Copenhagen as the classroom:sustainable urban design

Classes started today. Way better than the orientation. I begin to have a sense of what the Danish school means by Copenhagen as the classroom and Europe a learning and testing ground. There is of course so much to discoverfrom the heavy history of the Old world--Germany for one thing, a study of its own right. Many of the instructors are real-time practitioners in the field of the subject the teach--they work in Danish urban design, architecture, etc. firms, and do projects all over the world.

Never expect to find out so much about the science behind the way Copenhagen as an urban environment was built and is being built. CPH was the second (or maybe the first) to have pedestrian street, and its pedestrian priority streets work out pretty well as fine (cars and bikes are allowed but pedestrians are given the priority and these streets are usually mixed with pure pedestrian streets at 20% vs 80%).

A big complex of buildings are usually left free space in the center, mostly to get sunlieght into the buildings.

The marble surface in the Store Plaza was once too smooth and slippery. One day after it rained an old lady slipped on it and broke her hip. She sued the city and a shop owner donated some money to hammer the surface to make it somewhat rocky (individual philanthropic gestures were uncommon in Europe at that point, quite a difference with that in the U.S. but not without reason.



Copenhagen as the classroom: living with a Danish family. Having essentially stayed with three families in the last month or so, I deserve to have a say over.The difference I had with the British couple, the Danish host family and the American/Danish/Swedish family.



The Ronsholt family's comments about Danes being the happiest people in the world.Things generally work here. But maybe it is just a matter of communicational barrier or maybe there is more to be discovered and understood. Life seems so monotonic with these middle-class families but it just takes a little bit of initiatives to stir up some fun. And cooking is always the most fun thing to start with!