Exploring Vegetation of Urban Offcuts_Melissa Pestalozzi_master thesis 2015

exploring vegetation of urban offcuts a case study of a street located in central Copenhagen, Denmark

exploring vegetation of urban offcuts a case study of a street located in central Copenhagen, Denmark

exploring vegetation of urban offcuts - a case study of a street located in central Copenhagen, Denmark Melissa Pestalozzi Student ID: xqm789 melissa.pestalozzi@gmail.com 30 ECTS Master Thesis Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen Supervisor: Trine Agervig Carstensen 04. September 2015

I would like to thank my supervisor Trine Agervig Carstensen for guiding me through this work and offering me the possibility to explore a different type of framework for studying landscape architecture.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the Creative Roots: Collective Urbanism association that I have joined shortly before the start of this thesis work. It has introduced me to new ways of practicing landscape architecture and urbanism. Being a member of the association gave me opportunities to take part of inspiring projects and also carry out some of my own. The urban lovers I have met there have shared with me their enthusiasm for the city and its dwellers, and given me good advices for this thesis. In addition Creative Roots: Collective Urbanism has helped the making of both participatory workshops I have carried out in this study, offering me the necessary material. Thanks again to all of these great people and their crazy ideas.

Thank you to Bente Tremp for all these great moments spent together during the two years of the master program and especially during the writing of this thesis. Thank you to Anika Slawski for her various inputs in my work, sharing her experience and helping me in the organisation and good realisation of the two participatory workshops. Thank you to all my close friends and family that supported me along this end journey of my master studies.

Melissa Pestalozzi

abstract The use of nature in city planning has varied throughout time and has mainly been dictated by architectural trends. More recently, the concern for sustainable urban developments has given a high importance to ecology and therefore also stresses the role of nature in cities. Small urban spaces, generally overlooked by city planners, have thus become pointed out as a huge potential for urban greening strategies. However, the role played by vegetation in such urban offcuts should not only be seen at the scale of the city but also at a human scale. Apart from environmental benefits, vegetation of small areas can bear strong meaning for urban dwellers and enrich their everyday life. The main objective of this thesis is to explore what role urban vegetation plays nowadays. In order to enquire about it, I will explore what vegetation, both in its type and its spatial configuration, corresponds to the local context of an urban offcut located in central Copenhagen. The analytical findings were then translated into design guidelines that became the main support for drawing the new design. The chosen method is a case study and has led to the approach of local knowledge being a key element. During the study I have adopted an iterative process between design, theory and empirical knowledge. The findings show that the inhabitants of Gr책stensgade do not perceive vegetation as being the most important element of their street. However, it appeared that vegetation highly supported the aspects that were considered as more important, such as enhancing social bonds, creating a common identity and a sense of tranquility.

Furthermore, eliciting local knowledge has given me an understanding of the site that I could otherwise not have gained and therefore was crucial in the design process.

table of contents acknowledgements abstract

1 - part one

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introduction nature in cities >the role of nature in cities throughout time >vegetation of small urban spaces

2 - part two

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problem formulation & objectives definitions & use of words methodology & methods

3 - part three the journey to choosing a site >inspiring literature and defining selection criteria >the district of Vesterbro >the urban renewal program of central Vesterbro Gr책stensgade - the play street >a street portrait >result of observations >revealing the potentials

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4 - part four

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participation in the design process >local knowledge is key >the ‘what’ & the ‘how’ of the design data collection >participatory workshop - Sunday 14th June >participatory workshop - Sunday 05th July data analysis & discussion >coding the data > the final six categories > discussion

5 - part five

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design guidelines >from coding categories to design guidelines >the corkscrew willow tree meets the design guidelines the play street 2.0 >plan >concept >the corkscrew willow tree - a gateway for games >the new vegetation of Gråstensgade >an adjustable space >materials that support different uses conclusion

reference list appendix

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1 - part one

introduction nature in cities

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introduction It is estimated that nowadays more than half the world population lives in cities and this number is still going expected to increase in the coming years (UN, 2014). The migration to cities is not always a controlled phenomenon and can lead to very quick expansions of urban areas with no control over planning. In both the extreme and less extreme situations of urban expansion and increasing population density, people are the first ones to be affected by poor living conditions. One of the consequences of this rapid urban migration is the increasing amount of people for generally the same amount of public spaces and consequently, nature in cities. The practice of taming nature and introducing it near people’s homes is ancient. More than just a practice, the recognition of the benefits of nature in cities has taken ever more importance during the last two centuries. Changing from an exaggeratedly beautified image during the romantic era, to a very efficient and functional necessity during the modernist period, to finally today’s ecological and pragmatic sustainable perspective, the ways of integrating and using nature in cities have been numerous. Today’s concern for reaching sustainable city developments and reducing the consumption of natural resources has taken the shape of development strategies promoting urban densification and containment. Urban greening strategies and new technologies allowing to integrate nature in cities are also part of the sustainable solution to city development, however it seems that the space left for nature is nevertheless reducing. In the vast entity that is nature, my interest lies in its vegetal component as it is the one of the most outstanding and visible to humans.

From this point of departure, I have decided to study the situation of Copenhagen, Denmark, and to conduct a case study in the neighbourhood of Vesterbro. The latter is a former working-class district situated in the southern part of the city and today one of the most densely inhabited areas of Copenhagen, where little vegetation per capita is found (Københavns Kommune, 2014). The current municipalitylead urban renewal plan of central Vesterbro represents a good opportunity to easily access information and investigate how the question of vegetation in cities is addressed. Also, in this densely built and populated environment, the potential use and transformation of urban offcuts becomes relevant. For conducting this study, I have chosen a site defined as an offcut of the urban fabric. In the context of the urban environment the terminology of ‘offcut’ is here used to describe sites that have been left aside, mainly in terms of program. Such sites can be considered as ‘program holes’ in the active urban scene but nonetheless represent spaces of the everyday life of city dwellers. The short street of Gråstensgade, situated in the neighbourhood of Vesterbro is an example of urban offcuts. Bringing together vegetation and urban offcuts thus leads me to explore what role urban vegetation plays in such small spaces.

In order to undertake this exploration, I chose to conduct a case study in which site specificity and local knowledge are key. I have first approached the site by doing spatial analyses which gave me a general understanding of where it was located and how it was functioning. In order to reveal potentials of the site and start understanding local dynamics I have followed the public life study method of observational analysis developed by Jan Gehl. Once familiar with the actors of the street and how it is used, I have conducted two participatory workshops, for on the one hand gathering local vegetation preferences and local design preferences, and on the other hand with the idea of reaching a co-designed

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final design proposal. The role of participation and co-design is here seen as key process for reaching sustainability in the design and being able to embed the daily users’ preferences in it.

The present work is divided in five parts illustrating the different phases of the study. The first part introduces the general context of the evolution of nature in cities and helps understand the present situation on the topic. The second states the objectives set in the study and presents the methodology and methods used to conduct it. The third part introduces the reader to the site, explaining the process of choosing the site and depicting a portrait of it. In the fourth part I will expand on the chosen methods of participatory processes, describe how I have conducted the workshops and analyse the data. Finally the fifth and last part shows how I have translated the results of the gathered data into design guidelines and further on into a final design proposal. The work ends with a conclusion expressing the main findings and discussing the further implications they can have.

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nature in cities The role of nature in cities throughout time In order to understand the position of nature in cities today, I suggest starting by understanding how it has evolved through history. Closely tied, the role and the perception of nature have been influenced by a variety of different movements and trends mainly arising from architecture and city planning. This chapter gives an overall picture of these influences and helps to understand what defines nature in cities nowadays and furthermore what role vegetation can play today. The term ‘nature’ is here used with a very broad meaning, referring to untouched components of the world’s natural environment.

Although the focus of my work is about the vegetal component of nature, it is hard to dissociate both elements when looking back in time and I will therefore start by referring to vegetation through the concept of nature.

One can say that the interest and further concern of nature has started to grow strongly when it became scarce and was confronted with static built infrastructures. Thus, the role and perception of nature has a tight relationship to the development of cities. Starting in the early 1800s a first interest of nature in cities develops in Europe through garden designers, mainly in England and Germany. These designers were inspired by the English landscape gardens of the 18th century and developed vast gardens that served buildings such as castles and mansions. Influenced by the general movement of romanticism growing in Europe at that time, the main focus in the creation of these gardens was given to art and aesthetics (Haber, 2010). Utter beauty was perceived in scenes of wild nature, thus these were recomposed by men in structured parks, not only showing the mastering abilities of men but also giving the opportunity to people of enjoying nature safely.

The European styles of garden design developing in the early 19th century reached the United States and evolved thanks to, among others, Frederick Law Olmstead. Considered as the father of the American landscape architecture and one of the predecessors of urbanism, Olmstead has mainly worked on bringing nature into cities. Nevertheless, his work reveals a strong concern for humans and their well-being. His point of view on the state of cities at the time was distinct and rather negative, stating that cities were unhealthy places to dwell in, and corrupting people’s minds and manners (Olmstead, 1870). He is a fierce advocate of the benefits of the country side and opposes it to urban areas. In this sense, one can observe in his work a naturalistic design approach revealing his fondness and maybe over-appreciation of pastoral landscapes. With his perspective of nature, Olmstead tries to pull the country side qualities in cities with little adaptation to them. Nevertheless, the American landscape architect recognises that some elements of nature can be planned in an urban way, such as trees for example (ibid.). Although renowned for his work that approaches the problem of lacking nature in cities at a large scale, Olmstead also points out the importance of smaller spaces and intimate social connections. On the one hand he designs huge parks such as the well-known Central Park in New York, and created the famous ‘emerald necklace’ plan for the city of Boston that he defines as ‘gregarious’ type of parks. On the other hand he also promotes the ‘neighbourly’ parks that should be favourable to small friendly meetings and enhance social networks and neighbourhood bonds in cities. Olmstead matches the beauty of nature together with its necessity for human well-being. At the time these considerations

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were almost revolutionary in the way they combined the proper functioning of cities with the well-being of their inhabitants.

Later on, as a reaction to the industrialisation occurring in the late 19th century, utopian concepts in city planning started to emerge. One of the most famous is the ‘garden city’ described by the british urbanist Ebenezer Howard in his book Cities of To-morrow (Howard, 1898). In the context of overcrowded cities where there is almost no space for nature, Howard develops a new definition of the urban form that, according to him, brings the benefits from both cities and nature together in order to serve humans. Using top-down planning and zoning tools, his goal is to reintroduce contact between humans and nature, and reorganise traffic networks (ibid). Howard seems to use nature as a mean to fight against the overcrowded cities. Olmstead and Howard share a common concern but approach the topic differently and therefore suggest very different solutions. As Olmstead developed very precise designs of actual places, Howard discusses the essence of city planning suggesting a shift of paradigm in approaching it. A little distant to nature’s beauty and the emotions it can trigger, Howard puts the needs of human health before all. In his perception people need land, sky, air, sun and rain in order to thrive, and nature is the component of city planning that can offer all of it (ibid.). The values Howard brings forwards through his garden city concept, namely acting against industrial cities and focusing on human health and well-being are seen as pre-modernist and will inspire the actors of the modernist period.

The modernist period that follows is based on the three key concepts of efficiency, technology and health (CIAM, 1933). These concepts were to be the solution to very similar problems that Olmstead and Howard were faced with. In a different time and with a different scale, the architects and urbanists of this period also fought against dense, unhealthy, unsecure cities that were devoid of nature. Their solution advocated the use of modern technology together with a strong organisation of the entire design of the city (Le Corbusier, 1929). One of the main leaders in the movement was the architect and urbanist Le Corbusier that, among other, wrote the Athens Charter of the CIAM in which very descriptive paragraphs describe the supposed role of nature in urban planning. In opposition to Olmstead and Howard, Le Corbusier is completely detached from any remnants of romanticism. Human beings and new technologies are his focal points and nature is a mean to serve men, and this in a strictly planned way. Nevertheless nature has a major role as it is considered the element that creates healthy recreation and sport areas for people. Le Corbusier is also an advocate of densely built cities and develops a new form of density though high rise housing buildings. The design of these new ways of living inevitably impacts the open space, and leads Le Corbusier to plan numerous and extremely large open spaces in cities. His approach to nature is essentially utilitarian and approached in a much larger scale than previously used. Together with other modernist architects and urbanists, Le Corbusier was also part of a utopia where the tabula rasa was the ideal way to rethink cities and do urban renewal.

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Many critiques of the modernist period arise in the period of the after war and were mainly aimed at the over scaled dimensions promoted by the previous architects and urbanists. It is not before the1960s that a focus on ecology and sustainable development arises as a counter position to modernism. Pioneer in this field, the landscape architect Ian MacHarg develops his theories through the observations of the human-nature relationship, starting far back in history. He compares the different approaches of human cultures and develops the conception that there used to be harmony between men and nature and that it should still be the case (MacHarg, 1967). MacHarg stresses the role of nature not only as a support on which cities are built but also as source of the raw material with which they are built. He doesn’t only stress the importance of ecology and sustainability but also develops his perspective as a method for practitioners of city planning. Through the recognition of the value of modern technologies he suggests that in science and ecology lays the means to change things (ibid.).

While the urban developments continue, following the trend of urban sprawl, the ecological movement also expands and leads to concern at the scale of the planet. The choice between environment and development becomes a dilemma and gives birth to several conventions and publications such as the Brundtland Report in 1987 and the Earth Summit of Rio in 1992, which represent, until today, the major references when discussing sustainability. As the northern American and European main problems of the late 19th and early 20th century were successfully eradicated (such as too dense cities, unhealthy urban conditions, etc.) and the quality of everyday life has increased radically, new issues are at stake.

Long-term concerns such as sustainability become the centre of attention. Growing ever stronger, the notion of our planet being finite, also meaning the resources it offers are finite impacts how practitioners envision urban developments. The idea of protecting and preserving land resources has led to sustainable city development strategies, taking the position that a well organised form of a development can solve problems such as pollution and energy consumption levels. Examples of the new strategies fighting against the uprise of urban sprawl can be found in Jabareen’s article (2006) entitled ‘Sustainable Urban Forms: Their Typologies, Models and Concepts’, as he questions what urban form impacts the environment least. Although urban greening and mixed land use in cities is also valued, practitioners tend to agree that the most efficient strategies are the ones of high density and urban containment. The question of how one can conceal both densely built areas and a high quality of life becomes relevant, but is also surprisingly familiar when looking back at the modernist period for example.

The unsanitary urban conditions of the past had created a nature-human relationship that beautified and romanticised rural landscapes. Nowadays, most western cities have increased the living quality standards and thus a new nature-human relationship has started to emerge (Haber, 2010). The perception of nature in cities has evolved from an exaggerated romantic image through a very efficient and functional necessity and finally developed into an ecological perspective. One of today’s major concerns is about integrating nature elements in cities in a way that ideally benefits both humans and ecology, fulfilling the goal of creating sustainable cities. The strategy of urban greening and the use of ecosystem services seem to be one of the solutions to such a concern. As its name indicates, ecosystem services represent all types of services ecosystems can achieve for humans, such as the water cleansing property soil

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has for example. In this new and practical conception, nature has become a recognized element for planning and building cities and thus has become commonly used as dismantled components, such as water, soil, vegetation, insects, etc. each of these having one or more specific roles to play. These different components obviously cannot be separated from each other but when planning, focus is often put on one or the other elements. The role of vegetation is considered as key in cities as it offers a huge amount of services such as decreasing the heat island effect through evapotranspiration, being a support for biodiversity or even improve food security (Bergen Jensen, 2013). According to Girot (2010), although the use of new technologies for the sake of ecology and sustainable urban forms is quite far from the romanticised view of nature, people have nevertheless kept that perspective of it. As mentioned in his article entitled ‘The Shifting Meaning of Nature in the City’, Girot argues that human’s relationship to nature has not really changed but has rather been given a new label. In today’s situation it seems like the ecology and sustainable perspective, in which nature has the major role is also very much used as a way of branding cities, just as the romantic and beautiful perspective was during the late 19th century.

All in all, one can say that nature in cities has, through new knowledge and technologies, become a recognised element to plan and build cities with. Through time, it has taken distance from its ‘wild’ shape and become a product of the urban fabric, different from other forms of nature. This historical perspective reveals the appreciation and need of nature expressed by humans living in urban areas. When considering Girot’s argument (2010), it seems that although nature in cities is planned and ordered by men or given technical appellations, the bucolic image humans have remains strong. The sheer fact that nature is alive, as a counterpoint to the inert built infrastructures, plays a major role in its appreciation and image. If one looks attentively to the different trends and uses of nature throughout time, we can recognise that it is certainly this living quality that makes it so attractive.

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Vegetation of small urban spaces When reading the evolution of nature in cities in the previous paragraphs, one can notice that the use of urban vegetation was at first mostly considered at a very large scale. Although driven by different principles, the work of the previously cited practitioners, namely Olmstead, Howards, Le Corbusier and MacHarg, is mainly focused on city scale implementations of nature. Although these practitioners have also looked at more detailed use or role of nature, it is only with the rising trend of ecology that nature is seen as a science of its own and thus becomes talked about in specific terms, leading to a denomination and specification of its different components. Besides the threat of the ongoing climate changes and ecological disasters, being more precise about nature’s components and looking at them individually has also helped to consider not only large units of nature but also small ones. Through the science of biodiversity for example, people have started recognising the value of small patches of nature.

In a natural setting (or even in an agricultural landscape) nature and vegetation is what composes space, and small isolated groups of vegetation occur only in rare situations. However, in the urban setting these small and isolated groups are almost the only form of vegetation that exist (exceptions could be the vegetation on river banks that, in some cases, continuously cross the urban fabric). One can then say that vegetation patches, at different scales, are a result of the urban form and thus are the main characteristic of urban vegetation. The size of vegetation groups does not highly impact the type of species that can be found in them, so one cannot say that the vegetation of small urban spaces is different per se than the one of larger urban spaces or even natural settings. By definition, vegetation growing in small urban spaces does not represent groups of a large amount of plants, as can be found in large green areas such as parks. Also, in opposition to large parks, vegetation of small spaces does not have the possibility to be planned in a way that it mimics natural landscapes, thus the difference between large and small groups of vegetation can be noticed in the role of plants and in the effect they create in their surroundings. Indeed, when entering large parks, planned with tall and lush vegetation one may have the impression of being out of the city, or suddenly disconnected from it. Although vegetation of small spaces can also offer a similar effect (see figure 1&2) it is not easily achieved and more generally or rather by default, vegetation sticks to a more urban expression. I consider this latter point very interesting and consider that it is in these small situations that vegetation and the urban fabric really meet. In these situations vegetation can be seen as an urban component and have the potential of playing other roles than just being reminders of idyllic and picturesque landscapes of the countryside.

Vegetation of small spaces has the potential to play an important role when considering both the human and the city scale. The amount of small spaces, devoid of vegetation is extremely high in cities and therefore can be considered as a huge potential of urban greening strategies at a city scale. In addition introducing vegetation in small spaces can also increase people’s relationship with nature in their everyday life.

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Fig. 1 & 2 - ‘Palais de Tokyo’ garden in Paris, by atelier le balto. This narrow space in Paris has been transformed using mainly vegetation and gives the impression of suddenly being in a green oasis, far from the city atmosphere.

Fig. 3 - Paley Park in New York City is one of the very first and most famous pocket parks. It is a great example of the integration of vegetation in a small urban space.

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2 - part two

problem formulation & objectives definitions & use of words methodology & methods

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problem formulation & objectives As expressed in the previous chapter, it seems that the role of nature, and more specifically of vegetation, in the field of city planning has constantly been redefined. These different roles have mainly been expressed and defined by renowned architects, city planners, geographers, politicians, etc. and concern both planning actions at the scale of the city and smaller scale actions focusing on single case problems such as parking lots or streets for example. Although nature in cities seems to have a shifting role, it seems that the fascination of humans for nature has always stayed present throughout history.

My interest in this thesis work is to look into the smaller scale situations and explore how the vegetal component of nature can be integrated into a specific site within a dense urban area. Furthermore, and as described in part four of the present work, the approach of collecting local knowledge is a key resource in this thesis. Indeed, the chosen strategy of a case study calls for an in depth and site specific knowledge of the site. The overall aim of this work is thus to investigate about today’s role of urban vegetation. More specifically, my main objective is to explore what vegetation, both in its type and its spatial configuration, corresponds to the local context of an urban offcut located in central Copenhagen; and translate these analytical findings into a design proposal. The local context of the chosen site is here understood both as a physical perimeter reaching out to the central area of Vesterbro, but also as local knowledge and stories that are part of creating the identity of the site.

In order to answer the main objective, I have defined the following specific objectives: > To understand how the role of nature in cities has evolved throughout time > To conduct a case study in order to explore in depth what role urban vegetation in a specific context can play nowadays > To conduct observational analysis for understanding how the chosen site is used, to reveal its potentials and to gain knowledge on the existing interactions between people and vegetation > To gather existing local knowledge about the site’s context by meeting a representative of central Vesterbro’s urban renewal program; and to elicit new local knowledge using participatory methods in order to collect data about vegetation and design preferences > To define design guidelines based on the analytical findings that will allow me to reach a site specific and sustainable design proposal

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definitions & use of words ‘offcut’ Offcuts may be best explained when using the metaphor of sowing. When a designer is creating a piece of clothing, he cuts a template out of a large piece of fabric and through this action produces small offcuts. Although originating from the same fabric, the sowed piece of clothing becomes highly valuable while the offcuts are disregarded. Detached from the original fabric, small and apparently unusable, the offcuts seem to have lost their original quality. Giving these remainder pieces new roles, uses or binding them to other pieces are ways to revive them and make them become valuable again.

In the context of the urban environment the terminology of ‘offcut’ or ‘urban offcut’ should be understood as the denomination of sites that have been left aside, mainly in terms of program. Such sites can be considered as ‘program holes’ in the active urban scene. Often offcuts emerge from a thoroughly designed area and are found on the ‘uninteresting side’ of its outer perimeter (e.g. corners between two plots), appear as unavoidable results of an urban infrastructure (e.g. under a highway bridge), result in the change of status of a place (e.g. street that shuts down) or arise from a building development process (e.g. brownfield originating from the demolition of old buildings). This definition takes the point of view of city planners and urbanists dealing with large scale strategies. However when looking from a human perspective, such places might have particular meanings or roles that could benefit a larger amount of people when strengthening them.

‘small’ Related to the choice of working with ‘offcuts’, I put some emphasis on the small size of the sites of interest in this work. Indeed, my interest lies in small sites that I define as being under 3’000 square meters. The choice of this size limit is taken according to the study from Nordh & Ostby (2013) regarding pocket parks. This criteria makes the urban offcuts numerous in the city scape, hence the high potentiality of transforming the landscape of the everyday life.

‘use’ The use one makes of a site can be extremely diverse. Different uses highly depend on the size, configuration, physical and non-physical elements on site. How one uses a site can be divided in the two following categories: active and passive. The active uses are ones where people are undertaking a dynamic activity, for example doing sport, playing, having a picnic, etc. As opposed to active, the passive uses are less engaging but just as widespread, if not more. Examples of passive uses could be sitting, observing, contemplating, thinking, discussing, waiting, etc. Considering the small size of my sites of interest, I will highlight the importance of passive uses, without excluding active uses.

When talking about ‘use’, one puts the focus on how people inhabit space. When looking at the same space from another point of view, the topic of the ‘program’ of a site arises. The program of a space can be understood as the answer to the question ‘what does the site offer’ or ‘what can people do in this

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space’. Although the program is a key element in designing outdoor spaces, the legibility of a site, that allows people to decipher the potential program it offers, is most relevant. Although people might sometimes informally reclaim unused sites, where it is not clear who can use the area or what is allowed to be done, sites are less likely to be used. Offcuts and small spaces often seem to be under-programmed or un-programmed spaces as they are numerous in cities and considered as having lesser importance than larger and clearly defined public spaces (e.g. squares, parks, boulevards, etc.).

‘urban vegetation’ In this work I will use the term of ‘urban vegetation’ referring to any type of vegetation growing in an urban environment and that is subject to the urban climate and conditions. Vegetation found in cities varies a lot and depending on its location and of how much care it is given, plants of very different requirements manage to thrive (e.g. in a private garden or on a street). The definition I make of ‘urban vegetation’ enables me to consider any plants as potentially usable, as long as the maintenance factor is taken into consideration.

‘design guidelines’ In the process of designing a space anew, the elaboration of design guidelines is a way to ensure that one reaches its objectives. Design guidelines are expressed as a list of features, either loosely or very precisely described depending on the designer and the design goals, which the final design should bear in order to fulfil the original aims of the project. Examples of loosely defined design guidelines could be ‘water feature’, ‘enhancing familiarity’, when on the other hand very precise design guidelines could be a description of how to pave a street or a repeated pattern of where to implement light elements in the design area. For this study, I have chosen to work with rather loosely defined design guidelines as they suit the initial design phase I will be working on (in contrast to a more technical design phase, close to the design realisation).

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methodology & methods Methodology The case study research is the methodology chosen for this work. It leads to an in depth and context dependent knowledge, which fits my final objective of creating a site specific and sustainable design proposal. The collection of local knowledge is a way of reaching this thorough comprehension of a situation and therefore is an essential part of this work. Within this framework I have adopted an iterative process between learning new facts and designing. The complex task of creating a successful design requires inputs of various natures such as knowledge from scientific articles, site analyses, design abilities, etc. The structure of an iterative process favours the examination of one’s own work and its reconsideration leading to improvement. This methodology generates a dialectic approach using questions and answers to confront and improve one’s results (Andersson, 1994). The diagram illustrated in figure 1 is inspired by Andersson’s ‘spiral of the design process’ and illustrates the different phases I have worked with during this thesis. In addition to the two fields of theory and design, I have also worked with a third field which is empirical knowledge. As I am concerned with topics such as everyday urbanism and the importance of the banal, making the users of a site take part in the design process is seen as essential. The empirical knowledge emerges from the choice of working with the users of the site using participatory methods. The spiral illustrates that although a larger focus is given to theoretical knowledge at the beginning of the working process, the first design ideas start sprouting nevertheless.

Further in the work, theories and data are translated into design guidelines. The latter have the role to steer the last phase of the work that is focused on the design. Although there is a shift from a rather theoretical beginning to a design result, inputs of both fields are present all along the process. Following a different pattern of intensity than the theoretical or the design inputs (that are either strong in the beginning or in the end), the empirical data reaches its highest intensity during the middle part of the working process.

Methods For writing this thesis I have started by completing a literature review concerning the role of nature in cities. This pool of theoretical information is used to build the background knowledge on which my ideas can develop further. In addition to the topic of nature in cities, I have also gathered knowledge on the actions taken by the municipality of Copenhagen and more precisely by the urban renewal plan of the district of Vesterbro in Copenhagen. When reaching the choice of the site and further design work, I have used different type of site analysis such as sensory, spatial and mapping. In parallel to the commonly used methods in landscape architecture given above, I have chosen to use observational and participatory methods in my work. The main inspiration for the observational analysis method comes from the work of Gehl & Svarre through their book entitled ‘How to Study Public Life’ (2013).

Using the tools of public life studies will be useful to discover the interactions between the people and space, learn if there is any interaction with the existing vegetation and prepare the participatory workshops by identifying target groups, street rush hour(s), etc. From Gehl & Svarre’s work (2013) I have selected the tools to use and developed a rhythm of observations that fit the size and type of chosen site. I have selected counting, tracing and mapping as main tools besides more general observations

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design proposal final design guidelines participatory workshop II

inductive approach data analysis literature

1st design guidelines, 3x design scenarios participatory workshop I

site analysis

observational data collection

literature about CPH municipality Gehl & Svarre observational analysis literature literature review about nature in cities

design

empirical knowledge

theory

Fig 1. theory, design and empirical knowledge are the three poles part of the iterative process

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break for taking pictures, notes, looking for traces, etc.

day 1 15min break

20 min counting

5 min mapping

day 2

morning

afternoon 20 min tracing

Fig. 2 – observation rhythm

Fig. 3 – half day registrations on mornings or afternoons

such as looking for traces, photographing and keeping a diary. As illustrated in figure 2 and 3, in order to ensure efficiency and rigor in gathering these data I have developed a rhythm allowing me to use all these tools once every hour. I have also chosen to do half day observations to avoid loss of concentration and fatigue that day long registrations could bring to untrained observers.

The other main method I used for gathering data is participatory methods leading to co-design. The phases in which I will ask people to participate in the design process of this work can be referred to as the acceleration and synergy phases described by Agger & Hoffman (2008). Both phases are dealing with participatory processes in the initial part of a project, with acceleration being briefly described as gathering methods for mapping, identifying and mobilizing resources while synergy focuses more on collaboration, sharing knowledge and ideas (Agger & Hoffman, 2008). In this context, co-design is understood as a process leading to a design result based on local knowledge and feedback, gathered from the local inhabitants of the studied site. Thus, the design proposal presented at the end of this work has been drawn independently from the local population but based on the analytical findings in which they have participated.

In order to interact with the users of my site and collect data, I have chosen to create two workshops.

These small events will allow me to gather raw data, such as local knowledge, vegetation preferences and design preferences on which I will create a new design proposal for the site. In order to enquire about vegetation, I have developed my own tool of co-design, specifically dealing with the topic. It will consist of a collage exercise to be formed with a vegetation catalogue. The exercise will be done in groups, or if little attendance, individually on a common drawing. A set of keywords concerning preferred vegetation and wished uses will also be asked to the participants. Local knowledge and stories will be

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gathered during all field work (observations and participatory workshops) and from informal encounters such as conversations and short semi-structured interviews with users of the site.

The data gathered either during talks with people in the street or during the organized workshops has been recorded as written sentences and quotes in a note book. These notes are both about what the people said but also describe the setting and observations made during the events. Being quite unfamiliar with handling qualitative data and methods for analysing them, I came across the very insightful article by Thomas (2006) that fits the situation I am in. Thomas’ article (2006) presents the general inductive approach as a qualitative data analysis strategy that stands out from other strategies because it is not closely associated to traditional ways of conducting qualitative analysis (such as the grounded theory, phenomenology, discourse analysis or narrative analysis for example) (Thomas, 2006). The intention of the article is to give practitioners that are unfamiliar with analysing qualitative data, a clear and precise framework to follow. The inductive approach is one that sets a framework allowing practitioners to identify the significant topics out of the raw data and formulate new concepts. Although opposed to the deductive approach (that takes the position of testing previous hypothesis or theories through the collected data), the inductive approach nevertheless fits my thesis work well. Indeed, even though having previous knowledge about the question, I wish to answer the inquiry of ‘what is the role of vegetation in Gråstensgade’ with the fewest prior assumptions as possible.

The analysis consists of, at first, developing a very good knowledge of the data by reading it over and over again. Secondly, the collected data is coded with labelled categories (figure 4). Once the text is well known, segments that correspond to the objectives are identified and selected. These segments are then divided in a large amount of categories (depending on the amount of data, approximately 30 to 40 categories) that qualify the different occurring themes found in the data. The categorization action is repeated in a second round, this time having the goal of excluding overlapping topics and reducing the number of categories approximately to half. A third round is needed to reduce the amount of categories and sort out the most relevant according to the objectives of the research. A total of 3 to 8 most important categories are the final outcome of the coding process. These last categories are representative of the collected data and should express the essential aspects of it. They enable to answer the main research question of the study. In the design context, the resulting categories of the data analysis are used to create design guidelines that will shape the entire composition of the site.

Table 2 The Coding Process in Inductive Analysis Initial reading of text data

Identify specific text segments related to objectives

Label the segments of text to create categories

Reduce overlap and redundancy among the categories

Create a model incorporating most important categories

Many pages of text

Many segments of text

30 to 40 categories

15 to 20 categories

3 to 8 categories

Fig. 4 – steps of the coding process according to the article by Thomas (2006)

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3 - part three

the journey to choosing a site Gr책stensgade - the play street

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the journey to choosing a site Finding the site to work with is one of the first tasks I undertook. In parallel to the literature review, I have been gathering information and data about recreational spaces, pocket parks and urban offcuts in the city of Copenhagen. In order to do this, I have used geographic information systems (GIS), literature about the municipality, the PhD thesis of Karin K. Peschardt concerning pocket parks and my own urban explorations as working tools. Further in the process, a meeting with one of the project leaders of the urban renewal program of central Vesterbro (Områdefornyelsen Centrale Vesterbro), Mette Willaing Zeuthen, also contributed in the selection of a site by introducing me to their strategy and ongoing projects. This chapter presents, on the one hand how these different tools have led me to choose a relevant site for this work and on the other what the municipality’s stand point about the role of vegetation in Vesterbro’s neighbourhood. In addition, this part of the work tries to give a general understanding of the larger context in which the chosen site is embedded, in order to reach a better comprehension of the site itself.

Inspiring literature and defining the selection criteria As my interest lies in small urban spaces, concepts such as urban acupuncture or movements such as everyday urbanism become inspirations on how to perceive such spaces. These currents of urban design emphasise the importance of the common; the unexceptional. More than just underlining the relevance of banal places, actions or events, they almost reverse the common opinion and refer to such banality as being most relevant. Urban acupuncture, for example, takes inspiration of the Chinese medicine and envisions cities as a ‘multi-dimensional sensitive energy-organism’ and suggests that small scaled changes have the potential to trigger transformation effects at the larger scale (Casagrande Laboratory). Jaime Lerner’s approach of urban planning and design suggests that people are not only the true architects of the city but also the ones that give life to them; they are cities’ central actors (Lerner, 2014). Urban acupuncture, according to him, is a way to build cities that cures its dwellers; it generates actions that reconnect people to the places they live in and thus gives importance to what can be considered as banal or insignificant. These arguments are mainly built on the fact that ‘the banal’ represents the major part of our life. Experienced on a daily basis, our lives are built out of these ‘banal’ spaces, encounters, experiences, etc. and therefore are highly valuable. In line with the common unpopularity of the so called ‘banal’, small spaces are often disregarded by practitioners in the field of urban design and planning. They are often not much more than leftovers of greater projects and lie in their shadow. However with today’s uprising trend of ecology and sustainability on the one hand and urban acupuncture and everyday urbanism on the other, interest has been given to these offcuts. They have been recognised as representing a large potential for transforming cities in many regards. It is with this stand point that I have looked upon the city of Copenhagen in order to find a site to work with.

In addition to the banal and small size criteria for choosing sites, density is another factor that I have taken into consideration. Indeed, it is mainly in densely built and inhabited neighbourhoods that small offcuts become the most necessary. In places where the ‘green’ or public space per capita is high there will be a smaller attraction and need of designed small spaces in the public domain. Some of the neighbourhoods of the municipality of Frederiksberg, in Copenhagen, are quite a good picture of this.

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Fig. 1 – location of Copenhagen in Denmark

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In such areas, mainly consisting of large houses with generous gardens, the amount of public space is very low. It could be understood that the private gardens answer to a great number of people’s needs, fulfilling the aspiration of being and engaging in outdoor activities. This does not necessarily mean the public space has lost its importance, but rather that its role becomes more specific. Trying to find and map the small urban offcuts in a city is a large task to undertake, for such spaces are found all over. In the process of finding such spaces I have been in contact with Karin K. Peschardt that has worked on the topic of health promoting pocket parks in the context of a PhD study. The data she has collected when mapping pocket parks in the city of Copenhagen has thus been one of my starting points for investigating further in small offcuts. As mentioned above, urban offcuts situated in densely built and populated city districts are the ones that bear the most potential. In order to geographically situate the areas that are the most dense in Copenhagen I have used the GIS mapping tool. Put together, the PhD data and the GIS maps are the main data for identifying potential sites. When coming close to the final decision I have also explored the different areas by bike and in order to get familiar with the sites and evaluate if they would fit this thesis work. Other that having descriptive criteria for choosing a site, I also decided to let myself guided by intuition and sensitivity. Not only is this work done in the context of a master thesis that is free of topic, but I also believe that, as a practitioner, one has the best results when working on a site that produces interest and curiosity. Therefore although the choices I have made were at first based on defined criteria, I have let myself seduced by places and let my own preferences out balance the final decision.

Density of population (100x100m)

Bispebjerg

>= 450 persons

Bronshøj Husum

Østerbro

>= 400 persons >= 350 persons >= 300 persons

Nørrebro

Vanløse

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>= 200 persons

Frederiksberg

>= 150 persons >= 100 persons >= 50 persons Vesterbro

Amager Øst

Valby

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Kongens Enghave

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The district of Vesterbro Using the previously defined criteria, I have investigated the city of Copenhagen’s density and discovered that the district of Vesterbro, together with the district of Nørrebro, is one of the most densely built and inhabited. Indeed, with its average of 2m2 of public space per capita, compared to an average of 25m2 for the rest of Copenhagen, this district seems to be a place where offcuts could have an important role in offering new recreational or green spaces (Områdefornyelse, 2011). Together with other neighbourhoods situated right outside the ancient fortification walls, the district of Vesterbro experienced a first development boom between 1852 and 1870 (Miljøministeriet Planstyrelsen, 1991). It is in this period that the main building structure and patterns that shape Vesterbro today have been settled.

The expansion of the district continued strongly and by the 1930 Vesterbro was considered as entirely built (ibid.). Large factories, industrial activities (such as the meat packing industry, the Carlsberg factories and the main train station) and housing for the workers were built in this part of the city. In the midst of this rather low class and poor social category that dwelled in Vesterbro, drug dealing and prostitution also settled in and quickly created the bad reputation of the neighbourhood, which today still is a concern for the public authorities.

Today the neighbourhood is perceived as part of Copenhagen’s inner city and together with Nørrebro, Østerbro and Bispebjerg, Vesterbro is still one of the most dense neighbourhoods of Copenhagen (Københavns Kommune, 2014). Although politician’s actions trying to rebrand the neighbourhood have managed to lessen the activities of drug dealing and prostitution the neighbourhood still keeps its reputation. However since urban renewal processes have started reactivating the district piece by piece, its image is slowly changing from shabby to hip and nowadays attracts many young people.

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S

Carlsberg factory area

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meat packing district

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industrial heritage urban renewal area

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train station

Fig. 5 – neighbourhood of Vesterbro and urban renewal area 0

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Fig. 6 - sample of participatory projects organised by the urban renewal team for central Vesterbro

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The urban renewal program of Central Vesterbro Characterised by extremely low rates of public spaces per capita and of poor quality in addition to a high amount of socially vulnerable population inhabiting the district, Vesterbro has been qualified as in need of change. After having gone through urban renewal programs in other parts of Vesterbro, the urban renewal program ‘Centrale Vesterbro’ has begun in 2011 and is planned to end in 2017.

Through its program, the municipality’s main goal is to create a general up-lift of the public space quality and increase its usefulness. The municipal authorities wish to create places that allow the diversity of the neighbourhood’s population to meet and feel comfortable in the public space regardless of social status or culture and generate a varied urban life. By strengthening the cohesion of this diverse neighbourhood a stronger sense of community and local identity can be created. The municipality has chosen to focus on democracy and public participation as means for conducting such a transformation. During the process of gathering information they have worked closely with the local citizens and involved people in decision making. The municipality has chosen to focus on and give voice to children, young people and socially vulnerable people1 in the elaboration of their different projects. On a more general perspective, through this urban renewal program the municipal authorities wish to bring the central Vesterbro area to become consistent with the city of Copenhagen’s overall goals and policies such as creating a diverse, cohesive, safe and sustainable city environment and contribute to the goal of being C02 neutral by 2025. Also, both pedestrian and biker connections within the neighbourhood are to be improved and connections to the rest of the city as well.

Integrating public participation in the process in the different projects of the urban renewal program is seen as a real resource and a central concern for the municipality. In order to hear the voice of the largest amount of people and enter in contact with them, the municipality uses different methods that allow gathering data either directly or indirectly. These methods enable the voices of the different type of target groups to be heard and integrated in the projects outcome. All along these process, the municipality also organises ‘anchoring activities’ that have the goal to enable the citizens to act, react and be informed of the changes that will happen in their neighbourhood. Through this concern, one can recognise an interest for local knowledge, which is in line with my own convictions and approach for this work. After having a thorough understanding of demographics, social status of the inhabitants, infrastructural problems such as traffic and housing conditions and climate condition, the municipality wants to gather additional local knowledge from the citizens themselves. The outcome of this pool of knowledge has added given place to two main strategies: the first one aims at integrating the socially vulnerable population to the rest and the second aims at developing the street corners.

As the strategy for integrating the socially vulnerable is not particularly relevant for this thesis I will not describe it further. The following paragraphs will thus focus on the second main strategy of the municipality, namely the strategy for street corners. I will also describe further what stand point is taken from the municipality concerning vegetation and how they intend to integrate it in the district.

1 these people are defined by the municipality as people suffering from excessive alcohol drinking, drug addiction, mental disorders, homelessness, prostitution, violence in intimate relationships and sexual assault traumas (Områdefornyelse, 2011)

39

As illustrated in figure 7, the following eleven delimited public spaces of the neighbourhood have been identified as key areas and appointed for transformation: Liva Weels Plads, Haderslevsgade, Plads ved Bevtoftgade, Sønder Boulevard, Vesterfaelledvej and Enghaveparken in the West; Tove Ditlevsens area, Litauens Plads, Sønder Boulevard, Dybbølsgade, Ysra Plads, Skelbaekgade and Istegade in the East.

Such areas include streets, squares, parks, constructions site walls and school yards. As explained by Mette during our meeting in April 2015, the larger parks are intended for recreation purposes whereas the smaller spaces, such as the street corners, have a key role in building social bonds and cohesion.

The strategy for street corners comes from the limited available public space in the neighbourhood and the lack of recreational areas. Developing street corners is a solution to these problems by reusing and requalifying already existing spaces. The transformation of these urban offcuts is carried out in cooperation with the technical and environment management section of the municipality (Teknik- og Miljøforvaltning) in order to assure its feasibility. The high interest of municipality for involving the citizens in the project developments has here been carried out as inviting local artists, creative people and schools to contribute in transforming the street corners. The street of Dybbølsgade is one of the streets where since the launching of the strategy, a specific “corner working group” has been active in developing ideas to implement, on the basis of the inhabitants wishes. During out meeting, Mette also informed me that unfortunately not all intended site transformations have been carried out. Indeed, the public participatory processes used by the municipality required more time and money than expected and not all small scaled projects could be achieved. In order to overcome that problem, the municipality decided to finance private initiatives that carry the same goals.

Although focusing on creating new public spaces of quality, the program for the urban renewal area of central Vesterbro is not extensive when it comes to urban greening. Such a strategy fits into a broader part of the program entitled ‘environment and sustainability’. Increasing the amount of vegetation in the district is closely linked to the concern of reaching environmentally sustainable goals. The municipality recognises the need of integrating more ‘green’ in the neighbourhood and suggest implementing vegetation with the role of ecosystem services, solving problems such as stormwater management. The strategy for developing street corners is also a mean to integrate more vegetation on the streets and create “green oases” (Områdefornyelse, 2011). In addition to the public space, the municipality wishes to transform courtyards into more recreational areas which include planting more vegetation in them.

More generally speaking, there seems to be no real tree policy in Copenhagen, but rather a tree regulation that, in order to avoid a decreasing amount of vegetation, demands to plant a new tree for every tree cut. The location of the new tree does not take into consideration the location of the old one but just assures that the total amount of trees is kept. This regulation creates, in some cases, strong reactions from the individuals and citizen groups such as the ‘Red Byens Træer’ (translation: save the city’s trees) for example. This group vehemently fights for a ‘real’ tree policy to be established in Copenhagen (Red Byens Træer a). Although a new strategy for urban nature (Danish title: Bynatur i København 2015-2025) has been published and put into consultation in mid-June of this year, the authorities do not seem to have integrated a specific tree politic inside. The neighbouring municipality of Frederiksberg is gener-

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Fig. 7 – appointed sites for transformation (modified map from Områdefornyelse)

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ally taken as example when talking about tree policies. Indeed, their policy consists of, among other, protecting trees that are older than 25 years of age, both privately and publically owned (Red Byens Træer b, 2013). Such a policy enables the tree to reach a fully grown state and together with time generally grows a feeling of fondness for such trees from the inhabitants. A recent example of such fondness and attachment for a tree is the case of the 114 year old chestnut tree on Enhave Plads, in the district of Vesterbro. Presiding on Enghave Plads, the centenarian tree has been cut down in October 2011 to enable the construction of an extension of the metro line. This decision was extremely badly received by the local population and many demonstrations took place to protest against the cutting of the chestnut tree. A huge amount of newspaper articles document the tragic story of this tree that even became referred to as ‘the world’s most beautiful tree’ (Hjort, 2011). This story has moved so many people that it is still present in people’s minds today. At the time of cutting the tree an old man had collected a few chestnuts (illustrated in figure 10) and hopes to plant one of them back on Enghave Plads once the constructions finished (Vesterbro-Nyt, 2014). On the 28th of April this year, more than three years after the tree has been cut down, the urban renewal program of central Vesterbro has also revived the memory of the tree. They have created a workshop where people could freely attend and carve remainders of the chestnut tree’s wood and take it home as a remembrance gift (Greve Joergensen, 2015).

The story of Enghave Plads’ centenarian chestnut tree shows that more than just supporting ecology and being attractive, trees can be extremely meaningful for the local users of a place and contribute in creating place attachment. Old trees especially can, simply by growing in a place, trigger a common sense of identity. Although the municipality aims at creating such feelings, their publication entitled ‘Kvarterplan, Områdefornyelse Centrale Vesterbro 2011 – 2017’ does not give this role to vegetation.

However, having followed some events the municipality has been conducting, I can still state that they have, among other means, been using the support of vegetation to reach these social aims (e.g promoting actions led by the group Blomstrende By).

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7 Fig. 8 - atmosphere under the chestnut tree

Fig. 9 - centenarian chestnut tree presiding on Enghave Plads

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Fig. 10 - M. Anthony and the 2 year old chestnut trees

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Fig. 11 - the street of GrĂĽstensgade (chosen site) is located in the midst of the urban renewal projects. It is attached perpendicularly to the Haderslevgade (2) street that is a projects that has not been carried out because of the metro construction site.

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Fig. 12 - features that characterise Gr책stensgade

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Gråstensgade - the play street A street portrait The short street of Gråstensgade measures 70m long, which represents the length of one building block. It had originally been built following a usual street scheme, which is a two-way, 15m wide asphalt road bordered by typical Copenhagen sidewalks on either side (2,50m wide sidewalks built with two rows of precast concrete flags surrounded by small squared granite paving stones, see middle bottom in figure 12). Like the majority of buildings in the city, the ones delimiting the street are 5 and a half storeys high and are built with the usual local stone and red brick. A total of 9 doors on the street lead to apartments and another couple of doors lead to bike cellars and backyards. Beside the entrances on the façade facing south, one can notice little planting areas where climbers and roses give a little colour to the street.

Today Gråstensgade is a cul-de-sac street shut down on the western side by a sidewalk and bike parking leaving only pedestrians and bikers pass through. According to local sayings, the western end of Gråstensgade has been shut down to cars since many years, using ugly wooden panels. Only about two years ago the municipality replaced these panels with the more useful and more aesthetic bike parking rack (middle left in figure 12). Besides the very standard features of the street, Gråstensgade has a surprising and very unique element. A few meters in front of the bike rack an old corkscrew willow tree (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’), of about 8m high, emerges from the asphalt (top right in figure 12).

Collected during one of my participatory workshops, the story of this willow tree is very surprising.

According to the sayings, there used to be a set of swings at that end of the street, but it was used more by drunk and/or homeless people than children. The bad use of the installation resulted in it being brought down. At that time, one of the inhabitants decided to put a wooden stick in one of the holes of the former swing installation. Being pioneer plants, willow trees are known for being extremely sturdy and fast growing. Regardless of the rough conditions it was planted in, it is not surprising that this small willow stick has quickly taken root in the street. Today, this ca. 40 year old tree has grown tall and large and is managed by a board of people from the street.

Although some cars still use the street to turn or drop-off things, they are not allowed to park in the street.

With none of the latter at a first glimpse, the street stands out as a large unused paved surface and therefore informal bike parking-racks have started to furnish it (middle right in figure 12). After conducting observational analysis and both participatory workshops I have understood that in dense city areas there is no such thing as unused spaces. Free from cars, this small street has unexpectedly become an ideal place for children to meet and play. The quiet neighbourhood surrounding Gråstensgade mainly contains housing buildings. One can nevertheless find a few little shops and other facilities such as a kiosk, a laundromat, offices, a few cafés and restaurants that face Enghave Square. In the street, a hair dresser and tattoo shop is located at the corner of the southern block (top left in figure 12).

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Fig. 13 - the short street of Gr책stensgade between Haderslevgade and Flensborggade

orggad

Flensb

e

levgad

Haders

sgade

Gr책sten

main entrances cellar entrances Fig. 14 - the 9 building entrances lead to flats of different size, but none of these are under the norms for physically disabled people. The Mullet Cut Shop and the Rough Tattoo studio are the only stores of the street and also creates an interesting dynamic at the corner of the street, attracting other people than just inhabitants.

Fig. 15 - the old willow tree of Gr책stensgade is a rare vegetation element in the surrounding public space. On the contrary, the vegetation in the backyards of both building blocks is very lush and generous. One can find a large variety of plant species and sizes transforming these confined spaces in small oases.

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Fig. 16 - although short and having the willow tree, section BB’ shows how empty the street feels nowadays

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Fig 17 - the street can be crossed only by pedestrians and bikers and the car traffic around Gråstensgade is rather little and slow. Flensborggade and Haderslevgade are one way streets in a housing neighbourhood, thus it makes the surroundings of Gråstensgade very quiet, both in terms of traffic flow and noise.

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Fig. 18 - oblique section (AA’) showing how much space the willow tree takes up in the street

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Results of observations In total I have spent 11 hours observing what happened in Gr책stensgade. As explained and illustrated in the methodology & methods chapter, I have divided these hours on a total of 4 days in order to benefit from a rested mind when observing. Another advantage is to be able to have a glimpse of what happens on different days of the week and in different moments of the day. In this section I will present the outcomes of these observations following the different methods used, namely, counting, tracing, mapping, looking for traces, photographing and keeping a diary. The observations were made as precisely as possible but should nevertheless be taken as approximations.

When carrying out the observations in Gr책stensgade, I repeatedly started with a 20 minutes session of counting. In order to have an idea, not only of how many people go through the site but also of who they are I decided to note the approximate age they had. The intention behind such information was to have an idea of who uses the street and what target group I could focus on for the future participatory events.

Thus, I created basic age categories ranging from children (0-12), teenagers (12-18), young people (18-30), adults (30-60) to elderly (60 +). Although the people observed and counted were both the ones entering the site (crossing, stopping, parking a bike, etc.) and the ones passing nearby, the results I have chosen to present are only the ones that used the site. Unsurprisingly, it seems like adults and young people are the ones that frequent the site most, with 115 adults and 91 young people registered.

Children are the next group of people frequenting the site most with a total of 35 children (including 9 strollers). Children were generally seen together with others, such as parents when coming back from school or with other children when playing. Only 2 teenagers and 9 elderly persons were seen during these 11 hours of observation. These results lead me to think that the target group of the street are rather families with children and young people.

Fig. 19 - the task of observational analysis is relatively complex and close to multi- tasking

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The counting activity was followed by a 20min tracing session and a 5min mapping session. In order to trace the passers-by I had prepared a couple maps of the site on which I could directly draw the different paths people took. In order to gather diverse information at once, I used three colours to make the difference between pedestrians, bikers and car drivers. When putting the drawings together, the tracing observation enables one to have an idea of how people use the space when moving through it and reveals patterns of the most used places. The results of my tracing observations are here illustrated in figure 20, showing the pedestrian flows and in figure 21, showing the bike flows. Concerning the pedestrian flows, one can observe that although traces cross the entire site, people tend to follow the edge of the buildings. One reason could be that these traced paths probably mirror the inhabitants’ flows and therefore many of them were simply going in and out their homes. Another reason could be that due to Gråstensgade’s standard street profile and being located in a dense urban environment, people associate is with other streets that have much traffic and where for safety reasons people have to stay on the sidewalks. However, as described in the paragraph a street portrait, it is a very quiet street where cars aren’t allowed to park which make the traced behaviour of people slightly intriguing. Figure 21, shows that bikers use both sidewalks and street space, with a generally higher tendency in using the street.

When looking at both figures together, one can deduce that the street of Gråstensgade is used in its totality. No relationship to the tree has been observed through tracing as the presence of the willow tree does not seem to induce any type of influence on people’s moving patterns, and rather seems ‘invisible’ to the passers-by as they sometimes move very closely to the tree trunk.

Fig. 20 - tracing results of pedestrian flows through and around Gråstensgade

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Different from tracing, mapping tries to capture an image of the moment. As explained in ‘How to Study Public Life’ (Gehl & Svarre, 2013), mapping should be done over a short period of time and be used to mark the stationary activities taking place on site. Extremely few people stayed in Gråstensgade and rarely more than one at a time, thus the mapping observations have become irrelevant for this study.

Fig. 21 - tracing results of bikers flows through and around Gråstensgade

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The cycle of observations I have followed is of an hour and the last 15 minutes consist of looking for traces, photographing and keeping a diary. These activities can be mixed and don’t require the same rigor and concentration as the previous ones.

Looking for traces consists of being alert to any sign that reveals human activity. Such traces in Gråstensgade were expressed through cigarette buds on the ground near entrances, furniture on the sidewalk for the dumpster, empty soda cans left on the sidewalk and wood chips on the street. When doing research for this study, I have also come across a Google Street View picture that has captured children’s chalk drawings in the street. Even though I have not witnessed it myself, such a discovery enters the looking for traces category and was actually very valuable for me to know more about people’s habits and uses of the street.

Photographing is a way to illustrate some of the observations and capture everyday life and people’s activities in Gråstensgade. It is a way to document the findings I describe and a good mean to easily express atmospheres. During the making of this thesis I have realised how words can have various meanings, and thus might sometimes be ambiguous. Although photographs are not innocent, they nevertheless clearly illustrate what one might have trouble explaining.

When one is counting or tracing people it is hard to simultaneously write what is happening. The 15 minutes break was a good opportunity for me to take note of the extra observations I had not had the time to write down. Keeping a diary during the observation moments was on the one hand a way to remember what has been observed and on the other, a way to take note of the atmosphere of the street.

Indications such as ‘mom walking her baby in a stroller back and forth in the street’, ‘people talking from the balcony to the street’ or ‘today is very quiet, there are only nearby car noises and voices of people chatting in the street’ are extremely helpful to understand the setting of Gråstensgade. Before starting a half day observation cycle I have also described the weather and indicated the temperature and wind level. During the 15 minutes break I have also sketched the situation of the sun and shade in the street.

Figure 22 illustrates four different notations of sun and shade patterns registered in the month of May and show that the northern façade (facing south) and the eastern entrance of the street are the places that receive the most sun light in the street. Such information will become relevant when suggesting a design proposal for the street.

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Revealing the potentials The consequences of transforming Gråstensgade from go-through to cul-de-sac have highly impacted the use of it. The street has lost its early purpose of transporting people from one place to another by car but has kept a corresponding format. The space formerly kept for cars is now available and as a result, a wide and mostly empty asphalt surface dominates the street. Bikes and bike racks are so far the only elements accepted on that surface. This situation, together with the informal planting of the willow tree, reveals that there has been no overall reflection before creating changes in the street. It seems that Gråstensgade has seen different phases of unplanned transformation that has led to today’s situation.

The street shows now an underused space that has the potential to bear a variety of roles. Emerging from these observations, a question arises: is Gråstensgade even still a street? Have the physical changes implemented in Gråstensgade impacted the uses of this street space so much that it should change label?

Although hidden to the passers-by, the activities in the street of Gråstensgade are numerous. People have subtly started reclaiming the street space through a set of activities such as chopping wood on the un-damageable asphalt, walking their dog, using the space as a public bike parking, climbing the willow tree, drawing chalk on the ground, etc. Although none of these activities demand any infrastructure and therefore leave the street nearly unchanged, they definitively could be supported by some adaptations in the street. What is now the rather vacant and inhospitable street scape of Gråstensgade seems to have the potential to be transformed into a welcoming and people-friendly space, hidden in the dense urban fabric.

Fig. 22 - sun and shade patterns featuring 9.30/12.30/15.30/18.30 in May

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4 - part four

participation in the design process data collection data analysis & discussion

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participation in the design process Local knowledge is key The challenge of creating ‘the good design’ is difficult but is what designers usually aim for. However, to determine what is the most suitable design for a given space presents many difficulties. One way of approaching it is to look into local knowledge. Besides from arising from the case study methodology, local knowledge is also a key element in the design phase. The pool of information it offers will give birth to design ideas and concepts that are not intruding but rather embedded in the site. When talking about gathering local knowledge I not only suggest developing an acute sense of the physicality of the site, but also understanding what and who shapes it. Getting acquainted with the demographics, learning about the users’ practices, listening to local stories, getting to know mind-sets and perceptions of the place, understanding how climatic conditions apply to the site, etc. are ways to inquire about local knowledge. All this information enables the designer to build a holistic picture of the site that helps in approaching a most suitable design.

In the case of Gråstensgade, I have come to acquire local knowledge through literature, such as in articles of the local newspaper and publications of the ongoing urban renewal project driven by the municipality. I have taken time to observe local practices, targeted the main group of local actors and became familiar with climate patterns through observational analysis. When enquiring more precisely about what role vegetation plays in this street, I have used direct information from the inhabitants of the streets through participatory workshops. Where observational analysis has revealed new potential uses of the site, the participatory events were crucial for me to have an understanding of people’s opinions and ways of using the street. It allowed me to create a local portrait of vegetation preferences and perception and gather design wishes. Integrating the locals in the process of designing is one of the most direct ways to gather local knowledge and be able to embed the future design in users’ preferences. The interest and value I express for the site and its inhabitants by choosing it as a thesis topic has given me the people’s sympathy and developed their curiosity. This reaction might lead to increasing the value people give to the street they live in; create more awareness and attachment to the place, which is another asset that can contribute to reach sustainability1 in the design.

Through the collection of local knowledge I have not only gained factual information (such as who is in charge, how many, why, etc.) but also started to understand the general state of mind of people coming to live in this street and their expectations about the street space of Gråstensgade.

1 sustainability is here used as in ‘continual’ or ‘imperishable’, suggesting that a ‘good design’ has the quality of fitting to the evolving needs of its users

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The ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the design Before developing my own design ideas about Gråstensgade, I have focused on gathering local design preferences. Although having slightly different aims (see the following presentation of both events), both participatory events were held in order to inquire about vegetation preferences and design wishes of the inhabitants. These events were for me an opportunity to gather a pool of ideas and opinions focusing on two main design features. The first was to ask about the ‘what’ question, inviting people to share their ideas on what type of elements they wished for or preferred. What vegetation they prefer, what uses they would imagine having, what seating possibilities, what materials, what atmosphere, etc. The second design feature focused on the ‘how’ question. After having an idea of what could come into play, how it was going to stand was the following question. This question relates on the one hand to questions such as the aesthetic of the elements, with for example how big it can be. On the other hand, questions relating to the use and people’s engagement are also asked through the ‘how’ such as how much care does it need, how much energy do you have, how often would you use the area, how many children come to play here, etc.

In addition to the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of different design features, a parallel aim of these events was to create, together with the people’s ideas, a new program of the site. The new knowledge gathered can then be combined with my own design ideas and landscape architecture practice to create the final co-designed program and plan of Gråstensgade.

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FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER! SøNDAG 14/06/15 14:00 - 17:00

RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS! DEAR INHABITANTS OF GRASTENSGADE, JOIN US ON SUNDAY FOR A HYGGELIG WORKSHOP WHERE YOU CAN IMAGINE TRANSFORMING YOUR STREET USING PLANTS

Hi! join the event :)

WHO: EVERYONE IS WELCOME, TAKE YOUR FRIENDS ALONG! WHAT: HAVE COFFEE & SWEETS WHILE SHARING YOUR IDEAS AND CREATING YOUR GREEN-DREAM-STREET! WHERE: GRASTENSGADE THIS WORKSHOP IS PART OF A THESIS PROJECT IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, FROM COPENHAGEN UNIVERSITY FOR MORE INFO CONTACT MELISSA - TEL: 50201567 - EMAIL: XQM789@ALUMNI.KU.DK - FACEBOOK EVENT ‘FORESTIL DIG GRåSTENSGADE MED PLANTER!’

Fig.1 - invitation poster put up on the front doors on Gråstensgade and nearby houses

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data collection This chapter will present the two participatory workshops I have organised in the street of Gråstensgade.

It describes both events following the same structure which starts with the expectations, follows with the data collection and ends with the outcome of the events. The material prepared and used for the events can be found as reduced documents in the appendices.

Participatory workshop - Sunday 14th June Expectations Organizing a participatory event on the topic of vegetation in the study area of Gråstensgade is primarily for the purpose of gathering local stories and knowledge about vegetation preferences and design ideas. More precisely, local inhabitants will be asked to answer the question of their preferred vegetation and about the future use of the street, giving indication about the ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions in the design context. From these interactions, I expect collecting a multitude of unique stories, local knowledge and opinions of the inhabitants of Gråstensgade as well as their wishes for a possible future development of the street. With nine houses on Gråstensgade I would expect about twenty people attending the event, which would represent a little more than two representatives per house. The workshop will allow me to engage with locals through both a collage exercise and informal discussions. As mentioned in the paragraph discussing the methods, this participatory event enters the acceleration and synergy phase. Indeed, the aim is to enhance a collective creativity, having people inspired by their neighbours and share and discuss each other’s ideas. Furthermore, the interpretation of the results of this workshop will lead me to define design guidelines on the basis of local vegetation preferences and design ideas, which will be used for re-designing the street.

Collection Prior to the event I have invited the local inhabitants of Gråstensgade and two additional houses nearby (n°47 on Flensborgade and n°32 on Haderslevgade) to the event by putting up A4 posters on the front doors. The posters informed about the day, time and type of activity that will be done while also presenting myself and including that the event is held in the context of a thesis project. The participatory event took place on the afternoon of Sunday June 14th from 14:00 to 17:00. The weather was cloudy and a bit windy, with a few drops of rain and sunrays occurring every now and then. While I was the main person interacting with the locals, I also had the help of two friends that took notes, pictures and documented what was going on around us. In order to collect data, I had prepared different support mediums. The first was a collage exercise that consisted of a vegetation catalogue that I had prepared beforehand and an A1 format picture on which the plants were to be glued. The vegetation catalogue displayed an illustrated list of different vegetation types (grasses, perennials, shrubs, trees) classified according to four characteristics (colourful, perfume, edible and evergreen) and their level of maintenance (low, medium, and high). The purpose of this list was to offer a large panel of plants that people could knowingly choose from, even if they didn’t know about them. The second means of gathering information was to have discussions with the people in the street and finally the last means was a board to write keywords. The installation of the stand consisted of a table where the A1 format picture was placed with

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next to it pens, scissors and the vegetation catalogue. Close by was a board with on one side space for writing key words about preferred vegetation and the future use of the street and on the other side there was the pre-cut pictures of plants they could look at in one gaze and pic from for the collage. Besides from this, we had organised tea, coffee and sweet snacks for people, hoping it would make them stay a little longer. Around the table there were also a couple of chairs for them to sit on.

Although people were aware of the ongoing event and had seen the posters I put up earlier that week, most of them did not come from their own initiative but had to be asked to participate. Nevertheless, after being addressed they would usually gladly take part of the event. A total of twelve people actively took part of the event with mainly adults (8) and young people (4). Three additional persons were also addressed to but only very briefly due to other obligations or lack of interest. Although there sometimes were two persons around the table they did not discuss together as I had expected. The main reason for it was organisational, in the sense that I would generally already be discussing with someone when another person came. In that scenario, the second person seemed not keen on interrupting the discussion and talked to my friends that were available and helping to carry out the event. Generally speaking, it took a little time for people to get into the mood of thinking in a reative mode so direct simple questions such as what are your favourite plants? or do you use this street space for any activity? were helpful to start engaging with them. Generally speaking, it seemed like people were holding back a little and therefore it was easier to obtain key words than to have them participate on the collage.

Outcome The results obtained during this event turned out to be different than expected. Indeed, despite having received positive feedback about the poster advertising the event, people didn’t seem to understand the collage exercise or were simply too shy to point out specific types of vegetation. As a consequence only four people participated on the collage although all of them had given quite clear ideas and opinions about what vegetation they wished. Considered the little interest in the collage exercise I conclude that either the plant selection was not convincing enough or the amount of plants already glued was too little in order to stimulate further collage activity. As pointed out in the description of the expectations of this event, the participative approach was partly to arouse collective creativity, bringing people to discuss ideas together and not only with me. The little amount of people attending over the three hours was probably the main hindrance, preventing them to work in the same time around the collage.

Although people didn’t really collaborate, some kind of interaction between their ideas was nonetheless aroused thanks to the written key words. Indeed, people would often look at them and give their opinion or build on the existing words. In this sense, it was a good idea to have different methods for people to participate. However focusing on just one method would maybe have given better results, especially for the collage exercise for example. Talking to people in the context of this small workshop-event has nevertheless given rise to a large amount of local knowledge through stories such as how the tree came to be planted or that children were the main users of the street. Although people have their own tastes or wishes concerning vegetation and that these are sometimes differing, some common ideas stand out nevertheless. The tendency of having self-sustaining vegetation, needing low maintenance and being rather ‘spontaneous’ or ‘informal’ seemed to be the most recurrent characteristic (people often

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referred to the tree itself). People also agreed that having grass was not fitting the area and all stated it would be very quickly worn out by people walking on it. ‘Flowers’ was a keyword-characteristic that was also often positively talked about and although a little less agreed upon, ‘plants that grow berries or nuts’ were also favoured. When asking about change in the use of the street, people would agree that seating facilities were the most needed elements. Activities such as ‘hanging out’ or ‘having spontaneous meetings on the street’ were also generally agreed upon and favoured. Linked to these statements among others, a general wish of creating stronger neighbourhood bonds could be deciphered through people’s discourse. This recurring wish was also sometimes directly influencing the preferred vegetation type (e.g. planting apple trees could create many informal meetings on the street, when picking apples or creating a little harvest event and pressing apple juice for example [suggestion from one of the inhabitants]).

The participatory workshop also allowed me to verify the information gathered during my observational analysis by comparing actions and discourses. The data gathered with both methods turned out to be similar and coherent. In some cases, the workshop even helped me confirm my interpretation of the observational analysis. A good example of this is the appreciation of the willow tree. Indeed, the fact that the tree was planted there was the first indicator of it being wanted. Secondly, I had noticed the tree had been trimmed, probably for security reasons or size shaping which shows some kind of care was giving to the tree. Thirdly, I had observed a person from the neighbourhood talking to another and presenting the tree as a singular feature and a landmark in the area, demonstrating recognition of the tree. Finally, children had the most straightforward and simple relationship to the willow tree. Their attitude of running to the tree and climbing it as soon as their parents didn’t watch them was simple and clear, expressing their fondness of the tree. Although these indicators might be convincing, they were only specific cases within the general pattern of people walking by without giving any attention to the willow tree. When conducting this first workshop on the street and engaging with people through short conversations, expressions like ‘the tree is so special because […]’ or ‘we chose this street [to live in] because of the tree and the quietness of the street’ and coming across the information about local inhabitants decorating the sallow tree during the Christmas period makes it clear that this willow tree is highly appreciated by the locals.

All in all, even though the collage has not been successful, this event has provided me with key information about the history of the street and enabled me to gather, as wished, local knowledge through stories as well as vegetation and design preferences. Although having achieved some of my goals, the amount of information gathered could still be increased and more precise. Also, this workshop has not really succeeded in bring people together to discuss the potential transformation of their street and develop a common picture of future possibilities. In order to collect such information another method could be used, such as creating a group workshop, similar to so called focus group interviews commonly used in social sciences. Bringing people together would certainly initiate new ideas and wishes that I could further use for creating the design. A second attempt to engage with the inhabitants of Gråstensgade will allow me to ask more detailed and precise questions about vegetation preferences and design elements as well as re-orient my first emerging design ideas.

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Fig.2 - outcome of the A1 collage created by the inhabitants

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Interpreting the first collected data

Fig.3 - listening to local stories and discussing vegetation preferences and new uses with the local inhabitants

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Fig.4 - the vegetation catalogue was spread on the board offering an overview of all the plants at once

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The experience of the first participatory workshop in Gråstensgade was very enriching. It allowed me to finally really enter in contact with the inhabitants of the street after having observed their behaviour.

Although having collected quite a lot of interesting information, the outcome of the first organised event in Gråstensgade only partly filled my expectations. Therefore, I have decided to conduct a second event and change my approach towards people. In this second encounter with the inhabitants of the street I wish to develop a tighter bond with them, hoping to meet people I have already met during the first workshop, and see if they are ready to engage and take responsibility for a possible concrete development of the street. For this to happen I wanted to organise this second workshop not too long after the first. In order to have an optimal timing I used my connection to the contact person I had obtained during the first workshop. More than just advising me on a suitable day and time, I also wanted to make sure this very engaged person could attend to the coming workshop. Unfortunately, it turned out I was trapped between waiting for this persons’ answer (which unfortunately never came) and willing to announce the next event with at least a week’s notice. For these reasons I had to postpone the event to three weeks after the first and had to accept the consequences it would involve.

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PROGRAM OF THE WORKSHOP:

FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER! [DEL II]

1) PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS FROM ‘FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER! [DEL I]’ AND FURTHER DISCUSSION ABOUT VEGETATION AND DESIGN PREFERENCES

2) SHORT PRESENTATON AND COMMON DISCUSSION AROUND THREE NEW SCENARIOS OF GRASTENSGADE 3) POSSIBILITIES FOR THE PROJECT REALISATION: - FUNDING FROM THE OMRADEFORNYELSE CENTRAL VESTERBRO AND/OR - COOPERATION WITH CREATIVE ROOTS (STUDENT ASSOCIATION http://www.creativeroots.dk)

SøNDAG 05/07/15 AT 15:00 Hi! come to our event :)

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU’RE JOINING: SMS OR EMAIL TO MELISSA TEL 50201567 - EMAIL XQM789@ALUMNI.KU.DK

RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS! PART II

WHERE: UNDER THE WILLOW TREE IN GRASTENSGADE DURATION: ~ 1H30

DEAR INHABITANTS OF GRASTENSGADE, JOIN US SUNDAY FOR A GROUP WORKSHOP WHERE WE SHARE IDEAS AND CREATE A COMMON VISION FOR HOW PLANTS CAN TRANSFORM YOUR STREET

THIS WORKSHOP IS PART OF A THESIS PROJECT IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AT COPENHAGEN UNIVERSITY

Fig.5 - the invitation leaflet for the second participatory event was more detailed and distributed in all the letter boxes in Gråstensgade

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Participatory workshop - Sunday 05th July Expectations The second participatory workshop organized in Gråstensgade is similar to the first one, in the sense that it is also enquiring about local vegetation preferences and design wishes. Nevertheless, having gained more knowledge and experience during the first workshop I wish to gather slightly different information and therefore will conduct it in a different way. Indeed, the two main goals of this second event are on the one hand to make people discuss a common vision and on the other to gain feedback on design scenarios. In opposition to the last event where I have addressed the inhabitants on the street, this time I invite the inhabitants to a group workshop lasting about an hour and a half and requiring people’s attendance the entire time. I expect around five to six people attending the workshop. This small group would be a suitable size to create a good group dynamic and easier for me to facilitate the workshop as I have no previous experience. The feedback I want to gain from the people is mainly concerning ‘activity and use’, ‘materiality’ and ‘vegetation preferences and engagement’ topics.

I expect the discussion to help me define more precisely the design guidelines needed for the further development of the design. This second workshop will both help me to continue building a holistic understanding of the neighbourhood but also help me create the final design guidelines in order to redesign the street.

Collection I have announced my second event by inviting people more personally; posting A4 folded leaflets in the letter boxes of Gråstensgade a week before the due date. A day prior to the workshop, I have set the same posters on the front doors as a reminder. The weather of that Sunday 05th of July was sunny and very warm. To handle this workshop we were only two persons this time; Anika responsible of taking notes and making sure everything was smoothly taking place, and myself engaging with the people.

For this workshop, I intended to start presenting the results of the previous event and hearing feedback from the participants, asking them if they agreed or disagreed on the conclusions I drew after the first workshop. Linked to these results I planned on then presenting the three design scenarios printed on A3 papers I had drawn according to the first design guidelines developed. Finally I expected to present the municipality’s funding opportunity and discuss about a concrete future development of the street.

As a support for the discussion I had prepared an illustrated list of six different vegetation atmospheres (urban gardens, wild flowers in cities, crack gardens, city trees, orchards and two local examples of lively streets), once again, according to the results of vegetation preferences of the previous workshop.

For all the steps of the workshop I had prepared A3 posters along with a question-guide (prepared theme-questions) dealing with the main topics I wished to gain information on, namely ‘activity and use’, ‘materiality’ and ‘vegetation preferences and engagement’. These documents were made to help me facilitate the discussion. On that Sunday, we installed a table in the shade of the willow tree, displaying some documentation such as the vegetation atmosphere list and the funding application documents along with a few drinks and snacks. In addition, a board next to the table showed a summary of the results of the last workshop together with the three design scenarios. Chairs were installed all around for the participants.

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Unfortunately I haven’t been able to carry out the event as planned due to no attendance. Indeed, no one came purposely to this group workshop and decided to change strategy if I were to gather any data at all. Indeed, I have decided to do the same as last time and spontaneously address people in the street. As I changed method, and was asking for people to stop their ongoing activity to talk with me, I couldn’t expect covering as many topics in the discussion then with the initial frame. I then chose to focus on presenting the three design scenarios, concisely informing about the results of the last event.

When the discussion was well on and the opportunity was found, I would orient the discussion to lesser important topics such as introducing the funding possibility. On this Sunday, only three people actively took part of the event. A fourth person, busy with another occupation, stayed only very shortly and gave her opinion only concerning the uses of the street.

Outcome The goal of creating a group workshop with the inhabitants of Gråstensgade didn’t turn out to be a success; therefore the outcome of the event doesn’t complement the first set of gathered data as expected. Indeed, this second participatory workshop was to be carried out as a group discussion in order for me to gain insights on common visions and feedback on the design scenarios of a potential new design of the street. According to me, the absence of people was not necessarily expressing a lack of interest in the topic but mainly revealing a sense of hierarchy in interests. That Sunday was an especially warm day and actually one of the first real summer weekends of the season. In addition, the Danish summer holidays had started a little more than a week before the 05th of July which meant that many families (which are the main group of inhabitants of Gråstensgade) might have already left. This is also a reason why I have only talked with four people on that day; people were simply enjoying the good weather out of their houses. The combination of both factors makes it easy to understand that the chosen timing for the workshop was rather bad. Nevertheless, the people I addressed were easy to approach and took time to discuss with me. As I approached them in a different setting than last time (by showing them some design proposals and having them discuss a design) I have received different feedback. It turned out that the three design scenarios caught the attention of people and were a good basis for discussion. They triggered new discussion topics such as the concern of the car access for example. Indeed, all three participants that saw the scenarios mentioned the car in the very beginning of the discussion. Their concern was all the same: would the car still be able to go in the street with these new designs? The fear or uncertainty expressed in the tone of their voice revealed the importance of this existing feature. Similar to last workshops’ results, the fondness of the tree was again vividly expressed, and stressed the role of icon it holds. In the same tendency, the wish of a livelier street atmosphere although keeping it calm approves of the other neighbours sentiments.

Although the workshop was help in a completely different way than planned, the outcome gives me new information to deal with. It goes without saying that there was some overlapping data but generally speaking, the gathered information is new and helps me going forwards with my work. Together with the data of the first event, I can now concentrate on developing the final design guidelines that will shape the final design of the street.

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Fig.6 - installation of the second participatory workshop

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The tree first design scenarios

Fig.7 - ‘Gråsten Plads’ - this scenario gathers the following key words: urban wild, central square, low maintenance, space for meeting, space for children

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Fig. 8 - ‘Gråstensgade Cracks Open’ - this scenario gathers the following key words: urban wild, crack garden, low maintenance, space for sitting in the street and having a barbecue, space for children

Fig. 9 - ‘Growing Fruits&Berries in Gråstensgade’ - this scenario gathers the following key words: harvest plants, community building, high maintenance, space for sitting in the street, space for children

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data analysis & discussion Coding the data The data collected during all field work (observational studies and participatory workshops) was gathered in order to start analysing it. As mentioned in the methods section, I have followed the general inductive approach presented in the article by Thomas (2006). This approach enables me to extract from the gathered pool of data the most relevant topics according to my objectives. In this chapter, I present how I have applied the general inductive approach to my data and the outcomes of it. I will focus on presenting the most relevant categories, namely the last six ones that have emerged from the analysis, giving a definition of each and discussing the topics using examples. The full analysis of the data can be found in the appendices.

Following the guidance of the article, I have started reading the data over and over again in order to be very familiar to it. Since the data I am working with is not transcriptions of recorded interviews, but notes taken from a discussion, they do not contain too much unnecessary text that needed to be sorted out. The second step in the procedure of the general inductive approach, namely ‘identify specific text segments related to objectives’, was very quickly done and there was not much sorting to do. Adopting the described method, I have then started to create categories out of the different segments. On the first round of category-finding, I have obtained forty-one categories. The purpose of this large amount of categories gives a maximum of opportunities to find new and inspiring topics and helps me avoid hastened conclusions. The second round of category-finding reduced the first forty-one categories to eleven. The latter have been created by grouping some of the first categories together under new labels and excluding the less relevant ones. Finally, the eleven categories were reduced to the following six main ones: preconditions, the public characteristic, people & the environment, uniqueness of Gråstensgade, social bonds, aesthetics & atmosphere. These final categories reveal the most essential topics of the collected data.

The final six categories 1. preconditions As the title of this first category informs, it gathers all the people’s sayings that relate to the preconditions of the street that cannot be changed and that necessarily have to be taken into account if willing to implement any change. These preconditions can either be street regulations, features linked to the built structure of the street or even characteristics imposed by the inhabitants and considered essential to them like safety issues for example. This category is eliminatory in the sense that if the design doesn’t fulfil these demands then it will not be accepted, either by the authorities or the inhabitants.

During the first participatory event some people expressed some concerns about possible change in their street and one of the first I came across was about the fire brigade truck. Indeed, when talking to people, I often introduced Gråstensgade as having the potential of easily being transformed. When confronted to this fact, some people reacted with a sudden concern about conforming to regulations,

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especially to fire security norms. Another aspect concerning regulation that came forward was about the willow tree. Surprisingly, the participants did not discuss the ‘illegitimacy’ of the tree from the point of view of regulations. It seemed that through time the willow tree had ‘legally’ owned its place in the street. Nevertheless, the municipality’s regulations still represent a threat to the tree and directly impact its growth pattern. I have been told by several inhabitants that the higher branches of the willow tree must be kept at a fair distance from the street lights to avoid its growth provoking any disturbance to the installation. When not respected, this municipality requirement will cause the cutting down of the tree.

Concerning eliminatory characteristics imposed by the inhabitants, safety was the most recurring one.

Through the word safety people mainly referred to children safely being able to play and Gråstensgade as being ‘a safe street for children’. The safety of the children was also linked to tranquillity of the neighbourhood, the absence of cars and that there were no homeless people hanging around. At no moment did the activity of children climbing the willow tree over the road’s hard surface come up spontaneously in a discussion nor did it seem to represent a danger. When I asked about it, one person told me it used to be dangerous when people locked their bikes under the tree (which they don’t do anymore). When discussing plant preferences, plant toxicity didn’t appear as a possible threat. People were generally enthusiastic about vegetation as long as it did not interfere with the municipal norms and regulations of the street. While presenting the three design scenarios during the second participatory workshop, a strong concern was shown about the car access in the street. Indeed, the participants all strongly reacted to that topic, with questions such as ‘with all the three scenarios it wouldn’t be allowed to drive here anymore?’ or statements such as ‘the car should definitely be able to come in the street […], come close to the front doors’. Although the street’s characteristic of having no cars (parking is forbidden) is extremely valued, the cars access is also highly appreciated and is considered as a must when planning any type of transformation of Gråstensgade.

2. the public characteristic The wish of an active and socially inclusive street life is translated through ‘the public characteristic’ category. It encompasses the two sub-categories ‘diversity of users’ and ‘unrestraint’ referring to the theme of public space and includes rather positive aspects of it. A recurrently mentioned topic that enters this category is that the streetscape of Gråstensgade is a meeting place for the children of the whole neighbourhood. One could think that children would rather want to play in the secure and well equipped backyards of the buildings they live in, but these spaces are semi-private and need a key access to enter. This fact makes it difficult for children from different blocks to meet and play together.

To counteract this problem, it seems that the rather empty streetscape of Gråstensgade is a great place for them to meet. Similarly, many participants agree on the fact that the street should invite everyone to freely use it. The public characteristic of the street also offers discretion and, according to some inhabitants, gives the feeling of being able to use the space free of movement and actions, with little or no restraint. On the other hand, a few concerns about the popularity and the users of the site still emerge.

The fear that if changes occur to the street, when adding furniture and more bicycle parking-racks for example, the place will become used by too many people and possibly rather undesirable ones such

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as homeless people. In this situation, the highly valued calm characteristic of the street will be lost. The public characteristic is valued by people because it has very few constraints but on the other hand also means there is little control over what happens.

Regarding the topic of vegetation, almost no aspects have been linked to ‘the public characteristic’ category. Nevertheless, a comment from one of the participants can be related to the topic. The difference between usual city trees planted in the public domain and the willow tree of Gråstensgade has been underlined. This difference was expressed in the way the tree was planted (coming out of the asphalt, with no proper plantation scheme) and in the specie of the tree (willow trees especially with these curly leaves are very unusual trees to plant in an urban context). These aspects might trigger a different picture than the ‘public domain’ picture one can generally have, and consequently might also trigger a different atmosphere.

3. people & the environment This third category reveals, on the one hand, the interactions of the inhabitants of Gråstensgade with the existing features of the street, such as roller-skating on the asphalt for example, and on the other hand the interactions with existing and future vegetation. These features are gathered under the subcategories ‘sturdy environment’ and ‘interaction with plants’. The first one shows how the solid and plain environment of a street can actually reveal itself very appreciated by the users. Indeed, this sturdy environment even seems to trigger particular uses such as children roller-skating or learning how to bike, which cannot be done in the backyards where there are cobble stones. The smooth but solid asphalt surface of the street is also a place where more ‘rough’ activities can be done such as cutting wood or having a party. The comments of the participants seemed to agree on the fact that a space where one is not afraid to do any damage is very appreciated and useful. The street of Gråstensgade seemed to fulfil this role well.

The second sub-category entitled ‘interaction with plants’ refers to the potential benefits of plants and the use inhabitants would wish to do of vegetation, when imagining a transformation of the street.

Although the interactions and demands people came up with were diverse, none of them was particularly notable or outstanding. The main wished plant features were nonetheless, edible plants that generated a harvest and plants for physical activities like climbing or for resting in a hammock. Other vegetation aspects, rather generating a passive use or passive benefit, were also mentioned. Many people talked about plants as a visual pleasure, declaring ‘green is nice for the eyes’ or ‘a wild flower meadow would be a good idea because it’s beautiful’. The idea of having more colours in the street was also much appreciated. Although people were generally enthusiastic about adding vegetation to the street, a few participants also saw it as a large task, mentioning the messy look plants could have and the work of maintain all of it.

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4. uniqueness of Gråstensgade Gråstensgade is an outstanding street, that although built in the typical Copenhagen norms (see in 3 - part three paragraph a street portrait), has its own unique feature: an old willow tree. The inhabitants seem to be very aware of this uniqueness and most are fond of it. The willow tree is the major vegetation element of the street and seems to trigger memories, emotions, activities and the feeling of tranquillity within people. This category wants to underline the unique character the willow tree gives to the street and reveals how vegetation can hold strong meaning. The findings described in this category also indicate the role of vegetation as a possible element creating place attachment and a local identity.

Many observations and sayings I have gathered reveal the fondness of the tree. Children were the most expressive and clear about it. Indeed, I have had the opportunity to observe a few times, that when given the slightest opportunity, children run to the tree and climb it. Also when waiting for friends or when not having much to do, it seems they consider climbing the tree as a good way to spend time.

Young people, adults and elderly people have a less direct connection to the tree but it is nonetheless as important. I have observed fascination of the willow tree noticing people take pictures of it, talk about it together or even refer of it as an outstanding landmark in the neighbourhood. Twice, participants of the workshops have also told me the tree was a key element in choosing to live in this street. The surprising following sentence ‘this is one of the only trees in Vesterbro’ by an inhabitant of the close by neighbourhood is a perfect example revealing this fascination. The willow tree of Gråstensgade is quite surprising and unique in the way it was planted but is nonetheless far from being the only tree in Vesterbro. Very close to Gråstensgade is the small Liva Weels square that contains its own tree, further north is the Enghave square that contains many large trees, without forgetting Sønder Boulevard that has been recently planted with many young trees. These three examples are all at less than 300m away from Gråstensgade and represent only a very small section of the district of Vesterbro. This statement gives a huge emphasis on the importance Gråstensgade’s willow tree has for people of the neighbourhood.

Together with the fascination of the tree, is linked the uniqueness of it. Indeed, as a participant told me ‘the tree is so special because it’s in the middle of the street and comes out of the asphalt. It also stands out because it doesn’t follow other typical city tree organisation’. The willow tree of Gråstensgade is not ‘just a tree’ but rather a ‘special tree’ because of the outstanding character of how and where it is planted. In their discourse, people also seemed to want to keep this feature of uniqueness when considering a future development of the street. In one of the design scenarios I presented during the second workshop I had planted a second tree mirroring the existing willow tree. A participant told me that design was nice but I should not add any other tree. According to him, this old willow tree should keep its unique position and not have any competition.

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5. social bonds One of the main outcomes of the data collection is the wish of creating more social bonds. This category regroups the different uses, activities or features that would trigger more social contact between neighbours and strengthen the local community. It encompasses both, features that already exist today and new potential ones. The inhabitants of Gråstensgade expressed their wish for sensing a stronger community feeling. In the context of the design of the street, they asked for elements that would trigger informal meetings. The participants came up with several suggestions, some of them about how vegetation could have the role of triggering such meetings, with apple trees as one of these examples.

Indeed, plants that would generate a harvest were seen as an ideal way of enhancing spontaneous encounters on the street. On the other hand, the participants almost all agreed that seating opportunities were definitely lacking and seemed to be one of the reasons, according to them, that there were few users and neighbourly encounters in the street. Surprisingly, it seemed that children did not encounter the same problems than adults. A participant, father of two children, told me that the children of the neighbourhood went to the same local school and new each other well. As the backyards are restricted to inhabitants and needed a key to enter, the children cannot freely use these spaces. The car-free street of Gråstensgade was then an ideal place for them to freely meet and play together. The collected data of both participatory workshops show that there already is some kind of community feelings that exist but are mainly expressed through individual initiatives (such as taking care of the plants, protecting them, decorating the willow tree during Christmas, etc.). It seems like the inhabitants of Gråstensgade care about their street and wish to build a stronger community feeling in their street but just don’t have a setting that enables this to develop. According to the saying of the people, the unexploited streetscape of Gråstensgade could definitively be the place for enhancing these social bonds.

6. aesthetics & atmosphere The aesthetics of a place and the atmosphere it can create are also important features that have emerged from the data analysis. This last category underlines the importance of aesthetics, either linked to the actual situation but also to a future with more vegetation. Even though less important than the other categories, it still seems that the inhabitants of Gråstensgade are sensitive to the aesthetics of space. More than just how beautiful or how balanced things might look, they mostly linked the aesthetics with what atmosphere or the work generated by it. Maintenance of flower beds or dirt on the street seemed to potentially have a high impact on the use of the street. For example, a messy street with unmaintained flower beds could badly influence the image of the street and impact on the impression of safety one might have had and could lead to parents forbidding children to play in the street. The maintenance of the street and the potential new vegetation elements in it was a discussion that varied a lot depending on each person.

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Discussion of the results The results described in the previous section reflect the main outcomes of the gathered data. As I have only had the opportunity of creating two participative workshops, and that the second one did not happen to be a success, my findings are based on a rather little amount of information. Nevertheless, the gathered data still represents the opinion of some inhabitants of Gr책stensgade. As one can also notice in the previous paragraphs, people often had similar point of views and some sayings confirmed others. In addition, as mentioned in the data collection chapter and in the previous paragraphs, the observational analysis also gave me good opportunities to confirm the sayings of the participants.

Although the results of the data collection, vegetation does not stand out as a crucial element for the inhabitants of Gr책stensgade, it nevertheless definitively has an important role to play. The participants of both workshops and the people met in the street seem to agree that the most important lacking features of the street are either equipment that would trigger more social bonds and a sense of community feelings or a design that would suit children and parents better. Vegetation does not stand out as being in the top concern of the inhabitants of Gr책stensgade, but has a hidden importance. Indeed, the findings show that the willow tree has proven to be a key element of the street that triggers many different feelings that touch upon the aspects of tying social bonds, building a common identity and bringing a sense of tranquillity to the street. From this finding, I can expect that vegetation, in a broader sense, can also be a support for these feelings, expand them even more and help develop other qualities such as aesthetics and atmosphere.

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5 - part five

design guidelines the play street 2.0 conclusion

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design guidelines From coding categories to design guidelines After having analysed and extracted the main information of the gathered data, my goal is now to translate these analytical findings into design guidelines. The final six categories of the data analysis are the starting point of this next step, since the design guidelines are to be in line with the wish of the local inhabitants. In addition, I have used the book entitled ‘With People in Mind’ from Kaplan, Kaplan & Ryan (1998) as a guide and inspiration. The publication puts forward the benefits of natural environments on human health and well-being. In this context, the authors have put together a sample of patterns, as solutions to design and management issues of different spaces. Although the authors focus mainly on nature and natural environments rather than city spaces, as I am dealing with, the suggested patterns are meant to be very flexible and adaptable to any kind of situation. The guidelines I have come to are a patchwork between some adapted patterns from Kaplan, Kaplan & Ryan and some newly defined guidelines. Some of the guidelines appear under different categories as they might serve various purposes. goals

means

_road regulations : 2,8m wide fire truck access, 30m furthest from entrance _urban renewal requirements : assure public access | increase physical, cultural or social initiatives | strengthen local network | developing a common Vesterbro identity | promote alternative use of urban space

_visual access : open views at eye level _coherent area : use a simple design language with recurring elements in the use of materials, furniture and plants _enhancing familiarity : use a building style that people can easily relate too (signs, furniture, borders common to the rest of Vesterbro and/or Copenhagen) _sense of tidiness : create clear borders within the street scape (using signs, markings, vegetation, ground patterns, etc)

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_landmark : strengthen the willow tree’s quality of a landmark (with planting, furniture, materials, ground, colour, etc.) _sense of enclosure : create a clear border to the street scape (using signs, markings, vegetation, ground patterns, etc.) _children friendly : make sure the furniture and other elements are the right size and present no danger to children (toxic plants, etc.) _separation from distraction : create a peaceful oasis using signs, markings, vegetation, ground patterns, etc.

_make it sturdy : furniture design and materiality, ground surface, low maintenance vegetation _easy access : ramps, signs (mainly for elderly people but also disableded people)

_vegetation : colourful, changing with the seasons, sensory experiences _seating elements : strategic places for sitting (sunny area for example) _activities : games, tables etc.

_seating elements : strategic places for sitting (sunny area for example) _create space for holding events: keep an open space for gatherings, sturdy environment (furniture, vegetation, ...) _strengthen a common identity: neighbourhood community, ... (see strengthen the street’s identity)

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The corkscrew willow tree meets the design guidelines The actual features of the corkscrew willow tree in Gr책stensgade surprisingly match most of above mentioned design guidelines. It is no wonder why the tree is so appreciated! In addition to its unique features such as its unusual way of being planted and specie, the tree also supports children games and activities; its shape enables people to have visibility at eye level, which gives a feeling of security and it also supports other forms of nature which can play a role in giving a sense of tranquility in the street.

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unusual street tree specie supports other forms of nature

visibility at eye level unique planting method supports children games Fig. 1 - the magic of Grüstensgade’s old willow tree

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the play street 2.0

Fig.2 - the play street 2.0 intends to reinforce the actual qualities of Gr책stensgade - a 1:200 scaled plan can be found at the very end of this work

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the crack

The underlying image of the design’s form is a large crack that cuts through the entire space of Gråstensgade. The crack symbolically refers to how the existing corkscrew willow tree has cracked the asphalt open in order to grow. It is the backbone of the site that holds the different elements of the design together.

the tree

Gråstensgade’s old willow tree stands proudly in his spot. He stands in a bend of the crack as he is the one that triggered the cracking of the street. The tree is the focal point of the street and remains the only high element of Gråstensgade.

the central space

The inner edges of the crack define a central space that it is wide enough for activities, such as children’s games or holding small events.

the borders

The outer edges of the crack creates a clear demarcation of Gråstensgade. It increases the legibility of the street and enhances the feeling of security.

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The corkscrew willow tree - a gateway for games In this design proposal, the corkscrew willow tree of Grüstensgade is seen as the focal point of the street; the centre of action and games. Transformed into a space mainly dedicated to children, the new configuration of the street resembles a playground area and should therefore trigger more creativity and playing activities. One can climb on the tree, attach ropes, build a small tree house and maybe even a swing. In the proposal, the tree stays untouched but an arrangement of small stepping logs, going through the tall grasses and flowers circle around it. This configuration reinforces the willow tree’s attraction for games. For security reasons, all the suggested elements are placed outside the climbing zone in order to avoid children falling on objects.

Fig.3 - play area around the willow tree 0

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Fig.4 - section (AA’) play area around the willow tree

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The new vegetation of Gråstensgade The chosen vegetation palette corresponds to the previously defined design guidelines. Inserted in the ‘crack’, they create different rooms within the street and have a role in helping the legibility of the space.

The central space, for example is marked not only by the pattern of changing ground materials but also by the plants.

The main theme of the vegetation palette builds upon the ‘strengthen the street’s identity’ guideline.

The chosen vegetation type was inspired by the spontaneous growth of the willow tree (which is the key element in today’s street identity), and wants to give off this same atmosphere of pioneer vegetation colonising cities. The selected plants are easy to grow, adapted to the urban climate and generate many seeds which and will secure their survival although very low maintenance and high use of the space. This sturdy new vegetation is varied in size and texture and calls for different uses. Not only can the vegetation trigger a sense of tranquillity (as stated by one of the inhabitants during the first participatory workshop) or simply be beautiful, but it can also be part of a game. The lush and tall vegetation creates an adventurous landscape in which children can go through by using the stepping-log paths.

Ranging from 20cm to 120cm, the plants create a new streetscape with varied spaces and situations.

The height and colour or the plants change according to the seasons and create new points of interest.

Adding vegetation in Gråstensgade creates new sensory experiences for the users of the street. These are not only experienced by children jumping from log to log through the vegetation but also simply visually. The delicate structure of the grasses and flowers will move in the wind, change colour following the seasons, attract urban fauna and also suggest to be picked for bouquets.

Fig. 5 - design guidelines that led to the vegetation selection

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Fig. 6 - discovering and playing with plants

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Fig. 7

Geranium psilostemon ‘Eva’ height: 60cm sun exposure: flowering: june - september

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Centranthus ruber height: 60cm sun exposure: flowering: may - september

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Oenothera macrocarpa height: 20cm sun exposure: flowering: june - october

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Sedum aizoon height: 60cm sun exposure: flowering: july - october

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Fig. 11

Melica ciliata height: 100cm sun exposure: flowering: june - july

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Sanguisorba officinalis ‘Arnhem’ height: 120cm sun exposure: flowering: july - august

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Panicum virgatum ‘Squaw’ height: 120cm sun exposure: flowering: july - august

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Panicum virgatum ‘Squaw’

Fig. 14 - the height of the vegetation palette is kept rather low, with the largest plants reaching full height (120cm) only in some periods of the year. No vegetation goes over adult eye level and therefore enhances the feeling of security. In addition, the low height of the new vegetation doesn’t concurrence the willow tree and leaves it as outstanding feature of the street.

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Fig. 15 - section BB’ shows how the vegetation and ground materials contribute to creating clear boundaries in the street. This section also illustrates the new central space.

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An adjustable space for various activities The suggested furniture for Gr책stensgade is one that is sturdy in order to support many uses and activities. In addition, it is a movable type of furniture that should be heavy enough in order to not have people take it out of the street but light enough to be able to be arranged for different type of activities.

The figures on the right page express how the furniture can be used in different positions, supporting different social activities. Besides the more group oriented furniture, three typical Copenhagen benches are placed near the facades of the buildings. Two of them are on the sunny side of the street and one of them is near the tree on the other side.

Fig. 16 - the furniture in Gr책stensgade should be heavy enough to be difficult to move but light enough to be carried around when organising a neighbourhood gathering for example.

Fig. 17 - design guidelines that led to furniture choice

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Fig. 18 - this arrangement of furniture is the one shown on the main plan.

It stages furniture in many situations, offering different possibilities of seating combinations.

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Fig. 19 - this second arrangement could be one used for a summer neighbourhood barbecue party for example. The central space is wider on the northern, and most sunny part of the street for people to benefit from the sun most.

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Fig. 20 - moved around the tree, this third arrangement could be an example of the inhabitants organising a child’s birthday party. In this case the tables are close to the game activities on and around the tree.

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Materials that support different uses When choosing the materials for the new design, the inspiration has again mainly come from the old willow tree. In addition, information about the different users and how they use the street (gathered through the observations and workshops) was key in order to come to a decision. Although seemingly banal and rather rough, I have chosen to use the asphalt as main surface of the street. Appreciated for its sturdy but smooth surface, the asphalt supports many activities such as children roller skating or skateboarding. Asphalt is also a key material because it creates a big contrast with vegetation.

Indeed, if urban vegetation is sometimes associated with country side picturesque landscapes, asphalt is generally associated with dense urban environments. Keeping asphalt as main material thus helps in creating a rough urban atmosphere and thus makes the vegetation stand out more. The choice of keeping asphalt in the street is also to ease the access for people having mobility difficulties such as elderly or handicapped people.

In order to create a more inviting and diverse space, I have chosen to use thin gravel in some spaces of the crack. Just as the asphalt, the gravel is a material that contrasts with vegetation. It is also often found in urban wastelands where pioneer vegetation is taking over, which is an atmosphere that corresponds to the ‘almost pioneer’ willow tree of Gråstensgade. In order to keep it tidy and avoid the place to have a intimidating atmosphere, corten steel ground level borders clearly define each space. The change of texture when rolling over the border is also a signal of entering and leaving the site.

The entire crack shape of the design and its corresponding materials reach from façade to façade, erasing the distinction between pedestrian and vehicle area. For easing biker and pedestrian mobility flows crossing the street, the sidewalks on the east and the west of Gråstensgade are both levelled to the street height. In order to comply to safety norms, a central lane has been kept free for the fire brigade truck to enter and easily reach all buildings of the street.

Fig. 21 - design guidelines that led to the selection of materials

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Fig. 22 - asphalt: the main material

Fig. 23 - thin gravel used in smaller areas Fig. 24 - corten steel used for borders

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Fig. 25 - the fire truck access is a 2,80 m wide path in the centre of the street; according to the norms the truck should reach a max of 30m distance to the front door of a building. In addition to the respect of this limit, the trucks can also park on the neighbouring streets.

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conclusion Although the role of nature in city planning has repeatedly varied since the early 1800s, it has nevertheless generally been used in large scale strategies. In the late 1980s, the growing concern for sustainability and sustainable urban developments has put a focus on ecology and therefore has given a new turn to the role of nature in cities. Within the conflict of ever-growing cities and the goal of reaching sustainability, small spaces of densely built urban areas have become new potentials for urban greening strategies. These spaces have started to be recognised as crucial for bringing nature in cities but are nevertheless still mainly used for the purpose of large scale developments. Without disregarding the necessity of overall strategies, the role of vegetation in small urban spaces should nevertheless also be considered at a human scale. Besides serving environmental purposes vegetation of small areas also trigger emotions and can bear various meanings for city dwellers. Theories such as everyday urbanism and urban acupuncture approach the question of small spaces from a human perspective. They give a high importance to small and banal places, the ones people frequent most and experience on a daily basis. Putting together both the large scale perspective of urban planning and the small scale perspective of urban acupuncture, I have come to define and use the terminology of ‘urban offcut’ in order to express these small and banal spaces, usually dismissed from urban planners’ agenda.

This study has explored the case of Gråstensgade, a street located in one of the most densely built and inhabited neighbourhoods of central Copenhagen. The neighbourhood of Vesterbro is also an area with much less vegetation per capita than other districts of the Danish capital. The street of Gråstensgade enters the category of urban offcuts as it is very small, no longer used by cars and can be considered as a program hole of the urban fabric. This semi-abandoned situation has given place to a surprising feature that now plays a key role in the story of Gråstensgade. At the end of the cul-de-sac street, an old 8m high corkscrew willow tree emerges from the asphalt and influences the perceived quality of its surrounding space. The willow tree, looking over an asphalted but carless street, has become an icon in the neighbourhood. The observational analysis carried out at the beginning of this work was a key step in the site analysis as it revealed unexpected uses and potentials of the site. Although not originally built for recreational purposes, the street architecture of Gråstensgade is nevertheless used by the near-by inhabitants. This informal re-claiming of the site can be an example showing how the city program has failed to offer its inhabitants the needed features. In this case, the unexpected use of Gråstensgade reveals the lack of accessible public spaces for children to meet across private structures. The main methodology adopted in this work is the case study, which has led to use local knowledge as main source of information in order to reach an in depth understanding of the chosen site. Although the knowledge gained though observational studies was relevant and created a good starting point for further inquiries about the site, the holistic picture given by the gathered local knowledge was essential in the process of creating a new design. Local stories and knowledge are embedded in places and evolve together with them. People are the actors creating these stories and giving life to such spaces although small and/or apparently banal. Opinions, memories, stories and uses of the street, part of shaping a site and triggering place attachment are examples of the collected knowledge. The challenge of creating a new design proposal that should answer people’s needs was met by creating design guidelines based on the analysis of the latter findings.

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The existing and planned vegetation of Gråstensgade has the role of a founding element in the street.

It gives it a unique character, helps in creating a local and common identity to the neighbourhood, and increases the legibility of the space by branding the street as a car-free area. This case study reveals the importance of people’s relationship to vegetation and how its role in cities can be meaningful in many ways. The fondness expressed by the inhabitants for the old willow tree of Gråstensgade resonates with the discourse of the landscape architect Christophe Girot, and suggests that although branded under different labels (such as ecology or biodiversity for example) nature seems to keep a profound meaning for humans, which generally refers to a wild but romanticised picture of it. Discussing individual roles and meanings of vegetation relates to the concept of urban acupuncture and the appreciation of the banal. Indeed, a seemingly common ‘piece of vegetation’ such as a tree can actually be the carrier of many memories, emotions and/or daily activities and thus play a key role in placemaking. The case of Gråstensgade is an example of how vegetation can play a key role in a small and seemingly uninteresting everyday life space and how its impact ripples on the close neighbourhood. The number of urban offcuts is almost indefinite in cities and therefore represents a real potential for transforming the urban fabric.

The draft for Copenhagen’s new urban nature strategy published in March this year (Danish title: ‘Bynatur I København 2015-2025’) seems to recognise the importance of vegetation at both the human and the city scale. The intentions presented in this first draft not only stress the benefits of nature for dealing with climate change issues or sustainability but also underline the role of nature in enhancing social bonds and increasing the everyday life quality, which is similar to the role the willow tree of Gråstensgade already plays. Different from the approaches described in the first part of this work, the city of Copenhagen suggests combining strategies at different scales and claims that they will use the large scope of roles nature in cities can play (Københavns Kommune, 2015). Approaching some similar aspects, this thesis work and the draft publication of the Copenhagen municipality suggest that the new major role of vegetation in cities could be of supporting social life. The fondness humans have for nature hints that, although varying throughout time, nature, and thus vegetation will always have an important role in cities.

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reference list Publications Agger A. & Hoffmann B. (2008) ‘Borgerne på banen - håndbog til borgerdeltagelse i lokal byudvikling’ Copenhagen: Velfærdsministeriet Andersson S.I (1994) ‘Landscape architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark’, Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning, vol 3, issue 3, pp.169 - 177 Bergen Jensen, M. (2013) ‘Ecosystem services, climate change and urban water systems’, lecture part of the course entitled Urban Ecosystems, Department of Geosciences and Nature Resource Management, University of Copenhagen CIAM (1933) Athens Charter Gehl J. & Svarre B. (2013) ‘How to Study Public Life’, translated by Steenhard K.A., London: Islands Press Girot C. (2010) ‘The shifting meaning of nature in the city’ In Becker A. & Cachola Schmal P. (2010) (eds.) Stadtgrün / Urban Green, Europäische Landschaftsarkitektur für das 21. Jahrhundert / European Landscape Architecture for the 21st century, Basel: Birkhäuser, pp. 218 - 224 Haber, W. (2010), ‘Urban Green – Historical and Ecological Perspectives’ In Becker A. & Cachola Schmal P. (2010) (eds.) Stadtgrün / Urban Green, Europäische Landschaftsarkitektur für das 21. Jahrhundert / European Landscape Architecture for the 21st century, Basel: Birkhäuser, pp. 122 - 127 Howard, E. (1898) ‘Author’s introduction‘ and ‘The Town-Country Magnet’ In Larice M. & Macdonald E. (2013) (eds.) The Urban Design Reader. London: Routledge, pp. 53-61 Jabareen Y. R. (2006) ‘Sustainable Urban Forms: Their Typologies, Models and Concepts’, Journal of Planning Education and Research, vol 26, no.1, pp.38-52 Kaplan R., Kaplan S. & Ryan R.L. (1998) ‘With People in Mind - Design and Management of Everyday Nature’ Washignton DC: Islands Press Le Corbusier (1929) ‘The Pack Donkey’s way and Man’s Way’ and ‘A Contemporary City’ In Larice M. & Macdonald E. (2013) (eds.) The Urban Design Reader. London: Routledge, pp. 90-99 Lerner J. (2014) ‘Urban Acupuncture’, Washington: Island Press MacHarg, I (1967) ‘An Ecological Method for Landscape Architecture’ In Larice M. & Macdonald E. (2013) (eds.) The Urban Design Reader. London: Routledge, pp. 519-524

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Miljøministeriet Planstyrelsen (1991) ‘Bydelsatlas Vesterbro, Bevaringsværdier I bydel og bygninger 1991’, Planstyrelse, kontoret for by- og bygningsbevaring, Copenhagen Nordh H. & Ostby K. (2013) ‘Pocket parks for people – A study of park design and use’, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, vol 12, pp 12-17 Olmstead F.L. (1870) ‘Public Parks and the Enlargement of Towns’, In Larice M. & Macdonald E. (2013) (eds.) The Urban Design Reader. London: Routledge, pp. 36-44 Områdefornyelse (2011) ‘Kvarterplan, Områdefornyelse Centrale Vesterbro 2011 – 2017’, Områdefornyelses secretariat, Copenhagen: Københavns Kommune Thomas D.R (2006) ‘ A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation Data’, American Journal of Evaluation, vol 27, pp 237-246

Web pages Casagrande Laboratory, ‘Information’, [Online], Available at: http://www.clab.fi/information/architect/ [Accessed: 18 Aug 2015] Greve Joergensen M. (2015) ‘Kastanjen fra Vesterbro genopstår’, AOK [Online], Available at: http://www.aok.dk/byliv/kastanjen-fra-vesterbro-genopstaar [Accessed: May 2015] Hjort A. (2011) ‘Folket kæmper videre for »verdens smukkeste træ« på Enghave Plads‘, Politiken [Online], Available at: http://politiken.dk/kultur/ECE1406760/folket-kaemper-videre-for-verdens-smukkeste-trae-paa-enghave-plads/ [Accessed: May 2015] Københavns Kommune (2014), ‘Befolkningen efter bydele og areal’, Statistik, Koncernservice, Københavns Kommune [Online], Available at: http://www.kk.dk/artikel/befolkning-og-fremskrivninger [Accessed: 20 Apr 2015] Københavns Kommune (2015), ‘Bynatur I København 2015-2025’, Teknik- og Miljøforvaltningen Byens Udvikling, Københavns Kommune [Online], Available at: http://www.blivhoert.kk.dk/hoering/ strategi-bynatur-i-k-benhavn [Accessed: 20 June 2015] Red Byens Træer a, ‘Formål’, Red Byens Træer [Online], Available at: http://redbyenstraeer.blogspot. dk/p/formal.html [Accessed: 20 Aug 2015]

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Red Byens Træer b (2013) ‘Træpolitik’, Red Byens Træer [Online], Available at: http://redbyenstraeer. blogspot.dk/search/label/Frederiksberg [Accessed: 20 Aug 2015] UN (2014), ‘World’s population increasingly urban with more than half living in urban areas’ [Online], Available at : http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-2014.html [Accessed: 14 Aug 2015] Vesterbro-Nyt (2014) ‘Kastanjetræet fra Enghave Plads lever i baggård på Vesterbro’, Vesterbro-Nyt [Online], Available at: http://vesterbro-nyt.dk/71027-1234-kastanjetraeet-fra-enghave-plads-lever-ibaggaard-paa-vesterbro/ [Accessed: May 2015]

Illustrations The following list shows the sources of the illustrations used in this document. When not specified, the pictures are my own. All diagrams and plans were also made by myself.

1 - part one Fig. 1 & 2 -[Online] atelier le balto, Available at: http://lebalto.de/2002/?cat=4 Fig. 3 - [Online] Available at: http://www.booyorkcity.com/top-new-york-vintage-boho-spring/ 2 - part two Fig. 4 – Thomas D.R (2006) ‘ A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation Data’, American Journal of Evaluation, vol 27, pp 242 3 - part three Fig. 3 - Base map extracted from ArcGIS ArcMap 10.3, the map was then modified in order to facilitate its legibility Fig. 6 - top left: [Online] Available at: http://www.aok.dk/byliv/kastanjen-fra-vesterbro-genopstaar Fig. 6 - All pictures except from top left are taken from the Facebook group of the Områdefornyelsen Vesterbro, the specific authors are unknown [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/OmraadefornyelsenVesterbro [Accessed: 01 July 2015] Fig. 7 - Adapted map, original from: Områdefornyelse (2011) ‘Kvarterplan, Områdefornyelse Centrale Vesterbro 2011 – 2017’, Områdefornyelses secretariat, Copenhagen: Københavns Kommune p. 25 Fig. 8 - Knudsen M. / Monsun, Modkraft [Online] Available at: http://modkraft.dk/node/16533 Fig. 9 - Knudsen M. / Monsun, Modkraft [Online] Available at: http://modkraft.dk/node/16533 Fig. 10 - Vesterbro-Nyt, [Online], Available at: http://vesterbro-nyt.dk/71027-1234-kastanjetraeet-fraenghave-plads-lever-i-baggaard-paa-vesterbro/ Fig. 13 - Modified aerial picture, original extracted from Arc GIS ArcMap 10.3

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4 - part four none 5 - part five Fig. 7 - [Online] Available at: http://www.suggestkeyword.com/R2VyYW5pdW0gIFBzaWxvc3RlbW9u/ Fig. 8 - [Online] Available at: http://www.suggestkeyword.com/cGluayAgdmFsZXJpYW4/ Fig. 9 - [Online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanneberger/7229610526/in/photostream/ Fig. 10 - [Online] Available at: http://www.visoflora.com/photos-nature/photo-sedum-aizoon-aurantiacum-crassulace.html Fig. 11 - [Online] Available at: http://ipad.johansens-planteskole.dk/Stauder/item4888?sort=1 Fig. 12 - [Online] Available at: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/homesforwildlife/f/903/t/51604. aspx Fig. 13 - [Online] Available at: http://www.leadthegoodlife.com/panicum-virgatum-squaw-23cm-pot. html Fig. 24 - [Online] Available at: http://www.dfdesignfinishings.com/corten.aspx

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appendix Prepared documents for the 1st participatory workshop - Sunday 14th June

low maintenance

colourful

grass

Elymus magellanicus Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’

perennial

Centranthus ruber Hypericum inodorum

shrub tree

grass

perfumed

perennial shrub tree

grass

edible

perennial shrub tree

evergreen

grass perennial shrub tree

Forsythia x intermedia Rosa rubiginosa

medium maintenance grass perennial

colourful

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’

Lavandula angustifolia

perfumed Clerodendrum bungei Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’

Helichrysum italicum serotinum

Euonymus fortunei Pinus mugho mugus Ilex aquifolium

perennial shrub

Sambucus nigra

Ajuga reptans

perennial

grass

edible

Cornus mas

Carex oshimensis Festuca glauca

tree

Albizia julibrissin Prunus dulcis

tree

Allium

tree

evergreen

Penstemon ‘Garnet’ Astilbe arendsii Hortensia macrophylla Paeonia suffruticosa

shrub

Syringa vulgaris

Pennisetum alopecuroides

shrub

grass

grass perennial shrub tree

high maintenance grass perennial

colourful

tree

-

grass

Galium odoratum

perfumed Fothergilla major Lonicera fragrantissima (low) Cercidiphyllum japonicum

Ribes nigrum Hippophae rhamnoides

Bergenia ‘Bressingham White’v Ilex crenata ‘Caroline Upright’ -

-

Rosa x floribunda Magnolia stellata ‘Waterlily’

perennial

tree

evergreen

-

shrub

shrub

Mespilus germanica ‘Nottingham’

Hibiscus syriacus

Cosmos atrosanquineus Phlox carolina ‘Miss Lingard’

grass

edible

Dahlia grp cactus ‘Bora Bora’ Gladiolus

perennial

tree

Petroselinum crispum Cucurbita

shrub

Carex morrowii

grass perennial shrub tree

Styrax obassia

Solanum lycopersicum Vaccinium corymbosum Malus x domestica

Magnolia grandiflora

Fig 1 - plant catalogue list prepared for the collage exercise. The plants are classified by level of maintenance and were chosen for their different characteristics

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The plants of the following two pages are the ones of the plant list. They were printed in two different sizes and precut for the collage exercise (the following pictures part of the original plant catalogue were all extracted from the internet) colour grasses

climber & edible grasses

edible perennials

edible grasses

colour perennials

evergreen perennials

evergreen grasses

perfumed perennials

colourful climber

colourful shrub

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perfumed shrub

edible shrub

edible shrub

evergreen shrub

colour tree

edible tree

evergreen tree

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Fig 2 - outcome of the board on which people wrote key words about preferred vegetation and wished uses

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The following pages are shrinked pages of A3 posters produced for the 2nd participatory workshop Sunday 05th July

FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER [del I] RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS [part I] FEEDBACK local stories • there used to be a playground before the tree • informal decision of planting the willow tree from an inhabitant of Gråstensgade • the street was never meant to go completely through with cars (there always was the sidewalk on one side)

about the willow tree • it bears christmas decorations in winter • it is an attraction: people stop and take pictures, film music videos • it is a landmark: brands the street, recognition, unique, part of people’s memory (childhood) • it stands out because it doesn’t follow the usual pattern than other street trees (place & specie) • children love climbing it • birds nest in it • it doesn’t need any care besides from cutting • must be about 40 years old • it brings some calmness

icon

activity wishes • • • • • •

hammock between trees playground with wooden house spontaneous meetings on the street climbing harvesting the plants’ fruits not too many plants so children can still play

increase diversity of use

116

today’s atmosphere • • • •

mainly people and bikers passing by use the street space to chill/hang out party in the street, under the tree children use this space a lot for meeting & playing • safe street for children, no traffic • people pick up rubbish • almost no sun in winter

calm and safe neighbourhood

vegetation wishes • plants that produce fruits/nuts that can be eaten ex: rasperries / elder trees / apple trees / walnut • nothing that needs too much care / plants that can take care of themselves • big trees with flowers • no grass!

• wild style, less organised plants • colourful flowers • boxes with plants • low plants (not as high as the willow tree • we want more green, it’s nice for the eyes

low maintenance other info • group of people taking care of the maintenance of the willow tree (common funding)

INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS BUILDING DESIGN GUIDELINES

sustainability goal

‘public’ characteristic

develop the street’s identity / uniqueness

community building

self-sustaining plants recycling materials social sustainability

welcoming & possible use for everyone

willow tree as icon

create excuses for informal meetings increase the safe & calm feeling of the street

need of calmness

seating opportunities

temporality expressed through seasons visual unity symbolic

increases cosy street life & neighbourhood ties

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INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS VEGETATION PREFERENCES low maintenance

urban wild (identity development)

flowers

generates a harvest

creates spontaneous encounters

collage result from ‘Forestil dig din gade med planter [del I]’

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FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER [del II] RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS [part II] VEGETATION ATMOSPHERES urban gardens • many flowers • medium / high maintenance • rather low plants • can generate a harvest • local initiatives / municipality

>creates spontaneous encounters

>community gardening

urban garden, Telemarksgade, Copenhagen, Denmark

Frederiksberg Campus garden, Frederiksberg, Denmark

Sundholm Byhave, Amager, Copenhagen, Denmark

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FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER [del II] RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS [part II] VEGETATION ATMOSPHERES wild flowers in cities • •

• • •

on the street local initiatives / art projects / spontaneous growth >informal, urban wild atmosphere low maintenance many flowers rather low plants

plot by Blomstrende By, Copenhagen, Denmark

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art project, Zürich, Switzerland

FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER [del II] RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS [part II] VEGETATION ATMOSPHERES crack gardens • • • • • •

urban wild / pioneer vegetation >informal urban atmosphere flowers low / no maintenance rather low plants indigenous species

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FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER [del II] RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS [part II] VEGETATION ATMOSPHERES city trees • on the street / plaza • tall vegetation

> fresh & shady atmosphere • low / no maintenance

Turbinenplatz, Zürich, Switzerland

Avenue Félix Faure, Lyon, France

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Hørhusvej, Copenhagen, Denmark

FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER [del II] RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS [part II] VEGETATION ATMOSPHERES Tree gardens / Orchard • urban agricultures / gardening

>community building

>creates spontaneous encounters • generates a harvest • high maintenance

• shows seasons passing by

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FORESTIL DIG DIN GADE MED PLANTER [del II] RETHINK YOUR STREET WITH PLANTS [part II] VEGETATION ATMOSPHERES local example - Dybbølsgade • high flower beds & seating area

>street life enhanced, safe & cosy atmosphere

>creates spontaneous encounters • medium / low maintenance • flowers • low plants / shrubs / trees

• local initiative (?)

local example - open courtyard on Matteusgade • courtyard open to the street on one side • central area full of vegetation & playground

>active courtyard, safe & cosy atmosphere

>creates spontaneous encounters • tables, benches and barbecue

>creates spontaneous encounters • medium / high maintenance • flowers • low plants / shrubs / trees

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Collected data & coding categories municipality impact

regulations

- 2 years ago the municipality installed the bike rack - there is a group of people that is responsible for the tree (common funds) and make sure it stays trimmed and doesn’t create any danger in the street. They take very good care of it to avoid having the municipality decide they want to take it down. -in winter the municipality removes the snow from the road but not the side walks - it’s not us that take these decisions, it’s the municipality that does that

- there are probably some legislation things to learn about, like the fire truck access - problem of maintenance regarding salt, etc

conforming to regulations

street physicality

safety

- this street is very narrow and in winter doesn’t get any sun - this space is like a wind tunnel - there is always sun in this street, could be better to be out here there is no sun in the backyard near house n8 - small street nice to be in

- the street is quite safe because people can always look what’s happening from their windows - the street is really a place where kids play, real good idea of having benches so the adults can have an eye on the kids - this is the ‘play street’ because there are no cars vegetation utility

recycling materials - recycling things to transform the space

- plants/vegetation could be associated with collecting rain water

structural elements

preconditions 125

cars

asphalt for children activities

-there were wooden planks as a fence to stop people with cars going in the street from that side, it was quite ugly -They live here for about three years now and have chosen this street because of the tree and the quietness of this no car street.

-children use this space a lot, great space for roller-skating, learning how to bike (not possible in the backyard), these activities could also be done somewhere else (square, park, etc.)

-best thing about this street: there are no cars! it’s an amazing situation in the city, wonderful opportunity for kids!

-the car should definitely be able to come in the street, should be able to come close to the front doors -with all the three scenarios, it wouldn’t be allowed to drive there anymore? space for events -party in the street, under the tree because they had no space in their apartment -on the 8th of August the street becomes the stage for a Danish tradition from Jutland sturdiness of asphalt

diversity of usage -they wouldn’t mind using the front space as the backyard, but think that anyway it won’t be used the same way mainly because the front is completely public -anyway there are bbq places in the backyards -want more green, it’s good for the dog -children use this space a lot, great space for roller-skating, learning how to bike (not possible in the backyard) -all can be done, everyone can use it in their own way -cutting wood on the street because the pavement in the backyard is too sensitive -hammock between two trees -trees for climbing

-cutting wood on the street because the pavement in the backyard is too sensitive

sturdy environment

126

edible plants

visual pleasure

-plants that produce a fruit/nut we can eat -raspberries -a big apple tree -plant strawberries ;)

-green is nice for the eyes

interactions with plants -the man that planted the tree still lives in the street and was always taking care of the plants in the backyards even if there is a designated gardener to do the job.

-Christmas decoration on the tree -young people filming a music video under the tree -hammock between two trees -interactions with the plants could be nice

-she loves the small private lots in Enghave park -this is a very good idea, she would put lots of colourful flowers in the street -a wild flower meadow would be a good idea because it’s beautiful -of course plants would be nice but it can be a mess -it shouldn’t be messed up activities with vegetation -climbing could be nice -trees for climbing -hammock between two trees

interaction with plants

people & the environment

127

public discretion

play furniture

-on the street there is less the feeling of being observed -problem in the backyard: feels like people always stare at you from the windows

-a small play house would be nice to play in

-all can be done, everyone can use it in their own way -cutting wood on the street because the pavement in the backyard is too sensitive

include everyone* -we need places that invite people to go to -no segregation -on the street there is less the feeling of being observed

space for relaxing -use the space often to chill out / hang around -hammock between two trees

unrestraint fear of too much popularity

unwanted people

-both worried about too many people coming to the street if there are barbecue places, the street might become ‘the place to be’ in the neighbourhood -doesn’t need all these bike parking areas, there are the cellars and it’s totally fine to park the bikes along the houses. If there are too many bike parking places all the neighbours will park there bike in this street

-drunken people were hanging around and using these swings so it was a bad thing and they were taken down -there probably is no risk that alcoholics would come here, times have changed -they don’t want drunken people hanging around

include everyone -we need places that invite people to go to -no segregation -on the street there is less the feeling of being observed

open for children -lot of children here -the street is a playground for kids -there is space for kids to play -meeting place for kids

diversity of users

the public characteristic 128

tranquillity

uniqueness / fascination

-They live here for about three years now and have chosen this street because of the tree and the quietness of this no car street.

-the tree is so special because it’s in the middle of the street and comes out of the asphalt. It also stands out because it doesn’t follow other typical city vegetation organisation -many people stop to look at the tree and take pictures -this tree is a special one, it has curly leaves, not like any other usual species used in cities

-this tree brings some calmness -the street is really calm today, not too many people, and it should stay that way, that’s one of the reasons they decided to buy a flat here

wild vegetation -would like to have vegetation that is less organised than in other parks or spaces, more informal, spontaneous, like the tree itself!

-the tree came on its own -a wild flower meadow would be a good idea because it’s beautiful, is more sturdy and doesn’t need so much maintenance

-young people filming a music video under the tree -this tree is an icon, it’s absolutely great!

-this is one of the only trees in Vesterbro

uniqueness of Gråstensgade 129

community feelings

sociability

-the kids around the neighbourhood all go to school in the same place so they all know each other > small village

-spaces to meet -have some tables would be great, you wouldn’t sit out if there weren’t some tables

tree memories

individual initiatives

-people have memories of this tree, landmark, some people remember it as their kidclimbing tree -he was a kid when the tree was planted

-the end of the street used to be a playground with swings, there were holes in the asphalt as a remainder of the swings installation. A man living in Gråstensgade just went and put a stick in one of the holes and let it grow, it became the willow tree that is now in the middle of the street -the man that planted the tree still lives in the street and was always taking care of the plants in the backyards even if there is a designated gardener to do the job.

-Christmas decoration on the tree -he’s the head of the board of his house number (agrees that they should pay together for the maintenance of the tree) -people from the street protected the plants during the Distortion festival

-the tree is very old common efforts for maintenance -shared efforts could be a solution -he agrees that they should pay together for the maintenance of the tree -who will take care of this? we could put money but not much, the municipality should take care of the maintenance of the plants

local community building

130

lack of seating possibility

edible plants*

-need some places to sit

-plants that produce a fruit/nut we can eat -raspberries -a big apple tree -plant strawberries ;)

-would like a few benches -benches -benches, places to sit !

-have some tables would be great, you wouldn’t sit out if there weren’t some tables -the street is really a place where kids play, real good idea of having benches so the adults can have an eye on the kids -large wooden decks like on Sønderboulevard informal meetings -need things that create informal meetings and excuses to meet on the street (ex. apple trees could lead to meeting people when picking apples, doing apple harvest together, press apples do apple juice) -we need places that invite people to go to -no segregation

interactions with plants* -the man that planted the tree still lives in the street and was always taking care of the plants in the backyards even if there is a designated gardener to do the job.

-Christmas decoration on the tree -young people filming a music video under the tree -hammock between two trees -interactions with the plants could be nice

trigger meetings

social bonds

131

low maintenance

colour

-nothing that needs so much care

-trees, big trees and flowers

-the vegetation must sustain itself, not need care -no grass, it would be worn out by too many people walking on it -a wild flower meadow would be a good idea because it’s beautiful, is more sturdy and doesn’t need so much maintenance -grass would be too much, wouldn’t survive with people walking on it too much

-colourful flowers -this is a very good idea, she would put lots of colourful flowers in the street -trees and flowers

-never plant apple trees, they create a mess, people don’t know the work it represents -who will take care of this? we could put money but not much, the municipality should take care of the maintenance of the plants -of course plants would be nice but it can be a mess

urban vegetation characteristics vegetation in cities

aesthetics

-doesn’t know how vegetation should be in cities -the city is the city and nature is nature, we shouldn’t bring nature in

-the city is beautiful in itself, concrete can be very beautiful

visual pleasure -green is nice for the eyes -she loves the small private lots in Enghave park -this is a very good idea, she would put lots of colourful flowers in the street -a wild flower meadow would be a good idea because it’s beautiful -of course plants would be nice but it can be a mess -it shouldn’t be messed up

-boxes with plants could be good -nice, minimalistic, that’s good -of course plants would be nice but it can be a mess -it shouldn’t be messed up -there were wooden planks as a fence to stop people with cars going in the street from that side, it was quite ugly -the street never went completely through; there always was a side walk on one end.

Cars sometimes went over so wooden planks were put up, but it really wasn’t nice to look at

aesthetics

aesthetics & atmosphere 132