C o p e n h a g e n , the capital city of Denmark,
is enviable for its high standard of living among the world, with an urban population of 1.2 million as of 1 January 2014.
is enviable for its high standard of living among the world, with an urban population of 1.2 million as of 1 January 2014.
Danish Housing
Denmark has a total housing stock of 2.5 million housing units. 19 percent of housing units belong to social housing associations, and about 1 percent belongs to public authorities. 51 percent of the total Danish housing stock is owner-occupied, 45 percent are rented dwellings and in 4 percent of the stock there is no occupiers registered. About 43 percent of all rented dwellings belong to social housing associations.[1]
Between 1950 and the mid-1980s, the steady increase in social housing played an extremely important role in the relationships between social rented housing and private rented housing. In the middle of the 1980s, the balance between rented housing and owner occupied housing shifted dramatically, partly as a consequence of tax reforms. Any specific aim for housing cannot be achieved without more general reforms in the welfare state and taxation structures.
Current Condition
There are increasing difficulties for households getting access to affordable housing in Copenhagen.[1] The emphasis in Danish policy over the last decade has been to recognize the major role of housing markets but also to stress social housing as being essential to meet necessary housing requirements not satisfied by the market. [2]
In the last five years the housing market has been difficult to enter. Prices on owner occupied apartments have increased in pressure areas, and this has caused a high pressure on the housing market in the greater metropolitan area of Copenhagen. It is very difficult to rent private rented dwellings, and waiting lists to get a social housing apartment are long. Thus, the mobility at the housing market is very low, and at present the social housing estates have a very low turnover of residents compared to earlier times.[1]
Denmark has a total housing stock of 2.5 million housing units. 19 percent of housing units belong to social housing associations, and about 1 percent belongs to public authorities. 51 percent of the total Danish housing stock is owner-occupied, 45 percent are rented dwellings and in 4 percent of the stock there is no occupiers registered. About 43 percent of all rented dwellings belong to social housing associations.[1]
Between 1950 and the mid-1980s, the steady increase in social housing played an extremely important role in the relationships between social rented housing and private rented housing. In the middle of the 1980s, the balance between rented housing and owner occupied housing shifted dramatically, partly as a consequence of tax reforms. Any specific aim for housing cannot be achieved without more general reforms in the welfare state and taxation structures.
Current Condition
There are increasing difficulties for households getting access to affordable housing in Copenhagen.[1] The emphasis in Danish policy over the last decade has been to recognize the major role of housing markets but also to stress social housing as being essential to meet necessary housing requirements not satisfied by the market. [2]
In the last five years the housing market has been difficult to enter. Prices on owner occupied apartments have increased in pressure areas, and this has caused a high pressure on the housing market in the greater metropolitan area of Copenhagen. It is very difficult to rent private rented dwellings, and waiting lists to get a social housing apartment are long. Thus, the mobility at the housing market is very low, and at present the social housing estates have a very low turnover of residents compared to earlier times.[1]
Urban Renewal
Integrated urban renewal plays a very important role to both Copenhagen citizens and the city as a whole. The purpose of integrated urban renewal is to promote positive social and economic developments, and raise the quality of the common space in certain districts. Over the most recent years, Copenhagen has experienced plenty of growth, which has transformed the city in a physical, social, cultural and economical way. Such positive developments have changed many of the city's needs, and disadvantaged areas now require a different kind of attention and effort.[3] A policy for disadvantaged areas of Copenhagen has been made. The objective of this policy is to lift the six disadvantaged areas of Copenhagen into a positive development trend so as to create equal opportunities for all residents no matter where they live.[4]
There are two types of urban renewal, building renewal and area renewal. Copenhagen works strategically with area renewal as a means of ensuring that disadvantaged areas of the city can develop and utilize the resources they contain in the best possible way.[1] Area renewals can provide key help to relieve unfavorable development trends and prevent potential downwardly spiraled development patterns. It is also an efficient and cost-effective way to maximum citizen’s satisfaction about the neighborhood. The effort of promoting urban renewal is unified and is intended to help improve the quality of life of residents and to create sustainable urban areas in the long term.
The district of Vesterbro in Copenhagen experienced a substantial urban renewal in the 1990s. It was a project that implying a huge effort in the physical city layout, clearing inner yards and opening up several blocks, but more or less keeping the old structure.[5] Vesterbro district is located very close to the city center, but the housing standard was at a very low level: most of them are lack of central heating, private toilets and bathrooms. Most of the residents in the area disposed of a low income and the unemployment rate was as high as 20%. Amazingly after the renewal project, the decayed Vesterbro begins to attract much more chic restaurants, shops, clubs and customers. The refurbishment turns an area where people were normally not willing to go to become a must-go spot to see the latest trends. Urban renewal is also very meaningful in maintaining a decent living environment and preventing valued residents from moving out.
Integrated urban renewal plays a very important role to both Copenhagen citizens and the city as a whole. The purpose of integrated urban renewal is to promote positive social and economic developments, and raise the quality of the common space in certain districts. Over the most recent years, Copenhagen has experienced plenty of growth, which has transformed the city in a physical, social, cultural and economical way. Such positive developments have changed many of the city's needs, and disadvantaged areas now require a different kind of attention and effort.[3] A policy for disadvantaged areas of Copenhagen has been made. The objective of this policy is to lift the six disadvantaged areas of Copenhagen into a positive development trend so as to create equal opportunities for all residents no matter where they live.[4]
There are two types of urban renewal, building renewal and area renewal. Copenhagen works strategically with area renewal as a means of ensuring that disadvantaged areas of the city can develop and utilize the resources they contain in the best possible way.[1] Area renewals can provide key help to relieve unfavorable development trends and prevent potential downwardly spiraled development patterns. It is also an efficient and cost-effective way to maximum citizen’s satisfaction about the neighborhood. The effort of promoting urban renewal is unified and is intended to help improve the quality of life of residents and to create sustainable urban areas in the long term.
The district of Vesterbro in Copenhagen experienced a substantial urban renewal in the 1990s. It was a project that implying a huge effort in the physical city layout, clearing inner yards and opening up several blocks, but more or less keeping the old structure.[5] Vesterbro district is located very close to the city center, but the housing standard was at a very low level: most of them are lack of central heating, private toilets and bathrooms. Most of the residents in the area disposed of a low income and the unemployment rate was as high as 20%. Amazingly after the renewal project, the decayed Vesterbro begins to attract much more chic restaurants, shops, clubs and customers. The refurbishment turns an area where people were normally not willing to go to become a must-go spot to see the latest trends. Urban renewal is also very meaningful in maintaining a decent living environment and preventing valued residents from moving out.
Social Housing
Social housing refers to rental housing that provided for people on low incomes or with particular needs by government agencies or non-profit organizations. A key function of social housing is to provide accommodation that is affordable to people on low incomes.
The social housing system in Denmark is considered to be one of the country’s beacons. Although the social housing associations are formally private organizations, they are legally regulated and monitored by the government and municipalities because they receive economic subsidies. Neither the social housing associations nor the independent housing sections make profits.[1]
There have been several aims for social housing, including promoting employment, pursuing certain goals in population policy, supporting the country’s economic and physical planning, developing new areas, and renewing housing plans and building techniques. However, the main goal is to provide safe, good-quality and healthy housing for the weaker groups in the society. In well-developed areas where the housing prices are high, the local government must ensure that there are always having affordable dwellings available to accommodate low to medium-income groups. If no affordable housing is available in the municipality or a neighbor municipality, people from these vulnerable groups may have to live far away from their jobs, then the distances between work and home may force them to quit current job and look for another one.
To ensure a varied choice of good flats throughout the city and a balanced composition of residents, the local government came up with some new policies, for example, new public housing shall be built in coming years in step with the new housing otherwise built in Copenhagen to accommodate its growing population. Public housing helps families to afford modest housing and avoid homelessness or other kinds of housing instability. It sets the goal of providing a decent home and a safe, suitable living environment. Some developments in public housing provide access to neighborhoods with stronger schools and more job opportunities, where it might otherwise be difficult for low-income families to rent homes.[6]
The recent housing policy goal of Copenhagen is titled “Housing for all”, which is to somehow transform the existing environment and housing stock in order to create suitable conditions for the so-called “economically sustainable population”.[7] All residents deserve decent, quality housing at an affordable price. No one in the modern society should be unable to afford housing. Affordable housing for people from all income levels is the foundation of a healthy family and concordant community.
The highest proportion of social housing is found in suburban areas. In the city of Copenhagen, the housing stock was originally dominated by private rented housing, and social housing only makes up about 20 percent of the housing market at present. The current shortage of social housing in Copenhagen is the long waiting lists. Key workers such as teachers, nurses and firemen have complained that they cannot afford decent housing, and young working adults and household often have difficulty in housing as well.[8]
Student Housing
Reasonably priced, student-friendly apartments are hardly to get hold of, especially for international students. Luckily, Copenhagen has many well-designed dormitories for university students. Tietgenkollegiet is a stunning circular student dormitory located in Orestad just outside of Copenhagen. This 7-story building provides a clear, cohesive shape as a symbol of the principal community idea of the residence hall. It is the accommodation that helps encourage the personal and social development of the students and it aims to achieve uniform, equal conditions for all residences and residence groups in the overall unity.
Social housing refers to rental housing that provided for people on low incomes or with particular needs by government agencies or non-profit organizations. A key function of social housing is to provide accommodation that is affordable to people on low incomes.
The social housing system in Denmark is considered to be one of the country’s beacons. Although the social housing associations are formally private organizations, they are legally regulated and monitored by the government and municipalities because they receive economic subsidies. Neither the social housing associations nor the independent housing sections make profits.[1]
There have been several aims for social housing, including promoting employment, pursuing certain goals in population policy, supporting the country’s economic and physical planning, developing new areas, and renewing housing plans and building techniques. However, the main goal is to provide safe, good-quality and healthy housing for the weaker groups in the society. In well-developed areas where the housing prices are high, the local government must ensure that there are always having affordable dwellings available to accommodate low to medium-income groups. If no affordable housing is available in the municipality or a neighbor municipality, people from these vulnerable groups may have to live far away from their jobs, then the distances between work and home may force them to quit current job and look for another one.
To ensure a varied choice of good flats throughout the city and a balanced composition of residents, the local government came up with some new policies, for example, new public housing shall be built in coming years in step with the new housing otherwise built in Copenhagen to accommodate its growing population. Public housing helps families to afford modest housing and avoid homelessness or other kinds of housing instability. It sets the goal of providing a decent home and a safe, suitable living environment. Some developments in public housing provide access to neighborhoods with stronger schools and more job opportunities, where it might otherwise be difficult for low-income families to rent homes.[6]
The recent housing policy goal of Copenhagen is titled “Housing for all”, which is to somehow transform the existing environment and housing stock in order to create suitable conditions for the so-called “economically sustainable population”.[7] All residents deserve decent, quality housing at an affordable price. No one in the modern society should be unable to afford housing. Affordable housing for people from all income levels is the foundation of a healthy family and concordant community.
The highest proportion of social housing is found in suburban areas. In the city of Copenhagen, the housing stock was originally dominated by private rented housing, and social housing only makes up about 20 percent of the housing market at present. The current shortage of social housing in Copenhagen is the long waiting lists. Key workers such as teachers, nurses and firemen have complained that they cannot afford decent housing, and young working adults and household often have difficulty in housing as well.[8]
Student Housing
Reasonably priced, student-friendly apartments are hardly to get hold of, especially for international students. Luckily, Copenhagen has many well-designed dormitories for university students. Tietgenkollegiet is a stunning circular student dormitory located in Orestad just outside of Copenhagen. This 7-story building provides a clear, cohesive shape as a symbol of the principal community idea of the residence hall. It is the accommodation that helps encourage the personal and social development of the students and it aims to achieve uniform, equal conditions for all residences and residence groups in the overall unity.
Housing Future
The city also gives room for altogether untraditional ideas when new housing areas are to be established. The 8 House is a new innovative building in Copenhagen that offers 62,000 square meters for residential, commercial, and communal use. Designed as a mixed-use residential development, the 8 House provides more than 540 units of housing, catering to occupants ranging from singles to growing families, the young and the elderly. Each unit of the building will come with a small space as a vegetable garden.
In addition to the residential side, the 8 House includes 400 workspaces that towards the northern light. The 8 House not only features outstanding design, but also functions as a modern way of convenient community living. More than one kilometer of internal and external pathways allow all residents to walk all the way around the building or to bike all the way from the ground floor to the top. Rather than a traditional block, the 8 House stacks all ingredients of a lively urban neighborhood into horizontal layers of typologies connected by a continuous promenade and cycling path up to the 10th floor creating a three-dimensional urban neighborhood where suburban life merges with the energy of a big city, where business and housing co-exist.[9]
The evolving Danish housing policy builds communities and not just homes, and that urban environmental improvement requires social cohesion to succeed.[2] As the Monocle magazine pointed out, the city planning of Copenhagen now encourages inhabitants to enjoy city life with an emphasis on community, culture and cuisine. The way people live together in housing cooperatives, in a close atmosphere of egalitarian togetherness, could be a cultural ideal in modern Denmark. [10]
The city also gives room for altogether untraditional ideas when new housing areas are to be established. The 8 House is a new innovative building in Copenhagen that offers 62,000 square meters for residential, commercial, and communal use. Designed as a mixed-use residential development, the 8 House provides more than 540 units of housing, catering to occupants ranging from singles to growing families, the young and the elderly. Each unit of the building will come with a small space as a vegetable garden.
In addition to the residential side, the 8 House includes 400 workspaces that towards the northern light. The 8 House not only features outstanding design, but also functions as a modern way of convenient community living. More than one kilometer of internal and external pathways allow all residents to walk all the way around the building or to bike all the way from the ground floor to the top. Rather than a traditional block, the 8 House stacks all ingredients of a lively urban neighborhood into horizontal layers of typologies connected by a continuous promenade and cycling path up to the 10th floor creating a three-dimensional urban neighborhood where suburban life merges with the energy of a big city, where business and housing co-exist.[9]
The evolving Danish housing policy builds communities and not just homes, and that urban environmental improvement requires social cohesion to succeed.[2] As the Monocle magazine pointed out, the city planning of Copenhagen now encourages inhabitants to enjoy city life with an emphasis on community, culture and cuisine. The way people live together in housing cooperatives, in a close atmosphere of egalitarian togetherness, could be a cultural ideal in modern Denmark. [10]
[1] Vestergaard, Hedvig. "Danish Housing System, Policy Trends and Research." December 6, 2002. Accessed March 16, 2015.
[2] HOUSING POLICY IN THE EU MEMBER STATES (2). February 13, 1998. Accessed March 16, 2015.
[3] "Integrated Urban Renewal." April 1, 2012. Accessed March 14, 2015
[4]"Policy for Disadvantaged Areas of Copenhagen." Accessed March 16, 2015. https://subsite.kk.dk/Nyheder/2009/April/~/media/6BEC9FBD981E4035849347BEE92BA9F2.ashx
[5] "Misc. on Land Use Planning (with a Bias on Copenhagen)." Misc on Land Use Planning with a Bias on Copenhagen. Accessed March 16, 2015.
[6] "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." January 25, 2013. Accessed March 16, 2015. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2528.
[7] Eckardt, Frank. Urban Governance in Europe. Berlin: BWV, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2009. 122.
[8] Scanlon, Kathleen. "Social Housing in Denmark." In Social Housing in Europe, 77-86. First ed.
[9]"8 House by BIG." De Zeen. October 22, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2015. http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/22/8-house-by-big-2/.
[10] Bruun, Maja Hojer. "Egalitarianism and Community in Danish Housing Cooperatives: Proper Forms of Sharing and Being Together." Social Analysis 55, no. 2 (2011): 62-83. Accessed March 16, 2015.
[2] HOUSING POLICY IN THE EU MEMBER STATES (2). February 13, 1998. Accessed March 16, 2015.
[3] "Integrated Urban Renewal." April 1, 2012. Accessed March 14, 2015
[4]"Policy for Disadvantaged Areas of Copenhagen." Accessed March 16, 2015. https://subsite.kk.dk/Nyheder/2009/April/~/media/6BEC9FBD981E4035849347BEE92BA9F2.ashx
[5] "Misc. on Land Use Planning (with a Bias on Copenhagen)." Misc on Land Use Planning with a Bias on Copenhagen. Accessed March 16, 2015.
[6] "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." January 25, 2013. Accessed March 16, 2015. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2528.
[7] Eckardt, Frank. Urban Governance in Europe. Berlin: BWV, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2009. 122.
[8] Scanlon, Kathleen. "Social Housing in Denmark." In Social Housing in Europe, 77-86. First ed.
[9]"8 House by BIG." De Zeen. October 22, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2015. http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/22/8-house-by-big-2/.
[10] Bruun, Maja Hojer. "Egalitarianism and Community in Danish Housing Cooperatives: Proper Forms of Sharing and Being Together." Social Analysis 55, no. 2 (2011): 62-83. Accessed March 16, 2015.
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