Progressive Planning Ideals in a Neo-liberal Context, the Case of Ørestad Copenhagen

Abstract

Large-scale development projects have frequently been interpreted as products of neo-liberal policies. Many of them have been fiercely criticized because of their closed governance settings and their negative local spatial impacts. What space is left in them for a more progressive planning agenda? This article presents an empirical investigation of a major mixed-use large-scale development, the Ørestad project in Copenhagen. Although Ørestad is certainly representative of a timeframe in which Danish urban policies shifted strongly towards neo-liberal competition-oriented approaches, this project aimed to develop a progressive agenda as well. Our study analyses its success and failures and discusses the possibilities, inspired by North-American and Pacific-Asian examples, for stimulating a progressive agenda in these kinds of urban interventions.

Notes

This analysis is based on empirical fieldwork in Copenhagen in a 2-month period at the end of 2004. Besides a study of planning and policy documents, 25 in-depth interviews were conducted with major players involved in the Ørestad project, both from the public and the private realms. Various interviews with academics and other critical observers were conducted to generate a better understanding of the context of changes in urban planning in the last decades in the Copenhagen area.

In 2003, the typical office rents for prime buildings in the central harbour areas were 1,650 DKK (222 euros) per square metre. In Østerbro, the rents were 1,600 DKK (215 euros), while in Hellerup they were around 1,550 DKK (208 euros). In the meantime, Ørestad, which had been marketed as the most prestigious location in the whole region, reported prime office rents of just 1,250 DKK (168 euros) (Sadolin & Albæk A/S, 2004).