Images and Nuggets of Information Learned

This street is traffic calmed so a very young child is safe getting to the playground.

All water fronts are public spaces – similar to Oregon’s public beaches. Copenhagen is working to amenitize its harbor and create backyard play space for residents. Here cobbles promote walking while accommodating riding a bike. This side of the water prioritizes walking. The other side prioritizes biking so has a smoother surface.

This side of the harbor has both a biking path and a sidewalk. You can see a playground surface in packed sand on the right.

This photo shows some rooftop solar panels. Their development code requires both rooftop gardens/patios as well as solar. Can see there are plants on the rooftop – to help with stormwater management.

Stormwater management begins with the roofs – trying to capture and use rain water.

Their development code requires active living space on the roof, so residents can informally gather and increase community. The planters can also promote some privacy and quiet time, but can be rolled around when their are parties.

Development code promoting permeable surfaces – many of the parking areas (bike and car parking) were unpaved. Here the permeable unpaved area helps the trees.

This photo shows how the development code requires usable patio space for each apartment. Sometimes we have also seen that the patios wrap all the way around – like a wraparound front porch for each story of the building – again promoting community and informal conversations amongst neighbors.

This photo shows the pile of pavers that are being re-used – this was a utility project, so there were trenches. The use of cobbles helps create permeable surfaces, but is also efficient as the pavement material is able to be re-used infinitely.

Development code requires protection from falling objects during building construction/reconstruction – here there is scaffolding protecting the sidewalk, and the bike lane is routed through a cargo container – the interior has a string of lights on both interior walls. Pretty clever.

There are painted bike lanes – especially when on-street parking is used as the buffer. This one has the car door buffer.

Can see the sand layer under the pavers being re-laid. The patterns and whorls are typical.

Their development code requires community gathering space between buildings. Here is a good example of the public and private side of things – private patios have walls, and plantings do a good job of keeping some areas more quiet than others that are more open.

pavers being re-used, can see the sand layer. Some transverse concrete banding helps promote presence of driveways.

Copenhagen has many, many play areas in their inner harbor. Wasn’t always this way – they have been working for 10 years to systematically dredge polluted soils underlying the harbor after years of industrial use. They have an elaborate water quality testing system and test water every day in multiple places to make sure it meets strict clean water requirements.