Cities for Kids

Yesterday we had an amazing opportunity to visit Gehl Architects. I had seen the word 'architect' and thought this visit wouldn't be something I would be interested in. In reality that is far from the truth. Ghel uses a combination of not only architects, but urban planners, designers, social scientists, and more to create (what they call) 'Cities for People.' I walked out of that session blown away by everything I just learned. I will try to circle back to just exactly what I learned in one of my future posts, but for now I wanted to focus on infrastructure for kids in Copenhagen.  One thing that Ghel emphasized was designing at the right scale. 


I set to go find that for myself. I visited 5 playgrounds in the neighborhoods surrounding my hostel. Most of them were not hard to find at all. They were all filled with kids, voices who could be heard from blocks away. It reminded me of recess when I was that age. Compared to the parks back in Portland where I grew up, these ones are just so much better. None of these parks were dated, they were all unique. Aside from zip lines, slides, and rock walls, these parks had trampolines, spider web-type climbing areas, and so much more that I don't even know how to describe. I also liked how every park was slightly different. They all had a different 'theme' and had different features to them. That is not something I can say about the parks back in Portland. 


Even some apartment buildings (like the one our group got to tour in Nordhaven) have their own dedicated courtyard for kids to play in. What a smart idea! Needless to say, if I was a kid here I think I would be very happy most of the time. 



The playground at Frederiksberg Gardens




Another thing that helps a kid's happiness is the non-car-centric design. Kids who grow up without the constant use of a car have a much better sense of what's around them. (In other words, they develop a comprehensive spacial map much faster than those who ride around in cars all the time). I have seen many younger (elementary school-aged) kids riding bikes on the streets. Some with their parents, but even some alone. Even if kids aren't of age to ride a bike, many families here own cargo bikes, where kids will ride in the front or back. You might have seen them back at home, but they are everywhere here. 


Speaking of scale, I couldn't help but mention the traffic garden for kids (Trafiklegepladsen Fælledparken). It's quite literally a kids-scale city equipped with tiny-scale streets, lights, crosswalks, bike lanes, and more.  A perfect place for a kid to learn how to ride a bike + etiquette of traffic laws without the fear of making a mistake out in the real world. 


Even as an adult, I was fascinated with the traffic garden

I really wonder what it would have been like to have grown up in such an environment. The more I'm here I'm starting to believe that the Danish really are some of the happiest people out there...





(Also In case you were curious about the specfic playgrounds I visited, I will link all of them below):
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Traffic Garden

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