Box 10K Ecological urban renewal in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Source: Michel St Maur Sheil


The Agency of Environmental Protection, City of Copenhagen has developed a Planning Model for Ecological Renewal of old European city areas, using as a basis the ecological renewal experience in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen. The Copenhagen Model describes the ecological planning process, a study of the potential for minimising the consumption of resources and the environmental impact of energy use, water and waste and an analysis of the barriers to, and tools for, the implementation of this potential. A number of guidelines for ecological urban renewal have been developed in cooperation with four other European cities: Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin and Genoa.

Ecological planning in Copenhagen is meant to introduce as many ecological solutions as possible connected to an up-to-date definition of urban renewal standards. In 1990 a working group was established at the Copenhagen Municipality's 5th department (Energy, Water Supply and the Environment) in order to integrate ecological elements in the urban renewal action plan for Vesterbro.

The district of Vesterbro was urbanised in the period between 1852 and 1990 and almost 90 per cent of the buildings are pre-1990. It contains 23 blocks and about 4000 apartments for 6500 residents. Old buildings together with low housing quality and social problems in inner Vesterbro are characteristics of many old areas in European cities. According to the working group, the ecological and social dimensions need to be combined into an urban renewal programme if the improvement of these areas is to succeed.

A study carried out to assess the potential for conservation of resources in Inner Vesterbro indicated:

A number of ecological solutions have been studied and implemented in three testing blocks:

Buildings
double-glazed windows
insulation
Installations
low temperature district heating
water-saving fittings
water-saving toilets
electricity-saving on light
installations for sorting waste
Green yards
green plants
permeable cover which allows rainwater to seep into the ground
rainwater for watering the yard
integrated systems for waste sorting
compost for the garden

The realisation of the first urban renewal phase has produced a reduction of approximately 32 000 GJ of end-use energy per year which corresponds to a 2500 t (14 per cent) reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.