Urban Greenspace

After walking through several more parks throughout Copenhagen today - Frederiksberg Park, Assistens Cemetery, Mimersparken and Superkilen - you start to notice how individuals use the given space differently. With urban greenspaces taking the world by storm, it has become more apparent what kind of functions and benefits they have.

Some benefits of developing greenspaces in an urban area include three main categories: ecological, social and economical. The ecological benefits include a decrease in run off, pollution and temperature, carbon capture, cleaner air, sound/sight dampening and biodiversity in habitats. The social benefits include better mental/physical health, lower stress levels, educational opportunities and a sense of community. The economic benefits are job growth, tourism, retail, lower health costs and the profits from the ecological benefits.

These benefits play a huge impact in the surrounding environment, especially when it comes to the city of Copenhagen. With the initiative to be carbon neutral by 2025, Copenhagen's drive to establish new greenspaces is stronger than ever. Copenhagen has been improving their city in green and sustainable ways for years now, being awarded the award for Greenest City in 2014, providing functional greenspaces is a step in the right direction. 

When visiting all these parks, you notice how people use the space differently. Frederiksberg seemed to function more as a walking trail park, while Mimersparken was more meant for teenagers and children with the playground and soccer fields. These two greenspaces show that spaces can function differently, while still providing some of the fore-mentioned benefits. Every greenspace will provide some benefits, but could function completely differently. For example, Assistens Cemetery, a still functioning cemetery where users can run/walk and enjoy a picnic, is a completely different vibe than that of Superkilen. Superkilen is a mostly concrete park with swings, workout equipment and a greenspace with a basketball court and swings. Both of these parks include a place for pedestrians and bikers, but also for a quiet picnic area. The difference is that Superkilen functions more as a workout area and space for a diverse group of users. As long as the greenspace can hit all the benefits and people use it, it seems that it functions successfully. 

One Week - Day in Roskilde

Took a day trip to the Viking Museum in Roskilde today! Such an awesome museum and even more incredible history about these 5 ships found in the fjord. The 5 original ships are actually about 85% wax due to the thousand years they spent under water. Incredible. Got the chance to chop some wood for the replica boats they build on sight - total of 18 in their current fleet that can be ridden, sadly I didn't get the chance. Decent walk to and from the train station, but got to see some of the beautiful architecture.

Design Museum of Denmark and National Gallery

Today was a pretty mellow Saturday as I strolled through the Design Museum of Denmark and the National Gallery of Art. Met some people from KC and Switzerland along the way. The Design Museum was an absolute designers heaven as I stepped back in time through fashion, graphic design and... FURNITURE. Eames chairs, Jacobson, Aalto... I spent three hours in this tiny museum, but it was so worth it. The National Gallery was beautiful with artwork spanning from 1700 Danish and Nordic art to Modern day art. These beautiful pieces were displayed in an historic building with bridges connecting the new addition - a very modern, glass building addition. Such a cool way to display history. After the Gallery, I spent a few minutes sitting in a lawn chair in the fountain in front of the museum as a Dane walked his giant dog around the fountain. Great Saturday.

Historic Parks Tour

Today I logged about 21 thousand steps as we toured 5 different historic parks throughout Copenhagen. We started at a small park dividing Amalienborg Palace and the harbor, next was Kastellet, Europe's oldest military base still in operation. Third, and by far my favorite, was Ostre Anlaeg. Fourth was the Botanisk Have (Botanical Gardens) and lastly, Orstedsparken. These parks are all incredible in their own way, but Ostre Anlaeg struck a stronger chord with me.

Ostre was designed by H.A. Flindt who designed 3 out of 5 parks we visited. Ostre is a huge greenspace with the National Art Gallery at the southern end, three bodies of water with walking trails throughout the entire 12 hectares. There's something welcoming about walking by a gorgeous art museum before enjoying a serene greenspace. The benches throughout provide a great place to sit and relax or enjoy a quick lunch. There is also a playground for the young-ones and a basketball court for all ages, which both were being used to their full potential. An open air area with benches, pergolas and lots of greenery provides a great space for a picnic or sunbathing on a warm day, which people were doing just that. The amount of trees provide a great sound and wind barrier between the hustle of the city just meters away. There was a lot of diversity when it came to the different plants and perennials - the texture, the color - it created a harmonious physical and visual paradise. I think there was a bit of nostalgia walking through this greenspace; the trees, water and peacefulness made it feel like I was home for a few minutes. Not only that, but the diversity and amount of people using this public space made it feel like a giant community. Just goes to show you are never too old for a good park.

Sagnlandet Lejre - The Land of Legends

The history of Denmark's landscape became even more fascinating after a trip to Lejre today. The Lejre landscape showed how the retracting of glaciers 15 thousand years ago formed the defined hills and tunnel valleys throughout Denmark. When the glaciers finally melted, it left lakes, valleys and hills all over the country; Lejre being one of the original landscapes left. It's comprised of different grasses, bushes, trees and animals that would have been hunted/used during the four different ages - Stone Age, Iron Age, Viking Age and the 1800's. These different ages show how Danes had to adapt to the landscape to survive. After the land developed, reindeer roamed the country, then migrated North when the weather got to warm, leaving the hunter-gatherers' to either follow their prey or stay to find a new way a life.When reindeer was the main food source and since they did not include a lot of vitamins the people needed, they would eat the digested contents of the reindeers' stomachs since most plants were not mature enough to eat. As their main food source left, those hunter-gatherers' that stayed in Denmark had to depend on the Auroch cattle or wild boar for nutrients. Once the greenery was mature enough, the people would start to use that as a way to build huts and as food sources.

The islands of Denmark took time to form and once they did, the Danes had to again adapt to the new environment. With this, fish, oysters and mussels became a bigger part of hunting and a larger food source. As the weather got colder, the amount of fish began to deplete and settlers found farming may be the next way to survive. So they burned down a large amount of forests to make a flat farmland for crops as well as livestock. As farming began to increase, the landscape began to get flatter and hills less defined, losing the original landscape of Denmark. This is something a lot of countries have discovered, that farming can do a lot of damage to the original environment. Lejre is a great way to show how Danes have had to adapt over the centuries and change their farming techniques.

Day 1 - Orientation

Today was the first full day in Copenhagen. Participated in a scavenger hunt around the city this morning, which was a great way to get to know my way around. Spent quite a bit of time at Rosenborg Palace and Kongens Have - such a beautiful park/garden to spend a sunny day in with its and so many different types of plants. Witnessed the changing of the guards and some children playing a Swedish game (that we totally guessed what the rules were and were right). Looking forward to a day at Lejre tomorrow.