Program Service 2.0
Re-envision the trade city Mathilde Lo Nielsen # 915723 KADK # Urbanism and Societal Change Spring 2019
Content 03
Executive summary
04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Societal theme The city is no longer the only service platform A brief history on shopping Digitalization of shopping Trade cities in Denmark The city centre A new vision for the city centre
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Site The metropolitan region An investment in large service nodes A need for a new identity Other qualities Gribskov Municipality Its fabric A trade city Its functions Its centre
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Proposal Vision Principles Potentials Program Deliverables
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Bibliography
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Figure list
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Pond in Helsinge Figure 01
Executive summary This thesis will propose a new vision for the city centres1 in trade cities2, which are experiencing a decline in retail due to changes in society related to a digitalization and centralization of services. A recent report (ICP, 2017) shows, that within the next decade Denmark is expected to lose 80 of its trade cities, thus going from 109 to 29 trade cities by 2030 (Pol., Feb., 2018). On the top of this, the government in the beginning of this year (2019) announced, that five existing large trade nodes in the metropolitan region have been given permission to create a relief centre. When this happens, cities who are already experiencing a decline in retail will be even more challenged. Historically, city centres have functioned as centres for commercial, cultural and social exchange for its surrounding community, creating a common spatial gathering place. Retail has for many decades been the main function in the city centres which are now experiencing a decline in retail. Thus, when retail leaves the city centres they lose their main function, and many areas are left without a meaningful local/municipal public gathering place. For this reason, we must re-envision the services the city centre is providing in these areas, if they should maintain their function as important social nodes on a municipal, regional and national scale. By putting a bigger focus on the city centre in these areas, and their importance in our society, we can maintain a meaningful and coherent everyday life for the people living in the area, and counteract the increasing segregation between urban and rural municipalities3. The proposal will zoom in on the metropolitan region, where a regional retail structure already seems to be decided, aiming a regional service strategy. The strategy will be considered as an argument for an explorative proposal of alternative services for the city centre of Helsinge. Helsinge is one of the cities, which is expected to lose its function as a trade city by 2030 and experience further challenges when it comes to retail, as two relief centres are planned nearby. 1 City centre: The city centre is in many cases the historical area from where a city has grown. The delimitation must be based on the presence of several functions, including shops, cultural offers, private and public services. In each city only one city centre can be delimited (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Sep. 2017, p. 6). 2 Trade city: A trade city, in this case, is a city with a wide range of physical shops and services, where you can get everything you might need in your daily life, from physical grocery shops and special goods to entertainment and institutions, without going anywhere else. 3 Rural municipalities: Rural municipalities refers to municipalities within the LAG-municipalities. LAG-municipalities are rural municipalities, which according to the Danish Business Authority are having challenges, such as the decline of the retail life in city centres (Realdania, 2018, p. 4). LAG-municipality: LAG-municipalities can get fonds to overcome special rural challenges by the Business Authority.
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Figure 02
Societal theme Until now the city has been the only platform providing services. As services move from a physical to a digital platform, digital technologies are changes the shape of our cities (Lyster, 2016, p.127). As consumers increasingly buy online, digital technologies are reducing the demand for physical retail space, leaving shopping streets, shopping malls and parking lots in the city empty (Planetizen, 2016). A recent report (ICP, 2017) shows that within the next decade Denmark is expected to lose 80 of its trade cities, going from 109 to 29 trade cities by 2030 (Pol., Feb., 2018). This development may add on to the increasing segregation between urban and rural municipalities. The city centre has always been the natural service centre in cities, providing social, cultural and commercial services through the identity of its surroundings. Thus, the city centres have functioned as natural gathering places and identity creator for its citizens. If the city centre loses its quality and meaning many areas are left without a local/ municipal gathering place. For this reason, we must re-envision the services those city centres are providing and come up with a Service 2.0, if the city centre should maintain its function as an important spatial nodes on a local, regional and national scale.
This photo is taken in a supermarket in the trading city Helsinge. Helsinge will according to a recent report (ICP, 2017) lose its status as trade city within 2030. Helsinge is the site in this thesis project. Trading has for many years been the identity of this city, and many cities like it. But as shopping is leaving the city, the city centreis left empty and must find a new identity, if it should maintain its function as an important node in the city and its large catchment. 04
Figure 03
The city is no longer the only service platform Cities have always been shaped by production and distribution flows, from the trade routes of the middle ages to the steamship, and from the railroad to the telegraph. A new set of time-space networks have since the 1970s radically transformed the built environment and recalibrated how we live. These time-space networks manage to facilitate fast and efficient flows of products, people and information across cities, municipalities, regions, nations and the entire world (Lyster, 2016, p. 01). This economic transformation is often described as the shift from Fordism, or industrial manufacturing based on automation, to postFordism, a more flexible form of production. Lower manufacturing costs for smaller runs of different products in certain parts of the world, combined with faster, cheaper and more coordinated distribution options, has meant that companies can produce goods in one place, assemble them in another and transport them for consumption somewhere else (Lyster, 2016, p.6). The reality of post-Fordist culture is that the city can no longer be seen as a single artefact, but instead akin to a network. A communication system that is generated by synergies between hard infrastructure, information systems and architectural spaces, which globalization has offered (Lyster, 2016, p.127). In her book, ‘Learning from Logistics’, Clare Lyster refers to the digitalization of services by her term On-Demand Urbanism and writes: “The most cogent lesson offered by on-demand urbanism is that the city itself as a formal entity is no longer the only mechanism that deliver us those things and services that traditionally mark a kind of urban lifestyle. Logistics now competes with, if not eclipses, the city, as the dominant public space of our era” (Lyster, 2016, 125). This thesis focusses on the impact digitalization and centralization of shopping has on city centres in trade cities, which are experiencing a decline in retail, and how an alternative future could look like. The diagram on the right shows the services the city (black) and the internet (yellow) provides.
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City
Institutions
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Supermarket
Health care
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Intellectual
Rentable office
As a community function
Education
Food
Performance
Home office
As a commercial function
Entertainment
Business
Public space
Entertainment
Business
Public space
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Package/distribution hub
Education
Shopping
Internet
Figure 04
A brief history on shopping As cities change as a mirror of society (Madanipour, 2010, p.6), shopping changes as well, as it corresponds to the most fundamental changes in society (H.D.S.G.S., 2000, p. 131). From the Greek agora to the medieval shops, the passage and arcade in the 19th century Europe followed by the department store, supermarket and shopping mall in the middle of the 20th century. Today we are experiencing a shift again as digital technologies have become such an inherent part of our society. As cities today are experiencing a decline in relation to retail, retail as a concept is not facing a crisis as it is constantly being reshaped to keep up with the most fundamental changes in society. The book ‘Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping’ describes this system as an ecosystem: “Shopping is ecology. In the ecosystem where species continuously breed, are born, adjust, mutate, age, and die, shoppers move through the patches and corridors of shops looking for food clothing, and toys, with senses heightened like animals searching the land for sustenance. Retailers fight for and protect their territories as shoppers seek better habitats with more resources and lower prices. Resources are continuously regenerated and traded among retailers and shoppers in the circle of the shopping ecosystem. …. Shopping sustains life by revealing its structures, functions, and transformations” (2000, p.321).
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1930 First supermarket: King Kullen, New York
1946 Covenient hours: First 7-Eleven
1950 The first IRMA with self-service (Denmark)
1959 First encloused mall: Southdale, Minneapolis (Victor Gruen)
1960 The term *relief Centre’ (Aflastningscenter) is introducted in the Danish planning system
1985 Shopping and TV comes together with the first season of The Home Shopping Network
1992 Supersize retail: The mall of America: The country’s largetst mall opens in Minnesota
1995 Amazon
2002 Ebay
2007 The dawn of social media
9000-6000 B.C Barter system
3000 B.C First currency in Iraq
400 B.C The Greek agora as public forum and marketplace
Middle ages The marketplace as a civic centre
1100-1300 Rise of trade causes growth of shops
1566-68 Royal Exchange, London
Late 16th century Fabric bazaar, Isfahan
Early 17th century Growth of markets in Europe
17th century Explosion of shops due to rise in credit
18th century Rise of bourgeoisie
1786 First arcade, Galeries de Boris, Paris
1852 First department store: Au Bon Marché, Paris
1859 First modern chain store: Greath Atlantic & Pacific Tea co., New York
1920 ’Credit cards’ or Change cards’
1922 First unified shopping mall: Country Club Plaza, Kansas City
1960’s The first electronic cash regisers are invented
1962 First Wall-Mart
1962 Strøget, Copenhagen, becomes a pedestrian street
1966 The first enclosed Danish mall opens, Røsovre Centrum
1974 A UPC (Universal Product Code) is scanned for the time
2007 The first iPhone
2017 The new Danish Planning Act makes it possible to create Releif Centres
2019 The Danish government has allowed five relief centre in large service nodes in the metropolitan region
2019 Amazon may establish themselves in Denmark
Figure 05
Digitalization of shopping As consumers increasingly buy online, digital technologies are changing the shape of our cities, reducing the demand of physical retail space, leaving shopping streets, shopping malls and parking lots in the city empty (Planetizen, 2016). 2007 was the year where internet sales in the United States surpassed sales in department stores, and with e-shopping becoming faster and more convenient, this development has continued ever since (Jeppesen, 2018, p. 25). The shift from a physical to a digital platform is also visible in a Danish context. In 2018 the total consumption of e-commerce in Denmark, covering travel, products4 and services5, was 133 billion DKK. This is a growth of 23 percent compared to the total e-commerce consumption in 2017. With a total consumption of 67 billion DKK travels remains the category that Danes spend the most money on online. Products have a total consumption of 46 billion DKK and services have a total consumption of 20 billion DKK (DIBS, 2018, p.7). It is the digitalization of the two last categories, which potentially has the power to empty our city centres, if the collaboration between digital and physical does not change. When it comes it the consumption of products, it is especially products such as clothing, shoes and accessories, which are popular online. These comprise 54 percent of the total consumption of products, while groceries comprise 21 percent of the total consumption of products (DIBS, 2018, p. 19). The number of physical shops in Denmark has been reduced significantly the past 45 years. This development is not only due to the digitalization of shopping, which only has had a great influence for the past 10 years. The development is also caused by the shift away from smaller and more specialized stores, such as dairy, butcher, fishmonger and bakery, to larger supermarkets and department stores (ICP, 2017, p. 6). This does not mean that shopping is no longer within the physical world. Online shopping has different demands to the physical environment than the smaller shops can offer, such as logistics and efficiency. With this follows large distribution hubs, often placed in the outskirts of cities with a good connection to infrastructure.
Products: Physical products such as clothes, electronics, or groceries. Services: Non-physical products such as subscriptions.
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Forecast
Developemt of e-commerce in Denmark
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Development of physical shops in Denmark 60k 50k 40k
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Special item 1969
2016
Amazon fulfilment centre Figure 06
Trade cities in Denmark A recent report (ICP, 2017) shows, that within the next decade Denmark is expected to lose 80 of its trade cities, going from 109 to 29 trade cities by 2030 (Pol., Feb., 2018). Many of the areas that may lose their trade cities are areas within the LAG-municipalities. The LAG-municipalities are rural municipalities, which according to the Danish Business Authority are having challenges such as a decline in retail in the city centre (Realdania, 2018, p. 4). This development can leave a large area without physical shops and related services, and add on to the increasing segregation between urban and rural municipalities6. Looking at the population development in the LAG-municipalities, the biggest cities, often trade cities, are experiencing population growth , while smaller cities below 1.000 inhabitants are experiencing a decline in its population development. This development is known as double urbanization (Realdania, 2018, p. 7). So even if the soon to be former trade cities are experiencing a decline in retail, those cities are often also experiencing a population growth.
6 Rual municipalities: With rural municipalities I mean municipalities within the LAG-municipalities. LAG-municipalities are rural municipalities, which according to the Danish Business Authority are having challenges, such as the decline of the retail life in city centres (Realdania, 2018, p. 4). LAG-municipality: LAG-municipalities can get fonds to overcome special rural challenges by the Business Authority.
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Trade cities, 2018 vs. 2030
LAG-municipality Trade city
Population development in LAG-municipalities (number of emigrants/immigrants): 140 130 120 110 100 90 80
Total
>3000
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201-999
2017
2016
2015
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2012
2010
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Rural Figure 07
The city centre The city centre has always been a natural service centre in cities, providing social, cultural and commercial services through the identity of its surroundings. Correspondingly, the services provided by the city centre have also created the identity of that place. Thereby city centres have functioned as a natural gathering place and identity creator for its citizens and catchment. With the industrialization and the ‘invention’ of liberalism as the most important factor for growth in the western part of the world, shopping has in many ways become a necessity for our society (H.D.S.G.S., 2000, p. 130). This has led to, that cities over the last half century have inverted from shopping as an activity taking place in the city as a place, to the city as an idea is taking place within shopping as a place (H.D.S.G.S, 2000, p. 194). The city centre has previously been a place for both workshops, businesses, housing and shopping (Byplan, 2014 vol. 4, p. 5). However, as shopping has been the main function of city centres, used as a tool when planning a lively city, the city centre is now left empty without its former main function, as shopping moves to a digital platform or bigger regional trade nodes. For this reason, we must re-envision the function and identity of the city centre in the cities, which are challenged in regard to retail, if they should maintain their function as important nodes in the urban fabric.
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Identity of a place
Social
The city centre
Cultural
Commercial
Gathering place / Identity creator
The city centre as a natural service centre providing social, cultural and commercial services
Commercial functions as a tool when planning a lively city
Digitalization of shopping / regional trading nodes
The city centre is left empty without its former primally identity
We must re-envision the services of the city centre if it should maintain its function as an important node in the urban fabric Figure 08
A new vision for the city centre The city centre is an important spatial gathering place in our society. If it loses its quality and meaning, many areas are left without a local/ municipal public gathering place. This development may add on to the increasing segregation between urban and rural municipalities7. For this reason, we must re-envision the services the city centre in those areas are providing and come up with a new strategy, a Service 2.0. This must be done if the city centres are to maintain their function as important spatial nodes on a local, regional and national scale, providing a meaningful and coherent everyday life for the people living in the city and its catchment. People no longer depend on the city centre as a commercial centre, as they can get those services elsewhere. However, as stated by Mia Christiernson, an architect and retail consultant at the Danish Business Authority, people still depend on the city centre as a platform for social and cultural activities. “All layers of the society meet in the city centre to see each other. The city centre is a social function primally and then everything else comes after – shopping. It is a fundamental need to see each other� (Interview by author, 20.11.2018). The city centre has the potential to function as a community anchor in the urban fabric. A Service 2.0 will focus on values directly related to the identity of a place, aiming site-specific services, both when it comes to social, cultural and commercial services. A Service 2.0 will have physical qualities that online services cannot provide such as physical and sensual experiences. Not to say that a Service 2.0 cannot be related with a digital platform, but its base will be physically manifested.
7 Rual municipalities: With rural municipalities I mean municipalities within the LAG-municipalities. LAG-municipalities are rural municipalities, which according to the Danish Business Authority are having challenges, such as the decline of the retail life in city centres (Realdania, 2018, p. 4). LAG-municipality: LAG-municipalities can get fonds to overcome special rural challenges by the Business Authority.
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Helsinge around 1900 Figure 09
Site This thesis will have its focus around the city Helsinge, which is one of the trade cities which according to the report from ICP (2017) will lose its function as trade city by 2030. Retail has always been the main identity of this city. As retail changes its platform from physical to digital or moves to bigger regional trading nodes, cities like Helsinge are left empty without its former main identity and must seek a new identity within its unique context and potentials. Helsinge is the biggest city in Gribskov Municipality, which is the most northern municipality on Zealand. The municipality has great nature values and host a large part of the national park: The Kings’ North Zealand (Kongernes NordsjÌlland). Gribskov municipality is part of the Finger Plan, even though it is not a part of the fingers. It is within the metropolitan region (the area covering the Finger Plan), where five new relief centres have been announced in the beginning of this year. When this happens cities like Helsinge will be even more challenged when it comes to retail. For this reason, we must re-envision the services the city centre of Helsinge is providing, if it should maintain its function as an important node in the city and its large catchment.
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Carparking in Helsinge Figure 10
The metropolitan region When referring to the metropolitan region in this thesis, I am referring to the area within the Finger Plan 2017. The Finger Plan defines the overall frame for the municipalities in the metropolitan region. The current Finger Plan 2017 is a national plan directive8. The 34 municipalities in the metropolitan area fill in the following framework with municipal and local plans. Together, these 34 municipalities have just over 2 million inhabitants (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Okt. 2017). Since 1947, the Finger Plan has formed the overall framework for the spatial planning within the metropolitan area. The basic idea behind the plan is: To concentrate housing, commerce, businesses and public institutions around a well-developed infrastructure in the palm and urban fingers. To preserve the areas between and outside the urban fingers of green wedges, smaller urban communities and agriculture. For this reason, the Finger Plan is important when we talk about the distribution of services in the metropolitan region. On January 24th, 2019, The Danish Business Authority announced a new proposal for a revised version of the Finger Plan. The new proposal deals with the following relevant topics (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, 2019, p. 3-5): Accommodate the increasing challenge of creating space for more housing in the metropolitan area. New business development areas outside the central metropolitan area. Extension of the green wedges. Area reserved for transport and logistics businesses (targeted e-commerce). 8 National Plan Directive: National Plan Directives are executive orders which the Minister of Business Affairs may set binding limits for the content of municipal planning. Following the structural reform in 2007, when The Ministry of Environment and later in 2015 The Ministry of Business and Industry took over the responsibility of the regional planning in the metropolitan area, the Finger Plan has been implemented in a National Plan Directive of the metropolitan area. Today, Chapter 2c of in the Planning Act insures a special government regulation of the planning in the 34 municipalities in the metropolitan area – partly with special rues in the municipal planning law and partly with special country planning directives in the metropolitan areas, through the Finger Plan.
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The palm Urban fingers The outer city area Inner green wedges Outer green wedges Transport corridor Figure 11
An investment in large service nodes The Finger Plan does not contain rules regarding retail in the metropolitan region. These rules are within a separate National Plan Directive for retail in the metropolitan region (the area that are represented in the Finger Plan 2017). The National Plan Directive regarding retail is divided in the following themes: City centres9 Local centres10 Relief centres11 Each municipality also has the opportunity to create areas for particularly demanding items12. The Danish Planning Act was revised in the first part of 2017 on the base of a political agreement between Venstre, Socialdemokratiet, Dansk Folkeparti and Det Konservative Folkeparti with the document ‘Denmark in better balance’ (Denmark i bedre balance). The agreement entails easing on several of the Planning Act’s retail regulations. This includes the opportunity to establish and/or expand relief centres, increase in the maximum size of grocery stores and remove the maximum size of stores with particularly demanding items. In addition to the Planning Act, the retail structure in the metropolitan region may be decided through a National Plan Directive. This was revised the 1st of January 2019. According to the new directive the following municipalities can create relief centres: Hillerød, Helsingør, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Ballerup and Ishøj (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, 2019). Those municipalities are already having a large supply of services spanning from educational, care and cultural institutions, to a great supply of trading services. City centre: The delimitation must be based on the presence of several functions, including shops, cultural offers, private and public services. In each city only one city centre can be delimited (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Sep. 2017, p. 6). There is a maximum size of 5000m2 on grocery stores within the city centre. There is no upper limit for special item stores. 10 Local centre: Local centers can only made in cities with more than 20.000 inhabitants: The demarcation must be based on the presence of several functions, including shops, cultural services, private and public services. The size of the urban center must be determined based on the size of the district it is to serve delimited (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Sep. 2017, p. 6). There is a maximum size of 1200m2 on grocery stores within local centre. There is maximum size of 3000m2 on special item stores in local centres. 11 Relief centres: Can be made in cities where there is customer base. The purpose of a relief area is among other things. to relief the city center by providing space for shops, which cannot be placed in the city center - for example large commodity stores delimited (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Sep. 2017, p. 6). There is a maximum size of 3900m2 on grocery stores within a relief centre. There is no upper limit for special item stores. 12 Area for particularly demanding item: includes e.g. motor vehicles, yachts, caravans, trailers, plants, horticultural products, timber, building materials, gravel, stone and concrete products, furniture, as well as ammunition and explosives (Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Sep. 2017, p. 9). It is not allowed to create grocery stores in areas for particularly demanding items. There is no upper limit on special item shops. 9
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New New relief relief center center
New relief centre Trade city 2018
New relief center
Trade city 2018
Trade city 2018
Trade city 2018 Trade Trade city city 2030 2030
Trade city 2030
Trade city 2030
Highway Highway Highway
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road road
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Node Node train train Stations Stations Node train station
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Upcoming Upcoming light light rail rail station station Upcomming light rail station
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Larger cultural institutions Larger Larger cultural cultural institutions institutions Small Small business business area area Small business area
Valuable landscapes
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ValuableLarge culturalbusiness environmentsarea +% -1 %
Natura Natura 2000 2000 area area
-1 - -2 %
Lake Lake
-3 - -4 %
Figure 12
A need for a new identity This development may have the consequence that the cities, which will lose their status as trade city by 2030, or municipalities, which have not had the permission to establish a relief centre within the new National Plan Directive on retail, will lose one of their former main identities: retail. Retail has in many cases been an element creating friction in those cities. As shopping moves from a physical to a digital platform or larger regional trading nodes, this friction may disappear.
Albertslund Municipality: Albertslund Allerød Municipality: Allerød Ballerup Municipality: Ballerup Ballerup Municipality: Måløv Egedal Municipality: Stenløse Frederikssund Municipality: Frederikssund Gentofte Municipality: Hellerup Glostrup Municipality: Glostrup Greve Municipality: Hundige Greve Municipality: Greve Strand Gribskov Municipality: Helsinge Gribskov Municipality: Gilleleje Halsnæs Municipality: Frederiksværk Helsingør Municipality: Helsingør Hillerød Municipality: Hillerød Hvidovre Municipality: Hvidovre Hørsholm Municipality: Hørsholm Høje-Taastrup Municipality: Høje-Taastrup Høje-Taastrup Municipality: Taastrup Ishøj Municipality: Ishøj Køge Municipality: Køge Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality: Lyngby Roskilde Municipality: Roskilde Rødovre Municipality: Rødovre Rudersdal Municipality: Holte Solrød Municipality: Solrød Strand 14
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For this reason, we must re-envision the identity of those cities, if they should maintain their function as important gathering nodes for its citizens and catchment.
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Cities which needs a new identity for its city centre
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Figure 13
Other qualities When seeking another identity than retail for the city centres, which cannot sustain their function as trade city, or have been given the permission to create a relief centre, the identity must be found within the already existing identity and future ambition of the city/municipality. If we look at the context of those cities, they are often well connected with nature/landscape and in some cases also valuable culture environments. This is a strong and site-specific quality, and in many cases also one of the main reasons for people to settle in the areas. This is a potential that could be better integrated in the city centre together with other unique potentials from its context. Thus creating a site-specific layer in the social, cultural and commercial services the city centre is providing. By using the unique potential and context of the city centre as generator for another identity than retail, city centres can become unique places for gathering with a specific identity in a local/municipal context. By doing so, the city centre will not be in competition or in decline to stronger service nodes, because they will become something third and more site-specific. This is also the case for the city Helsinge in Gribskov Municipality. Helsinge is one of cities which according to the report from ICP (2017) will lose its function as trade city by 2030. The municipality is also expected to experience a bigger decline in retail with the establishment of relief centres in the two biggest cities nearby: Hillerød and Helsingør (ICP, 2018, p. 7). The site is described more detailed on the following pages.
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New relief center New New relief relief center center New relief center
Trade city 2018 New relief center Trade Trade city city 2018 2018 Trade city 2018 Trade city 2030 Trade city 2030 Trade Trade city city 2030 2018 Trade city 2030 Highway Trade city 2018, not 2030 Highway
Highway Expressway Highway Highway Trade city 2030 Expressway
Expressway Main road Expressway Expressway Main road
Main road Railway Main Highway Main road road Railway Railway Train station Railway Expressway Railway Train Train station station Train station Node train Stations Main Train road station Node Stations Node train train light Stations Upcoming rail station station Node train Railway Node train Stations Upcoming Upcoming light light rail rail station station Hospitals Upcomming light rail station Train station Upcoming light rail station Hospitals Hospitals Hospitals Node Stations institutions Largertrain educational Hospitals Larger institutions Larger educational institutions Larger educational educational institutions Upcoming light rail station cultural institutions Larger educational institutions Hospitals Larger cultural institutions Larger cultural Small area Largerbusiness cultural institutions institutions Larger cultural institutions
Small business area area Large Small business Small business area Larger educational Small business areainstitutions Large area Large business business area Natura 2000 area Large business area Large business area Larger cultural institutions Natura 2000 area
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Forest Large Lake business area Forest Forest Forest
Valuable landscapes Natura 2000 area Forest Natura 2000 areas Valuable landscapes landscapes Valuable cultural environments
Lake Valuable landscapes landscapes Valuable Valuable cultural Valuable cultural environments environments + % Forest
Valuable cultural environments Valuable culture enviroments + +% % -1 % +% Valuable landscapes
National park: The Kings Noth Zealand -1 % -1 -%-2 % -1 % Valuable cultural environments -1 - -2 % -1 -3 - -2 -4 % -1% - -2 % + -3 -3 -- -4 -4 % -5 -7 %
Figure 14
Gribskov Municipality Gribskov Municipality is located on the most northern part of Zealand. The municipality consists of 13 parishes. The majority of the parishes are defined as rural areas. The remaining five parishes are town carriages which is located in and around the three largest cities in the municipality: Helsinge, Gilleleje and GrĂŚsted (Realdania, 2016, p. 6). Gribskov Municipality has a population of almost 41.000, which is less than the average of 57.752 inhabitants for Danish municipalities in general (Realdania, 2016, p.9). We see a double urbanization in the municipality as in the rest of the country, where we experience population growth in the three biggest cities and a stable or negative development in the rest (Realdania, 2016, p.9). The average age in the municipality has increased more than 2.5 times as much as in the general population in Denmark in the recent years (Realdania, 2016, p. 7), resulting in an average age of 46 compared with an average age at 41,5 in Denmark as a whole (Realdania, 2016, p. 10). If we look at the age distribution in the municipality compared with the rest of Denmark, we see that there are much less inhabitants between 25 and 35, and a bigger population between 55 and 80 than in the rest of the country (statestikbanken.dk). This could mean, that where is a lot of families with children and seniors in the municipality. They employed in the municipality is among those who on average commute furthest to work in Denmark. The average commuting distance for the employed residents in the municipality is 25.8 km. For comparison the average is only 20,1 km for workers in Denmark (Realdania, 2016, p. 22). The average housing price in the municipality is 25.212 kr/m2. This puts the municipality in 23rd place on the list of most expensive municipalities to live in. In comparison Copenhagen Municipality is 3rd place while Lolland Municipality is the cheapest municipality to live in in the whole country on a 98th place. (boliga.dk)
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Population Denmark
Gribskov Municipality Population
Population
Development
Development
Urban* Rural
22.198 18.657
+0,3% -0,1%
4.144.323 1.515.392
+0.9% -0,2%
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18.657
+0,2%
18.657
+0,6%
1k Helsinge
*Helsinge, Gilleleje, GrĂŚsted
Population distribution in Gribskov Municipality vs. Denmark Gribskov Municipality 1,5 % Denmark 1,0 %
0,5 %
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Population development in Gribskov Municipality 44.000 43.000 42.000 41.000 If no investment in housing
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Commuting to work Gribskov Municipality = 25,8 km
Average in Denmark = 20,1 km
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Housing prices Gribskov Municipality = 25.139 kr/m2 Copenhagen Municipality = 46.350 kr/m2 Lolland Municipality = 7.437 kr/m2 Figure 15
Its fabric According the Gribskov Municipal plan from 2013 the municipality wants to promote an urban fabric, which consists of: municipal centers, local centers and villages. The cities are divided into these three groups based on their size, function and role in relation to the rest of the municipality. A decentralized structure. The main thought behind the strategy is that the urban areas are part of a network with their respective strengths and profiles. Municipal centres may contain functions that have the entire municipality as catchment. Most of the upcoming urban development for housing, commerce and business must take place in and around the three municipal centres, especially Helsinge (gribskov.dk).
3. Heatherhill
Gribskov Municipality has great nature values that range from coastlines and beaches to lakes and forests. On November 23th, 2018, large parts of Gribskov Municiaplity’s nature areas were united through a new national park with the name: The Kings’ North Zealand. The new national park is the fifth designated national park in Denmark. The national park is designated because of the area’s unique nature, landscape and culturalhistorical values (naturstyrrelsen.dk).
10 km
5 km
1. Tisvilde Hegn
Express way
Main road
Express way Secondary road Municipal centre / Main city Municipal centre
Local center Villages Express Express way way
Railway Main road Railway
Train station Secondary road Train station Natura Railway Natura 20002000 areaarea
Lake station Lake Train
2. Arre Sø
Main road Main road
Natura 2000 area ForestForest
Secondary roadroad Secondary
Lake National National park:park The Kings North Zealand
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Railway
Helsi
Forest
Gilleleje
6. Søborg Sø
Græsted
4. Gribskov 5. Esrumsø
inge
1:100.000 Figure 16
1. Tisvilde Hegn
2. Arresø
3. Heatherhill 18
4. Gribskov
5. Esrumsø
6. Søborg Sø Figure 17
A trade city Helsinge is the largest city in Gribskov Municipality and according to the municipal plan from 2013, also the main city. The city has 8.300 inhabitants (20 % of the total municipal population) and host the town hall. Helsinge grew from a village, with a community of three farms, to a trade city in the second half of the 19th century. An important event in this development was the establishment of a town hall in the city in 1848 and the establishment of a mill in 1863. Following these events, the inhabitants in the area suddenly got errands in the city. When the business registration laws12 were introduced in the 1850s, Helsinge was in a perfect place in relation to the bigger trade cities’ protected zones. The number of inhabitants increased during this period, and in 1870, the town was allowed to have a marketplace at the cemetery. The cemetery as the commercial centre ended with the establishment of a train station in the eastern part of the city and an expansion of the main road. The city got a new trading centre between the pond and the station, which is the pedestrian street of today. After the establishment of the railway in 1897, the number of inhabitants grew fast (Lauresen). The city centre changed drastically after the adoption of the Municipal Reform in 197013. Until the 1970s, the largest collection of shops and services were located within the old city centre. In the 1960s, a provision was made to ensure better driving access and parking opportunities close to the city centre, following the boom of cars. By demolishing buildings and with the establishment of a city ring around the city centre, people could park as close as possible to the shopping street, which was turned into a pedestrian street. In the same period, 1961, the city got its first big supermarket in the periphery of the city centre (Lauresen). The trade development in Helsinge mirrors the changes our urban society has been through. From agriculture society to industrial society and finally knowledge society. Helsinge finds itself in a position where shopping no longer defines the city centre in the same way as before.
Business legislation laws, legislation that deals with self-employment; According to section 74 of the Constitution, only generally justified restrictions on the citizen’s business law can be accepted. This provision was introduced in 1849 to assist in the abolition of the monopoly of craftsmen and the commercial privileges of the towns. The first business law was completed in 1857. 13 The municipal reform in 1970 was the largest reform of the Danish municipal government, which on 1 April 1970 reduced the number of municipalities from 1098 to 277 and the number of counties from 25 to 14. 12
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Helsinge around 1950
Helsinge around 1970 Figure 18
Its functions Today many of the special items shops in the city centre are closed, here among two supermarkets, which used to function as anchors . The city still has a wide range of supermarkets on the edge of the city centre and department stores in the two areas for particularly demanding items in the southern and western part of the city.
Kindergarden
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The city has within the last 20 years established many large institutions outside of the city centre, where it is now only the gymnasium, which had an expansion in 2007, that is placed within the city centre. The municipality has currently two ongoing urban developments within the city. The first is 113 new social housing apartments within the city centre. The other is a 70ha new development area in the north western part of the city which is planned to host 700 new houses. These two projects add on to the ambition that the municipality wants to attract new inhabitants to the municipality, and especially Helsinge.
CityCity centre boundary centre boundary Special itemsitems shop shop Special Supermarket Supermarket Department store stores / area for particularly demanding items Department Closed shopshop Closed Institution Institution Pedestrian streetstreet Pedestrian CarCar parking parking Ongoing or potential urbanurban development areas Ongoing or potential development area within the city centre
S 1 2 20
Train station New development areas with 113 social housing apartments New development area: 70 ha, 700 new houses
School
Swimming facility
Sports facilities
Library
Kindergard
Elderly home School
den
Concert hall
Church
S
Gymnasium
1 City hall
Conference centre
1:15.000 Figure 19
Its centre The main identity of the city centre has for many years been shopping. Today many of the special item shops on the pedestrian street are closed, including two supermarkets that used to function as anchors. This leaves the large amount of unused carparks, buildings and its surrounding public spaces in a vacancy. After the establishment of the city ring around the city centre in the 1960’s many houses were demolished to make space for carparking. This has resulted in, the city centre being an island in the city, which you drive onto. The facades facing the pedestrian street have, in many cases, characteristic building qualities. The facades facing the parking lots function in many cases as a backside. The city centre has a great potential for becoming better connected to its surroundings. One of the biggest values is, that the city centre is placed within a landscape, even though it is not obvious. Going from the lowest point in the city at the station to the highest at the end of the pedestrian street with the church. Around the church and pond there is a culture-historical environment. This area has always been a natural gathering place. The city centre is intertwined with 12 local plans. Today, the building height in the city centre is 2-3 floors. However, the new social housing area, which is currently under construction, will be 4 floors. A local plan gives the opportunity to demolish one of the empty supermarkets and build something new including on some of the existing parking area. Another local plan gives the opportunity to build new housing on an empty plot. If the city centre of Helsinge is left ‘empty’, the city and the municipality will not have a common spatial gathering place. The city centre has the potential to function as an important catalyst of social, cultural and commercial exchange, through the identity of its unique context. For this City centre boundary centre boundary reason, weCity must re-envision the services the city centre provides. Specialitems items shop Special shop Supermarket Closed shop Closed shop
Institution
Institution
Pedestrian street Pedestrian street
Car parking
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Ongoing or potential urban development areas Car parking Ongoing or potential urban development area within the city centre 21
Old industrial building
School
Elderly home
Church Concert hall
Gymnasium
City hall
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1:6.000 Figure 20
Proposal This thesis will propose a new vision for city centres in trade cities, which are experiencing a decline in retail due to changes in society related to a digitalization and centralization of shopping. The project explores the opportunities of the city centre of Helsinge and what services (Service 2.0) it could provide in the future. The proposal will focus on the metropolitan region, where a regional retail structure already seems to be decided, aiming a regional service strategy. The strategy will be considered as an argument for an explorative proposal of what alternative services the city centre of Helsinge could provide in the future. The new vision for the city centre of Helsinge will be established through four principles: social, cultural, commercial and nature. All four principles will be related to the unique quality and context of the municipality The principles will be played out in the city centre by looking at three specific potentials: connection, vacant space and cultural value. Together the principles and potentials create possible programs. Both principles, potentials and possible programs are explained in the proposal together with the deliverables.
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Corridor to the city center, Helsinge Figure 21
Vision This thesis will propose a new vision for city centres in trade cities, which are experiencing a decline in retail due to changes in society related to a digitalization and centralization of shopping. The project explores possible opportunities of the city centre of Helsinge and what services (Service 2.0) it could provide in the future. The city centre is an important spatial gathering place in our society. If it loses its quality and meaning many areas are left without a local/ municipal public gathering place. This development may add on to the increasing segregation between urban and rural municipalities14. The city centre has the potential to function as an important catalyst of social, cultural, commercial and other related site-specific exchanges through the identity of the place. For this reason, if the city centre should not lose its quality and meaning, it must be designed through the identity of the place by using its unique potentials and context. A Service 2.0 will have physical qualities that online services cannot provide such as a physical and sensual experiences. Not to say, that a Service 2.0 cannot be related with a digital platform, but its base will be physically manifested. By doing so, trade cities, which are experiencing a decline in relation to retail, will become unique places and no longer in competition with the stronger regional service nodes. UN’s Sustainable Development Goals The proposal relates to Goal 10 (Sustainable cities and communities) and 11 (Reduce inequalities). Goal 10 strives to reduce inequality within and among countries. This thesis deals with Goal 10 by improving life quality in a rural municipality and thereby counteract the increasing segregation between rural and urban settlements. Goal 11 strives to make cities and human settlement inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Sub-goal 11.A says: “Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning�. This thesis deals directly with this subgoal by putting a bigger focus on city centres in these areas and their importance in our society on all scales. By doing so we can maintain a meaningful and coherent everyday life for the people living in the areas. Rual municipalities: With rural municipalities I mean municipalities within the LAG-municipalities. LAG-municipalities are rural municipalities, which according to the Danish Business Authority are having challenges, such as the decline of the retail life in city centres (Realdania, 2018, p. 4). LAG-municipality: LAG-municipalities can get fonds to overcome special rural challenges by the Business Authority.
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Corridor to the city center, Helsinge Figure 22
Principles The city centre of Helsinge has the potential to function as an important catalyst for social, cultural and commercial exchange in the municipality. As nature and the role of agricultural land is such an important and site-specific quality in the municipality this will, together with the other catalysts, play an important role in the exploration of new services in the city centre. Social: The service of gathering. Helsinge is a city with many institutional functions, such as kindergartens, schools, a gymnasium, nursing homes, cultural centre and a library as well as major sports facilities. This is unique both on a city and municipal scale. Many of those functions are placed between the edge of the city centre and the edge of the city. According to the Head of Planning in the municipality, Stine Løfgren Tveden, the connection between the institutions and the city centre needs to be strengthened. On top of this, there is a potential in institutions using the empty rooms in the city centre, as some of them need more space (interview by author, 16.11.18). Culture: The service of creating. Helsinge already has a culture house and a concert hall. According to Stine a cultural function could be an option for the city centre as well. But she argues that a cultural function in the city centre does not necessarily have to be a building or somewhere you need to pay to get in. The city is lacking an open cultural space where things can just happen (interview by author, 16.11.18). Commercial: The service of benefitting. As mentioned in the Societal Theme and Site chapter Helsinge finds itself in a position where shopping no longer defines the city centre in the same way as before. Many shops on the pedestrian street are closed. New commercial functions will have values that online shopping cannot provide, such as physical and sensual experiences, and be related to the specific identity of the area. Digitalization of shopping brings new spatial manifestations, which also could be integrated in the city centre and bring other values. Nature: The unfiltered service. One of the biggest qualities of the municipality is its high quality and amount of nature and access to green spaces. This quality is not a part of the experience of the city centre today. Thus, this is a potential that could be explored further.
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Social
Commercial
Cultural
The city centre of Helsinge
Nature
Figure 23
Potentials To explore the playout of the different principles in the city centre of Helsinge the potentials are divided into three categories: cultural value, vacant space and connection. The three potentials and their relation to the site are described in the following: Cultural value: A spatial quality related to the site such as historical buildings, a view, the pond or nature and landscape. Vacant space: Empty space with a lack of use, such as the parking lots, the pedestrian street, or the empty rooms along or in connection to the city centre. Connection: To connect fragmented spaces and make them more visible and have them benefit each other on a human scale. Such connections could be: the station and the city centre, the institutions and the city centre, the nature and the city centre, the parking lots and the city centre, the supermarkets and the city centre.
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Connection
Vacant
Cultural value
Pond
Closed factory
Old farms
Closed supermarket
Courtyard, closed today
Empty parkinglot
Station
Supermarket (not within the city ring)
Corridor to the city center Figure 24
Program An explorative study of the city centre The proposal will explore what alternative services (Service 2.0) the city centre of Helsinge could provide in the future, spanning from program such as: transformation of infrastructural spaces related to the city centre, transformation of empty buildings into alternative social, cultural and commercial services, new build structures hosting different community functions and housing, to strengthen and implement nature and landscape within the city centre. The programs should rather be seen as possible solutions, than the only right solution. Today the city centre of Helsinge mainly consists of commercial functions (existing shops), the pedestrian street, parking, housing and empty shops. The aim of the explorative study of alternative uses of the city centre is to turn it into a gathering node within the city and municipality for social, cultural and commercial exchange using the identity and potential of the area. Head of Planning in Gribskov Municipality, Stine Løfgren Tveden, has commented about the future of the city centre that: “I think people no longer only go to the city centre to shop, but increasingly also to get an experience, because you can always shop elsewhereâ€? (interview by author, 16.11.18). With this in mind, the city centre as a catalyst for exchange will be built upon the idea, that the city centre of the future should be an experience.
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Existing functions within the city ring
Community space
Commercial
Housing Vacant space
Main area for explorative study Pedestrian street Commercial Area around the pond Housing Carparking In-between space Road Pond Empty rooms Free municipal plot
Deliverables The proposed deliverables will span three different scales: Regional mapping Mapping of services in the metropolitan region. The mapping will inform the proposal of a regional service strategy aiming a bigger focus on city centres, which are experiencing a decline in relation to retail within their city centre. The mapping will be represented through a 1:125.000 drawing with supporting diagrams. Urban strategy The strategy will explore alternative services of the city centre of Helsinge within the city ring. The strategy will address alternative uses of the city centre in scale 1:500. For the exploration, diagram, plans, section and axonometric drawings accompanied by a model will be used. Zoom-in Zoom-ins of the spatial implication of such strategy, through specific moments in the city centre. This will be illustrated through spatial illustrations as axonometric drawings and collages. Deliverables are preliminary estimates and changes might occur.
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Regional mapping
Urban strategy
Zoom-in
Bibliography Books and rapports: Byplan, 2014 vol. 4, Hvem har taget sjælen fra Bymidten, p. 4-7 Castells, M., 2004, The Network Society, Flows of Networks, p. 407-459 Dansk Erhverv (DE), 2018, E-analyse – Status 2017 DIBS, 2018, Dansk E-handel DOGA, 2018, Levende Lokaler Erhvervsstyrrelsen, 2019, Bekendtgørelse om landsplandirektiv for detailhandel i hovedstadsområdet Erhvervsstyrrelsen, 2017, Fingerplan 2017 Erhvervsstyrrelsen, 2019, Forslag til Fingerplan 2019 Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Sep. 2017, Vejledning om Detailhandelsplanlægning La Biennale di Venezia, Irish Pavilion, 2018, Free Market News ICP, 2017, Detailhandlen og bymidterne ICP, 2018, Redegørelse for konsekvenserne af nye aflastningsområder i Hovedstaden Lyster, C., 2016, Learning from Logisties Madanipour, A., 2010, Whose Public Space, p. 1-15 Project on the city 2, 2000, Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping (H.D.S.G.S) Realdania, 2018, Hovedbyer på forkant (præsentation) Realdania, 2016, På forkant Gribskov Kommune Homepages: Erhvervsstyrrelsen [24.01.19], Okt. 2017, https://planinfo.erhvervsstyrelsen.dk/fingerplanen Gribskov Kommune [14.11.18], https://gribskov.viewer.dkplan.niras.dk/plan/4#/1528 Jennifer Evans-Cowley, The Changing Nature of Retail: The Impact of Online Shopping on Cities, Planetizen, [02.12.18], https://www.planetizen.com/node/84731/changing-nature-retail-impactonline-shopping-cities Naturstyrrelsen [29.01.19], April 2018, https://naturstyrelsen.dk/lokale-enheder/lokalenyheder/2018/april/nationalpark/ Simon Steenfeldt Laursen, Helsinge, Gribskovarkiv.dk [14.11.18], https://www.gribskovarkiv.dk/ historier-fra-gribskov/helsinge/ Realdania, 2016 [14.11.18], https://realdania.dk/projekter/odsherredteater
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Articles: Politiken, 27. Mar. 2016, kl. 11.19, 16 kommuner bliver trængt op i en krog når de unge rejser væk. Politiken, 9. Feb. 2018, kl. 22.14, Dyster fremskrivning forudser voldsom butiksdød i op mod halvdelen af de danske handelsbyer Politiken, 3. Aug. 2018, kl. 00.01, Kronikken: Amazon og nemlig.dk suger livet ud af byerne Interviews Stine Løfgren Tveden, Heads of Planning in gribskov Municipality, 16.11.2018, by author Pia Graabech and Mia Christiernson, Retail consultants and architects at The Danish Business Authority, 20.11.2018, by author
Figure list 01 02 03 04 05 06, t. 06, m. 06, b. 07, t. 07, b. 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15, t. 15, t., m. 15, b., m. 15, b., l. 15, b., r. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
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Helsinge pond. Photo by author. Denmark, focus areas shown. Graphics by author. Closed supermarket on the pedestrian street of Helsinge. Photo by author. Services provided by the city and the internet. Graphics/interpretation by author. H.D.S.G.S., 2000, p. 32-26 Dansk Erhverv, 2018, p. 7 ICP, 2017, p. 6 Amazon distribution centre, found on Google Trade city in Denmark 2018 vs. 2018, Pol., Feb. 2018 Population development in LAG-municipalities, Realdania, 2018, p. 6 The catalysators of the city centre + shopping is leaving the city centre empty. Graphics/ interpretation by author. Helsinge in the end of the 19th century. NIRAS & Gribskov Kommune, Helhedsplan for Helsinge, p. 3 Parking lot in the city centre of Helsinge. Photo by author. The Finger Plan 2017, Erhvervsstyrrelsen, Fingerplan 2017, p. 15. Graphics by author. Kortforsyningen. Data from plandata.dk + author’s mapping. Graphics by author. Kortforsyningen. Data from plandata.dk + author’s mapping. Graphics by author. Kortforsyningen. Data from plandata.dk + author’s mapping. Graphics by author. Population. Realdania, 2016, p. 7. Population distribution in Gribskov Municipality vs. Denmark. Statestikbanken.dk Population development in Gribskov Municipality. Gribskov.dk Commuting to work. Realdania, 2016, p. 22 Housing prices. Boliga.dk Kortforsyningen. Data from plandata.dk + author’s mapping. Graphics by author. Images found on Google Images found on the Facebook group: Gribskov Arkiv Kortforsyningen. Data from plandata.dk + author’s mapping. Graphics by author. Kortforsyningen. Data from plandata.dk + author’s mapping. Graphics by author. Passage from parking lot to the city centre of Helsinge. Photo by author. Passage from parking lot to the city centre of Helsinge. Photo by author. The city centre of Helsinge. Graphics/interpretation by author. Potentials. Graphics/interpretation/photos by author. Possible programs. Graphics/interpretation by author.
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation