on green lungs: parkslike the ever-popular Tivoli Gardens, abound in this city, which prides itself on its strict anti-pollution laws. -Travel Guide
Copenhagen Statistics
City Population: 502,362 (2004) City Area: 221,712 acres Density Level: 23 people / acre Park Acreage: 6,143 Park acreage per 1000 residents: 1.2 Acres Governing bodies: + City of Copenhagen + Greater Copenhagen + Authority Expenditure per person: $72.27? (USD)

Context
Copenhagen is a true metropolis. The City of Copenhagen is inhabited by half a million people or one tenth of Denmarks total population. 1.8 milion people inhabit the peripheral ring of greater Copenhagen metropolitain area which is a third of Denmarks population. Copenhagen is also houses the Scandinavian headquarters of international businesses, governmental ofces, and other ofces of national organizations. As the city matured and developed the 5 Finger Plan regional development plan and the Green Structure to guide green space planning, it underwent a number of evolutions. 1: The medieval city Until mid 19th century the city was surrounded by ramparts and 130,000 inhabitants were living on just 3 Km2 in the fortied city. 2: The Tram City In the beginning of the 20th century Copenhagen incorporated some of its neighbouring towns and the working and middle class areas that was developing there was subsequently served by an extended network of trams. 3: The pre-WW2 city served by S-trains In the 1930s the population of the capital passed one million making further layer-bylayer growths impossible. 4: The post-WW2 radial, suburban development The Fingerplan-city. -source Copenhagen: Evolution of the Finger Structure

Copenhagens regional frameworkthe 5 Fingers concept was originally concieved in the 1940s. The 5 Finger concept continues to shape regional form as this image from the recent regional plan demonstrates. Under the guidance of a regional planning body, urban areas are conned to linear corridors that are linked by transit and extend like ngers from the central core. Green wedges protected from urban developemnt lls in the space between the urban corridors.

source: Greater Copenhagen Authority Transport Plan 2003

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(arial 12pt, justify left) City name Tagline tag line 5 Fingers Plan (arial 18pt)
Planning Timeline
1939 First Danish planning act was passed by the national government city center 1947 The Finger Plan was developed and passed. 1948-56 Was a period characterized by weak planning efforts, municipal inghting, and antagonistic relationships between Copenhagen, the central city and its suburbs. 1960s This is considered the apex of an urban crisis that led to support for increased government experimentation in the eld of Planning. 1961 The Thumb & Forengerthe rst of the planned ngerswere planned and developed. The end result was criticized due to its inequitable separation of social classes. Public frustration with the segregation of rich and poor led to the forming of a regional planning authority 1966 Regional Planning Authority Formed Early 1970s Parliamentary planning law was passed specifying how regions should plan. The law was weak in the Copenhagen region due to a fear on the part of national policy of ceding power to the region which houses 1/3 of Denmarks population. 1974-1989 Greater Copenhagen Council was formed. This was a regional authority, it was criticized for having no teeth and was disbanded in 1988 1988-1991 During this period, the Ministry of the environmentan entity that operated at the national leveloversaw regional planning functions. Ironically, despite the lack of a regional planning arm the Policy Decisions made at the national level such as a new transportation link to Malmo, Sweden helped secure the citys current high international status as a place of cultural economic bounty. Present The Greater Copenhagen Authority was established. This is a regional planning authority that oversees transportation planning, regional planning, transit operations, economic development, tourism and culture. connective radial transit system reclaiming parking for plazas and open space bicycle paths, harbor side promenades well distributed network of urban parks green wedges

URBAN

GREEN

dense mixed undeveloped development areas / nature with transit reserves nodes

A comparison of green space in three cities in Denmark. Aalborg, Odense and Copenhagen source: Nature and Environment - Selected Indicators

source: Ministry fo the Environment

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The public should have easy access to infrastructural facilities such as commuter train lines and motorways, as well as they should be able to enjoy and live close to nature. -Copenhagen Capacity
Initiatives
One project that has been extremely successful in Copenhagen and could feasibly be implemented in Seattle is that the city trafc department has undertaken pedestrian and bicycle counts since the 1960s. The actual counts are done by graduate students in the local planning and design school. This has provided the city with reliable timeseries data on non-motorized transportation patterns which have proven an invaluable tool for the legendary pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure the city has built since the 1970s. The program was conceived by Dr. Jan Gehl who was recently invited to advise the city of Seattle on its current planning initiatives.

1948

Issues
One issue that should resonate with Seattle is how the greater Copenhagen area has struggled with the role that regional government should play in the planning process. The region has experimented with various forms of regional government since 1966. Since 1/3 of the countrys population is centered around Copenhagen, the federal government has been reluctant to cede power to a strong regional body. For example, in 1989 the Greater Copenhagen Council was abolished only to be reinstated in the mid90s as the Greater Copenhagen Authority. The newer body is responsible for transportation planning, regional planning, transit operations, economic development, tourism and culture, but does not do environmental planning. Critics complain that not unlike our local Puget Sound Regional Council, the organization lacks the teeth it needs to effectively carry out its mandate.

1961

1979

1980

2001

Current
source: Evolution of FInger Structure and Greater Copenhagen Authority source: City of Copenhagen Municipal Plan

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City name tag line 5 Fingers Plan

(arial 18pt)
Lessons Learned
Creative Urban Planning Fosters City Pride and Boosts the Economy An important lesson the Copenhagen experience can teach Seattle is that innovative and bold planning initiatives can have lasting impacts on civic pride. Also, innovative planning in the 1970s has had a snowball effect that positively inuenced public and political willingness to experiment and fostered a culture of creativity that has ensured Copenhagen international status as a world class city. The citys positive reputation continues to act as an engine for economic growth and prosperity. Incremental Removal of Cars from the City Center Copenhagens policy of incrementally replacing spaces for cars with spaces for people to walk, bike and recreate has been instrumental in fostering an inviting and vibrant pedestrian landscape in the center city while effectively moving people and goods throughout the region Political Support For Planning Across Political Scales The greater Copenhagen area has seen general support at various political scales for its regional planning framework for over half a century. Such support spans the national and regional level as well as across the numerous municipalities that constitute the ngers themselves. It has enabled residents to enjoy a high quality of life characterized by access to the natural environment, a balanced transportation system and a healthy economy.

source: http://primates.ximian.com/ ~federico/news-2002-10.html

Principles of the 5 Finger Plan

The public should have easy access to infrastructural facilities such as green spaces, bike paths, commuter trains and motorways. People should have the possibility to enjoy forests and lakes, agricultural landscapes, rivers, streams and fjords and still benet from the close proximity to the city centre. The form of the Five Finger Plan makes trafc and transportation of people and goods a much easier task. The Five Finger Plan has steered growth for almost 60 years + The Plan is still the basis of all regional planning - almost 60 years old. expecting + growth of inhabitants >10.000 people/year in next 20 years. + add 75,000 homes + extend or thicken ngers w/ same degree of infrastructural facilities

source: Greater Copenhagen Authority

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Resources
Case Study on Copenhages 5 Finger Plan. http://www.inro.tno.nl/transland/Copenhagen.html COPENHAGEN Jrgensen, John. Evolution of the Finger Structure. From the publication EUROPEAN CITIES: From Helsinki to Nicosia Insights on Outskirts. Edited by Genevive DuboisTaine. Eleven Case Studies & Synthesis. http://www.qub.ac.uk/ep/research/costc10/ndoc/cs08-cope.pdf Copenhagen Capacity. Website 2005. http://www.locations.copcap.com/composite-8109.htm City of Copenhagen Municiple Plan 2001: Primary Structure and Framework. Published by the City of Copenhagen Finance and Administration http://www3.kk.dk/Service%20til%20dig/By%20og%20Trak/By/Kommuneplan%20og% 20Lokalplaner/Kommuneplan/Engelsk%20version/Municipal%20Plan%202001.aspx HUR Greater Copenhagen Authority. Transport Plan 2003 http://www.hur.dk/117AFA2E-D434-4ED6-AEA8-31CB803849DB Ministry of the Environment. Nature and Environment 2001-Selected Indicators. http://www2.sns.dk/publikat/netpub/indikator2001eng/index.html http://www2.sns.dk/publikat/netpub/indikator2001eng/pdf/natur_miljoe2001.pdf

photo

source: Evolution of the Finger Structure

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