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A shared future - balanced development

14. Urban and housing development

The Government's primary objective is to promote sustainable development of towns, housing and buildings. Residents and users in individual urban and housing areas should participate actively in this development, for instance through a lifestyle that calls for everybody to consider the environment and limit resource consumption as much as possible in their everyday lives. Towns and cities must secure a framework for continued growth and they must provide attractive localisation for new businesses. With respect to social life, buildings and infrastructure, towns must be organised and managed with a view to significantly reducing resource consumption and environmental impacts. There must be greater productivity and efficiency in construction. Towns and cities must be alive and diverse, and they must be improved as a framework for good and equal integration of everyone in Danish society. The individual parts of towns and cities should offer housing, service trades, public institutions and culture, thus revitalising urban areas. The development of towns and cities must take place through private/public cooperation.

Older business districts and dock areas must be utilised better by renovating them for other uses. In this way an attractive diversity in a town's supply of areas for business and housing is achieved. Urban transport should be organised so as to achieve the most effective utilisation of the overall transport system, and so that more can benefit from using public transport.

There must be a balance in the housing market, and the individual should have a real choice between renting and owning a dwelling. At the same time, new efforts will target depressed urban areas. Urban renewal creates a framework for the interplay between the new and the old, and it should emphasise quality, good architecture, and concern for the visual environment and urban ecology. Similarly, preservation-worthy historical environments must be safeguarded. We should also improve the quality of urban recreational opportunities.

Greater prosperity and increased division of labour have led to a sharp rise in traffic, which for number of years has constituted a challenge for urban environments and thus urban quality in general. It may be important to develop principles for localisation and transport, partly by ensuring that an increasing proportion of transport takes place on public transport, by bicycle, or on foot.To ensure this development in the Greater Copenhagen region, nonresidential buildings and other facilities will be placed close to railway stations.

It is advantageous if urban areas expand into areas that are already urbanised. However, the growth of towns and cities should be considered in cohesion with rural districts so that all areas in Denmark are realistic and attractive development areas. Most development in rural areas is expected to be as expansion of rural towns and villages.

In larger towns and cities, an important part of development will be renovation and conversion of older industrial areas. By reusing existing, derelict urban areas, local social, nature and building resources are utilised in the best way.There should be efforts to mix housing and the other urban functions. A mixture of services, trades, and different types of housing will make towns more vibrant, diverse and socially sustainable. Such towns will also provide a better basis for the integration of all citizens. Plans for urban revitalisation must be based on dialogue and partnerships between the various players so that people have a greater chance to influence developments in their local areas.

Sustainable development is connected with user behaviour and lifestyles in towns and housing areas. Experience has been good with public involvement, individual measurement of resource consumption by households, and green accounting in individual housing areas.The Government will further develop these measures.

Quality and recreational opportunities provided by green urban areas (for example with space for informal sports activities) are very significant for both physical and psychological well-being in towns and cities. This applies not least to integrating refugees and immigrants into the local community.The areas are very popular and the green urban areas and urban nature are significant for the ecological cycle in towns. They filter rainwater, receive compost, and provide a framework for plant and animal life.

Buildings and facilities located in towns constitute important elements of the economic and cultural capital of society and also play a key role in overall resource consumption and environmental impacts. Energy consumed to construct and operate buildings accounts for half of Denmark's total energy consumption, while materials used for buildings and facilities comprise the greater part of the consumption of Danish raw materials.Thus, recognising and limiting resource consumption and the environmental impacts of the life-cycles of buildings are important challenges.These challenges can be met by increasing the utility value, flexibility and quality of buildings, thus extending their lives and reducing the need for structural changes.

It is important that sustainable development is cemented at sector level. This will take place through practical and specific examples of how to incorporate sustainable development.The good results already achieved with sustainable and environmentally correct planning and building in both new construction and renovation must be made more widespread. It is important that a dialogue between building owners and consultants early in the planning phase includes the sustainability of the solutions chosen. Parts of the construction sector have themselves begun to describe how sustainable development can be made visible in the construction sector.

Objectives and activities in the future

Mixed housing often provides a diverse and wide composition of residents. Urban areas with mixed types of ownership are also usually stable and successful. The Government wants mixed types of ownership in areas with a lot of social housing which are characterised by run-down buildings and a onesided composition of residents. Committee work has been initiated that, in 2002, is to prepare a reform enabling residents in social housing to buy their own homes, or buy them as part of a housing association.

Housing market conditions in certain areas make it difficult to move to a new home when needs change. The Danish Government will ensure that more rented social housing is built and encourage construction of private rented housing, including student accommodation in the large university towns, and housing for the elderly.

The report from the Danish Industrial and Urban Development Committee from January 2001 contains a number of descriptions of possible proposals for new initiatives and legislation that can boost the development of sustainable towns in relation to location and utilisation of areas.The Government will follow up the Committee's work.

In the National Planning Report for Denmark 2002, the Danish Government describes the development of towns and cities as part of sustainable development in more detail, and outlines how to secure a Denmark with harmony between the different areas in the country, and between town and countryside.

During 2002, the Government will submit its policy for Danish development.The policy will initiate a debate between all relevant parties, and it will aim at creating a balanced, sustainable Denmark.The Government will ensure and develop diversity in Denmark and allow space for both economic progress and a better environment. Better cooperation between town and country is necessary for the development of both. In future, the greatest growth in housing and commercial property is expected in larger towns. However, villages and rural districts will also play an important role.

A town's attractiveness is increasingly becoming a parameter in the competition between regions and towns for attractive enterprises and jobs. New industries want to locate in towns with well educated labour, good infrastructure, and varied cultural facilities. Holistically oriented urban renewal is being developed as a tool for urban development, and urban renewal will also improve the utility value of older housing stock. Focus is on the needs and demands of people and businesses for the development of towns and cities.

Initiatives in especially exposed urban and residential areas will be developed through urban regeneration projects focusing on social sustainability, integration and employment.Two specific aims are to involve all citizens and to integrate social, economic and environmental initiatives in local communities.With the project "Byer for alle" (Towns and Cities for Everybody), the Danish Government intends to strengthen local integration in depressed urban and residential areas in need of special integration initiatives.

Parties in the Danish building and construction industry must increase their competencies in sustainable building and construction, and they must also show a greater interest in, and commitment to, fostering sustainable development.The Government wishes to motivate increased demand for sustainable and energy-efficient construction work. Growth and a sound environment should go hand in hand. More instruments will be used, from market-oriented tools with independent administration, to actual regulation of the area. This will take place by stimulating more use of sustainable products and the development of new labelling schemes for the construction industry's declarations of resource consumption, health, and environmental impacts. A panel of experts representing the building sector, politicians and central authorities published the Action Plan for environmentally sustainable building and construction practices in 2001 which provides a suitable basis for sectors in the area to coordinate their actions with regard to the environment.

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