Livsstil og naturkvalitet i byrummet - DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø ...

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Urban greenspace is a key component of urban sustainability. Urban green
areas provide habitats for flora and fauna and have a substantial value as
such. But the city’s ecosystems also provide a variety of services to the city
and its people. These ecosystem services consist of physical and biological
functions such as air and water purification and protection against extreme
weather as well as social functions in terms of recreational and aesthetic
qualities and spaces for social interaction.
This report presents a cross disciplinary project about Lifestyle and Nature
Quality in Urban Areas (the LiNaBy-project) focusing on the city of Copenhagen,
Denmark. The project consisted of several sub studies including (A) a
study of the uses of green areas and their integration in everyday practices
of urban populations (B) a study of policy actors’ understanding of urban
green structure and spatial development and (C) a study of the quality of nature
in urban habitats. All sub studies conducted empirical research comprising
interviews, observations, document analysis, questionnaire survey
and biological field analyses, and all sub studies have been documented and
published in separate reports and articles. This report presents a summary
and synthesis of the whole project.
The ideas of greenspace as an urban feature and as an ecological habitat
have undergone recent changes among urban planners and policy actors.
The ideas of greenspace have since the turn of the century evolved from the
notion that they ‘merely’ provide recreational spaces and fresh air in
cramped cities of the mid-1900s to a dual role in Copenhagen’s planning.
Firstly, green spaces are assigned an emerging position as an integral part of
urban spatiality that for Copenhagen grants a vital nerve to the city and constitutes
a dimension of its specific character. This aspect is coined in the municipal
efforts to articulate and make known and recognizable a particular
urban identity for Copenhagen, marked by among other things, green and
climate friendly life-styles and liveable urban spaces that invite for dwelling
and encounters. Greenspaces are a cornerstone in the strategic vision of the
City of Copenhagen.
Secondly, greenspaces are allocated a patchwork of functions that benefit
and sustain the city and its inhabitants. These benefits range from absorbing
heavy rainfalls and limiting CO2-emissions, over cleaning the urban air and
providing spaces for movement and recreations to connecting the city and
promoting cohesion across its territory, providing crucial experiences of
time and nature, educational spaces and public spaces for encounter of the
urban population in its diversity and making it more attractive for people as
well as businesses through improved liveability, amiability and options.
Urban nature is an integral part of urban landscapes and urban experiences.
This is not only an emerging perception among policy actors in urban planning,
but also in line with the ways in which urban dwellers use and interact
with the city’s green areas. Use of urban green spaces is part of daily and
weekly routines as well as special occasions and events. Green spaces serve
as extensions of the domestic sphere for people living in their vicinity. They
offer spaces for free time and relief from pressure and crowds. They play a
role in maintaining continuity and stability in people’s lives, and at the same