City Planning Model

COPENHAGEN

By the early 1960’s cities in Europe started to follow the American city planning model i.e. to design cities around automobiles and other private means of transport and promote auto-dependency.

Copenhagen was no exception to this but planners and urban designers in Copenhagen soon realized that their cities were becoming clogged during day when people came from suburb homes to their places of work and was facing the danger of losing these residents to their suburb dwellings by night leaving the city core empty.

Something had to be done about this problem and the oil crisis of 1970 further reinforced their belief that the dependence on automobiles had to be reduced. In order to combat

7) Encourage student living

Students who commute to school on bicycles don’t add to traffic congestion; on the contrary, their active presence, day and night, animates the city.

8) Adapting cityscape to changing seasons

Outdoor cafes, public squares, and street performers attract thousands in the summer; skating rinks, heated benches, and gas lit heaters on street corners make winters in the city center enjoyable.

9) Promote cycling as a major mode of transportation

The city established new bike lanes and extended existing ones. They placed bike crossings – using space freed up by the elimination of parking – near intersections.

Currently 34 percent of Copenhageners who work in the city bicycle to their jobs.

10) Make bicycles available

The city introduced the City Bike system in 1995, which allows anyone to borrow a bike from stands around the city for a small coin deposit. When finished, they simply leave them at any one of the 110 bike stands located around the city center and their money is

It stretches to 3.2 km long making it the longest and oldest pedestrian street system in the world.

Timeline of pedestrianisation in Copenhagen:-

1962 17th November, Copenhagen's first pedestrianised zone opens — Strøget

1968 14th May, Fiolstræde opens as the second pedestrianised street — north of Strøget, in the university district 7th June, Gråbrødretorv becomes the first city square to be a pedestrian zone

1968-95 The number of people spending time in the public spaces of the city centre increases by three and a half times

1972 Nikolaj Plads is pedestrianised

1972-73 The world oil crisis encourages the reduction of car use, and pedestrianisation continues

1973 16th April, Købmagergade is the third street to be pedestrianised, linking the main train station with the city centre Store Kannikestræde, Rosengaarden and Pilestræde are closed to car traffic by 1st July The squares at Kultorvet and parts of Nina Bangs Plads and Nytorv are pedestrianised

1980 29th July, the quay at Nyhavn becomes a pedestrian zone Toftegårds Plads in Valby is