COPENHAGEN, THE CASE OF KONGENS ENGHAVE:
In the south-western
corner of Copenhagen (capital of Denmark) 1,6 sq. mile forms the mixed area of Kongens
Enghave (literally: "King's Meadow"), counting approximately 14.000 inhabitants.
The area is mainly built during the
inter-war period as a kind of "ideal community" for the working-class
population.
In the late fifties the district
counted more than 25.000 inhabitants, today it is reduced to 15.000 - all in all about
9.500 dwellings.
The district consists of a number of
well-defined physical structures: First of which is the residential area, mainly four-
storied apartment blocks, build by social, and co-operative housing associations. Also
there are some allotment gardents, most of them with full-year residence permission. Some
were actually build by the municipality, for temporary housing, and some grew from
squatter settlement into regular housing areas.
East and southeast of the
residential area in connection to the harbour is an industrial area. After years of
dilution and decay, the area is now showing a new profile, with newcomers company
buildings and subsequently an urge for infrastructure development.
The district is on one hand
ungraciously limited by heavily loaded traffic lines, and on the other hand by the
harbours and the green structures: the unexplored area of Tippen, the Western Cemetery and
the public park of Valby, to which one have very poor access.
The result of the described
development was in the case of Kgs. Enghave, that the dwindling population and the more
one-sided population mix brought about a deterioration in commerce, and there was a
relative impoverishment of the previously attractive urban area.
Today the area is suffering from
lack of cohesion in management of the urban planning. Like many other similar areas it is
clearly demarcated by overloaded arterial roads, have a great imbalance in the mix of
flats and a blurred accentuation of private and public spaces, with outdated and run down
outdoor furniture. It is characteristic that such areas have very little attraction to the
real estate and investment market.
Subsequently, social segregation and
loss of cultural awareness, brings about isolation of these areas in the urban context and
as a result of the area's evolution generally, it is possible to list a long string of
problematic social issues.
Kgs Enghave is a neighbourhood with
little local civic spirit, high unemployment rates, a concentration of single household
families, and a high concentration of families in need of public aid.
In the Counties of the former GDR
and in the cities of the Baltic States, we find neighbourhoods characterised by a similar
complexity.
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