https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-1703
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ABSTRACT
This article investigates how governmental power in the emerging Danish welfare system operated through transformations to the urban geography. The focus is on two concrete cases, namely two regional plans for the Greater Aarhus Area published in 1954 and 1966. By functionally dividing the city into spaces for work, housing, consumption, transportation and recreation, these plans aimed to knit certain behavioural patterns into the everyday life of the urban dwellers and thereby promote the becoming of a particular social order and subjects. This demonstrates how the emerging welfare state worked proactively in these decades, reconfiguring urban space in the nexus between welfare, modernism and affluence. Moreover, the article addresses the outcome of the plans, seeking to explain their unsuccessful trajectory by approaching them at the intersection of the local, national and transnational. In order to approach the complex relationship between welfare and urban space, the article proposes ‘welfare geography’ as the primary analytical category. Bridging perspectives from governmentality-studies and critical human geography, this category is designed to study how welfare as a ‘dispositif’ is geographically assembled from multiple perspectives, comprising planned, imagined, material as well as lived dimensions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Mikkel Høghøj is a postdoctoral researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, working at the intersection of urban history, welfare state history and environmental history. More broadly, his research interests cover the cultural and social history of architecture, material culture studies, emotional history, cultural theory and critical geography. He obtained his PhD in History from Aarhus University in June 2019. During his time as a PhD fellow, he was a visiting fellow at the Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester.
Notes
1 See for example: Ward, Planning the Twentieth Century City; Klemek, Transatlantic Collapse; Gold, Practice of Modernism; Hall, Cities of Tomorrow; Wakeman, Practicing Utopia.
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
2 See for studies of the development of Danish urban planning: Lind and Møller, FolkeBolig; Bro, “Velfærdsstaten og Boligen”; Larsen and Larsen, Medgang og Modgang; Jørgensen, “Rational Planning”; Jørgensen, “Planlagt Velfærd”; Gaardmand, Plan over Land.
3 Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind III; Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind IV; Kolstrup, Velfærdsstatens Rødder; Kolstrup, Den Danske Velfærdsmodel.
4 See for international literature: Shapely, “Participation in Britain”; Shapely, “Entrepreneurial City”; Haumann, “Participation”; Cupers, Social Project; Wakeman, “Rethinking”; Wakemen, Practicing Utopia; Reinecke “Localising the Social”; Gunn, “Planning Bradford”; Gunn, “European Urbanities; Ryckewaert, Economic Backbone; Swenarton and Avermeate, Architecture and the Welfare State; Verlaan, “Dreading the Future”; Verlaan, “Producing Space”; Greenhalgh, Reconstructing Modernity; Kefford, “Housing the Citize-Consumer.”
5 See for example: Smith, Introduction to Welfare Geography; Smith, Human Geography.
6 See for governmentality-inspired studies within urban history: Joyce, Rule of Freedom; Otter, Victorian Eye; Legg, Spaces of Colonialism: Hollow, “Governmentality on the Park Hill estate”. See for general discussions of the role of governmentality-inspired methods within urban history: Ewen, Urban History, 71–4: Gunn, “Hegemony to Governmentality.”
7 See for an introduction to Foucault’s notion of power: Foucault, History of Sexuality, 93–4. See for an introduction to governance as governmentality: Foucault, Sikkerhed, Territorium, Befolkning, 116–9; Burchell et al., Foucault Effect; Rose, Governing the Soul; Huxley, “Geographies of Governmentality”; Huxley, “Space and Government”; Dean, “A Social Structure”; Dean, Governmentality.
8 Joyce, Rule of Freedom, 6.
9 See for a definition of ‘social citizenship’: Marshall, Citizenship and Social Class.
10 Lefebvre, Production of Space.
11 Soja, Seeking Spatial Justice, 18.
12 Lefebvre, Production of Space, 38.
13 For an overview, see: Ward, Planning the Twentieth-Century City.
14 Norskov, “Moderne Byplanlægnings Gennembrud,” 5.
15 See: Norskov, “Moderne Byplanlægnings Gennembrud”; Knudsen, Storbyen støbes.
16 See: Bramsnæs, “Boligkommissionen af 1918.”
17 Madsen, Skæv og National, 184.
18 Gaardmand, Plan over Land, 20.
19 Bro, “Velfærdsstaten og Boligen,” 593–5; Gaardmand, Plan over Land, 18–20; Larsson and Thomassen, “Urban Planning in Denmark,” 21.
20 Gaardmand, Plan over Land, 24.
21 Ibid. 38–9.
22 Larsen and Larsen, Medgang og Modgang, 25–7.
23 Gunn, “Planning Bradford,” 851; Greenhalgh, Reconstructing Modernity, 15.
24 See: Le Corbusier, Athens Charter.
25 See for example: Ward, Planning the Twentieth Century City; Hall, Cities of Tomorrow; Wakeman, Practicing Utopia; Urban, Tower and Slab; Swenarton and Avermaete, Architecture and the Welfare State.
26 See: Banke, Den sociale ingeniørkunst, 121–30; Gaardmand, Plan over land, 20–2; Ward, Planning the Twentieth-Century City, 206–9.
27 Gaardmand, Plan over land, 25.
28 Christensen, “Storby i provinsen,” 218.
29 Storårhus-Kommissionen, Egnsplan for Storårhus, 5.
30 Ibid., 15–9.
31 Ibid., 9.
32 Ibid., 59.
33 Lauridsen, “Byens Rum,” 14.
34 Storårhus-Kommissionen, Egnsplan for Storårhus, 60–3.
35 Lauridsen, “Byens Rum,” 15–8.
36 Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 13.
37 See: Møller, A1: Teoretiske Strukturmodeller; Møller, A3: Topografiske Strukturskitser, 6; Møller, A9: Den Konkrete Målsætning, 1–4.
38 Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 30–46.
39 Ibid., 18–30.
40 Foucault, Sikkerhed, Territorium, Befolkning, 116–7.
41 Foucault, History of Sexuality, 140; Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 239–64.
42 Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 10. This is my translation.
43 See Storårhus-Kommissionen, Økonomiske og Administrative Forhold.
44 Storårhus-Kommissionen, Økonomiske og Administrative Forhold, section I appendix 1–5.
45 Ibid., section II-X.
46 Ibid., section III appendix 1–19.
47 Ibid., section VI appendix 1–8 and section IX appendix 1–5.
48 Ibid., section II-X.
49 Jensen, Program for Egnsplanlægningen, 2–4.
50 Ibid.
51 Pløger, “Foucault’s dispositif,” 64.
52 Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 10. Author’s translation.
53 Storårhus-Kommissionen, Egnsplan for Storårhus, 37–45; Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 169–84.
54 See Møller, A6: Kolonihaverne i planlægningen.
55 Ibid., 3.
56 See for example: Andersen, Arbejderkultur i Velfærdssamfundet; Wagner and Brühéze, “Det europæiske Fritidsmenneske”; Wagner, “Rise of Autotourism.”
57 Thomsen, Danske Byer blev revet ned, 86–107.
58 See: Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow; Howard, To-morrow. See also, Pinder, Visions of the City, 29–57.
59 Storårhus-Kommissionen, Egnsplan for Storårhus, 19–29; Møller, A4: Radialvejenes kapacitet og Byudviklingen; Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 124–65.
60 Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 25 & 152.
61 Ibid., 133.
62 Ibid., 136.
63 See Storårhus-Kommissionen, Egnsplan for Storårhus, 57; Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 150–3.
64 See: Storårhus-Kommissionen, Egnsplan for Storårhus, 33–7 & 55; Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 46–70, 92–9 & 199–216.
65 Wium Olesen, “Velfærd og Kold Krig,” 454.
66 Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind I, 17.
67 See Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 88–104.
68 Ibid., 18–25.
69 Storårhus-Kommissionen, Egnsplan for Storårhus, 57–9; Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 104–24.
70 See Kolstrup, Den Danske Velfærdsmodel, 153–204.
71 Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind IV, 11; Kolstrup, Den Danske Velfærdsmodel, 199.
72 Gold, Practice of Modernism, 206.
73 See for studies on processes of subjectification: Rose 1999, Governing the Soul; Dean, Governmentality; Huxley, “Geographies of Governmentality.”
74 See for example: Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind I; Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind II; Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind III; Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind IV; Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind V; Petersen et al., Dansk Velfærdshistorie Bind VI: Kolstrup, Velfærdsstatens Rødder; Kolstrup, Den Danske Velfærdsmodel.
75 Møller, Egnsplan for Århusegnen 1966, 13.
76 Dean, Governmentality, 43–4.
77 Wakeman, Practicing Utopia, 49.
78 Marshall, Citizenship and Social Class, 8.
79 See: Høghøj, “Betonjunglens genealogi”; Høghøj and Holmqivst, “Betonen blev belastende.”
80 See: Nygaard, Tag over hovedet, 148–56.
81 Lauridsen, “Byens Rum,” 18–20.
82 See for example: Kiib, “Consumption Landscapes”; Frandsen, “Snork City Blues”; Pedersen, Arkitektur og plan.
83 Høghøj, “Betonjunglens genealogi,” 52–5.
84 See: Gehl, Livet mellem husene.
85 See for example: Morville, Brug af friarealer; Gehl, Bo-miljø; Hansen and Holm, Værebro Park; Agger et al., Byforbedring; Kühl et al., Boligmiljøer i forstaden; Martini, Nyere forstadsmiljøer.
86 Larsson and Thomassen, "Urban planning in Denmark,” 47–9.
87 Klemek, Transatlantic Collapse, 83–109.
88 Ibid., 210.
89 Høghøj and Holmqvist, “Betonen blev belastende,” 136–8; Bech-Danielsen and Stender, Ghetto til blandet by, 12–6.