Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing Estates
Several Danish social housing estates are currently being transformed according to the Parallel Society Act. This legislation has introduced what is, in a Danish context, a new approach to regeneration, involving tenure mix, evictions, and targeted demolition to transform and open up disadvantaged h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
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Scandinavian University Press
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of Urban Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/njus.5.2.1 |
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| author | Marie Stender Lene Wiell Nordberg Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen Mette Mechlenborg Claus Bech-Danielsen |
| author_facet | Marie Stender Lene Wiell Nordberg Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen Mette Mechlenborg Claus Bech-Danielsen |
| author_sort | Marie Stender |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Several Danish social housing estates are currently being transformed according to the Parallel Society Act. This legislation has introduced what is, in a Danish context, a new approach to regeneration, involving tenure mix, evictions, and targeted demolition to transform and open up disadvantaged housing estates. Based on recurrent field studies in the estates that are being regenerated, this article investigates how current transformations change the flow through the estates, and how the ongoing place-making is perceived by residents. Existing research mainly applies either a social science approach to social-mix policies or an urban design approach to study place-making and transformations of large housing estates. This article bridges the gap between these two approaches by exploring the relationship between current physical transformations and local social life. The empirical focus is on Bispehaven and Gellerupparken near Aarhus, where regeneration projects have changed the infrastructure and flow. This study shows that more – and new groups of – external users are now passing through the estates. Though residents and external users blend more in the estate’s public spaces, this is not a guarantee of positive social exchange between the groups. The increasing flow is intended to provide a sense of security and ‘eyes on the street’, but the traffic passing through the estate is perceived – especially among residents with children – as a considerable threat, making it difficult to let children run freely. Even though many residents may be in favour of a more mixed neighbourhood, they also feel that their place has been taken away from them; place-making is experienced as place-taking. In combination with the involuntary relocation of some residents, the place-making processes thus also become a matter of who has the right to the place. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dbd4a27e42ce4b87a5f3b9b44a925129 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2703-8866 |
| language | Danish |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Scandinavian University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Urban Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-dbd4a27e42ce4b87a5f3b9b44a9251292025-08-22T06:02:47ZdanScandinavian University PressNordic Journal of Urban Studies2703-88662025-08-015211810.18261/njus.5.2.1Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing EstatesMarie Stender0Lene Wiell Nordberg1Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen2Mette Mechlenborg3Claus Bech-Danielsen4Department of the Built Environment, Aalborg UniversityDepartment of the Built Environment, Aalborg UniversityDepartment of the Built Environment, Aalborg UniversityDepartment of the Built Environment, Aalborg UniversityDepartment of the Built Environment, Aalborg UniversitySeveral Danish social housing estates are currently being transformed according to the Parallel Society Act. This legislation has introduced what is, in a Danish context, a new approach to regeneration, involving tenure mix, evictions, and targeted demolition to transform and open up disadvantaged housing estates. Based on recurrent field studies in the estates that are being regenerated, this article investigates how current transformations change the flow through the estates, and how the ongoing place-making is perceived by residents. Existing research mainly applies either a social science approach to social-mix policies or an urban design approach to study place-making and transformations of large housing estates. This article bridges the gap between these two approaches by exploring the relationship between current physical transformations and local social life. The empirical focus is on Bispehaven and Gellerupparken near Aarhus, where regeneration projects have changed the infrastructure and flow. This study shows that more – and new groups of – external users are now passing through the estates. Though residents and external users blend more in the estate’s public spaces, this is not a guarantee of positive social exchange between the groups. The increasing flow is intended to provide a sense of security and ‘eyes on the street’, but the traffic passing through the estate is perceived – especially among residents with children – as a considerable threat, making it difficult to let children run freely. Even though many residents may be in favour of a more mixed neighbourhood, they also feel that their place has been taken away from them; place-making is experienced as place-taking. In combination with the involuntary relocation of some residents, the place-making processes thus also become a matter of who has the right to the place.https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/njus.5.2.1RegenerationParallel Society Actplace-makingsocial mixarchitectural anthropology |
| spellingShingle | Marie Stender Lene Wiell Nordberg Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen Mette Mechlenborg Claus Bech-Danielsen Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing Estates Nordic Journal of Urban Studies Regeneration Parallel Society Act place-making social mix architectural anthropology |
| title | Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing Estates |
| title_full | Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing Estates |
| title_fullStr | Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing Estates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing Estates |
| title_short | Place-Making or Place-Taking? Transformation of Danish Disadvantaged Housing Estates |
| title_sort | place making or place taking transformation of danish disadvantaged housing estates |
| topic | Regeneration Parallel Society Act place-making social mix architectural anthropology |
| url | https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/njus.5.2.1 |
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