Every year since 2010, the Danish government has published a list of \u2018parallel societies\u2019 which identifies certain areas and neighbourhoods as \u2018at risk\u2019. H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden, the housing complex made up of grey, modernist blocks in the southern part of S\u00f8nderbro, was included in the controversial list in 2018 and 2019, previously called the \u2018ghetto list\u2019, leading to a regeneration drive that aims to be inclusive and transform the area with the participation of the residents.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, resident participation in these urban renewal projects has not been consistent from neighbourhood to neighbourhood and, according to Project Manager, Niels Frisch Kj\u00f8lholt, who works for Copenhagen\u2019s Technical and Environmental Administration, H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden\u2019s members are often under-represented in meetings.<\/p>\n
Ahmed, 27, lives in H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden and, like all residents of S\u00f8nderbro, was invited to take part in one of the meetings. He went to the first meeting and from then on wasn\u2019t very involved. \u2018It was just a bureaucratic meeting that went round in circles, talking about introducing a small lawn here or changing the car park there. That\u2019s not what people need.\u2019<\/p>\n
According to the latest publication of the list, a \u2018parallel society\u2019 is defined as a social housing area with at least 1,000 residents, where the proportion of immigrants and descendants from non-Western countries exceeds 50 per cent and where at least two of four criteria relating to educational attainment and employment, income and crime levels are met.<\/p>\n
In recent years, H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden has been considered a \u2018prevention area\u2019. This means that although it is no longer on the list of \u2018parallel societies\u2019, it still has more than 1,000 residents more than 30 per cent of which are immigrants and descendants from non-Western countries. Under Danish law, a \u2018Western\u2019 country is one of \u2018all 27 EU countries, the UK, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican City, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand\u2019. Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia are all considered non-Western.<\/p>\n
Daniel Tomicic, 27, is one of the residents of H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden and has taken part in some of the S\u00f8nderbro regeneration team\u2019s initiatives. He doesn\u2019t hide his criticism or anger at the government\u2019s list, which is published every year. In his opinion, it only embeds discrimination. \u2018I can get a job, I can work, I\u2019m educated, I don\u2019t commit crimes, I even create art, which has ended up being my way of life, but my ancestry is something I was born with and I can never change it,\u2019 he says. \u2018The law basically states that non-Western ancestry means you live in a ghetto \u2013 it\u2019s state racism.\u2019<\/p>\n
According to Daniel, many do not know what the regeneration project entails; \u2018All the young people I spoke to didn\u2019t know about it, or they weren\u2019t interested because nobody explained why it should be so important to them.\u2019<\/p>\n
He views the neighbourhood as friendly and kind and, though he doesn\u2019t deny that there are some \u2018negative stories\u2019, he also stresses that there are many \u2018positive stories\u2019, condemning the stigma that residents face because of the way the neighbourhood\u2019s problems are framed by the list.<\/p>\n
For Henrik Gutzon Larsen, an urban policy researcher and co-author of the study \u2018Gentrification: Gentle or Traumatic? Urban Renewal Policies and Socioeconomic Transformations in Copenhagen\u2019, situating a problem geographically is a very common way of approaching problems politically. \u2018It\u2019s much easier to say that we have a problem here than that we have a problem everywhere.\u2019 Indeed, it is true that there are specific places that need to improve services to improve quality of life.<\/p>\n
However, he argues that the \u2018parallel societies\u2019 list has led to a change in discourse since the 1980s, where the most vulnerable socio-economic groups living in social housing have been problematized geographically, instead of perceiving social problems such as unemployment and the integration of immigrant groups at a national level.<\/p>\n
Inclusionary or exceptionary policies?<\/h2>\n
In the 2018 plan called \u2018One Denmark without Parallel Societies: No Ghettos in 2030\u2019, the then government proposed urban development projects to \u2018restore and develop areas into attractive neighbourhoods with a mix of residents\u2019 including \u2018the sale of existing buildings, targeted demolitions and new construction of private housing\u2019 if an area remained on the list for five consecutive years, with a view to reducing the proportion of family social housing to a maximum of 40 per cent, according to Law \u00a7 168 a.<\/p>\n
To prevent areas from being on the list, Niels explains that, \u2018we, the city, decided \u2013 or at least the politicians decided \u2013 to regenerate all the areas that appeared on the list, to try to keep those same areas off it in the future.\u2019<\/p>\n
Yet, as Niels explains, \u2018in principle, urban regeneration can be separated from gentrification, but in reality they are often very closely related and almost impossible to disentangle from one another.\u2019 According to Niels, these projects promoted by the state aim to create integrated societies with a mix of social demographics, where it is stated that they will \u2018try to come up with a greater social mix or some variant of that word, saying that we have a neighbourhood here with challenges that relate to that specific socio-economic group and it would be good to bring in some people who perhaps have a stronger socio-economic profile\u2019.<\/p>\n
He explains, however, \u2018there is often an unspoken rule, that if you bring someone in, you need to kick someone out or you need to create more space and, if you manage to bring in a new group, this could drive out the old group in any case, for example through price rises,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n
According to Rasmus Anderson, the architect responsible for the renovation of H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden and the space near the borders of Sundholm, in the northern part of S\u00f8nderbro, S\u00f8nderbro\u2019s regeneration will not lead to a different socio-economic mix. Nevertheless, this urban renewal drive contains two projects within H\u00f8rg\u00e5rde\u2019s Regeneration Plan named \u2018Possible Densification in H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden \u2013 new types of housing for more people\u2019 and \u2018Infrastructure Projects in H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden \u2013 from closed residential area to an open, green and active one\u2019.<\/p>\n
As the Regeneration Plan mentions, these two projects, which are the responsibility of the housing association 3B that owns the H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden housing complex, \u2018are not directly part of the S\u00f8nderbro Area Renewal Plan, but the Area Renewal Plan will, as far as possible, support projects and support improved traffic and connections between the residential area, H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden, and the surrounding city.\u2019<\/p>\n
To add another layer of complexity to this regeneration drive, as H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden is a \u2018prevention area\u2019, flexible renting is still in place. This measure, applied specifically to areas covered by the list, allows the City Council to work with housing associations so that vacant homes in a housing block are rented out according to special criteria. This means that applicants who meet certain criteria, such as employment status or educational attainment, must be at the front of the queue.<\/p>\n
Daniel Tomicic declares with some anger: \u2018They\u2019re building low-income housing, but they\u2019re making access difficult for people on low incomes.\u2019 In his opinion, the list is simply moving the problem elsewhere. When he moved to the neighbourhood a few years ago, where he lives alone in a flat, he had to show documents that proved that he was studying and had no criminal record. \u2018You can no longer move into the area if you don\u2019t have the correct paperwork,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nDaniel Tomicic, H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden resident, Copenhagen. Image courtesy of the author<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It is also worth noting that the list focuses on social housing. \u2018It takes a narrow view, only looking at social housing and not at private renting. If you expand it to account for private rental properties, then you would identify problems in other areas\u2019 explains researcher Henrik Gutzon Larsen.<\/p>\n In the author\u2019s view, the rhetoric used by right-wing parties about the \u2018parallel societies\u2019 list has paved the way for the demonisation of social housing built in the \u2018golden age\u2019 of the Danish welfare state, pointing out that 20 per cent of Danish real estate still belongs to not-for-profit housing associations.<\/p>\n On 21 March 2023, according to the Regeneration Plan for H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden, the residents of H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden voted to proceed with the densification project. This proposed densification is intended to build private housing alongside new social housing for the elderly, generating a \u2018more mixed composition of residents\u2019. The neighbourhood\u2019s current \u2018temporary civic centre\u2019 containing facilities for children and teenagers and a \u2018worn-out square\u2019 where residents have a small market, a bar, and a pizzeria, will be demolished if this densification plan goes ahead.<\/p>\n Despite not being very involved in the neighbourhood\u2019s regeneration, Mohammed, an employee at H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden\u2019s youth centre, which is located next to this area, recalls a vote on selling the plot around the youth centre and possibly even the area that includes the youth centre. \u2018No one has come to talk to us here, so we don\u2019t really know what\u2019s going to happen to this place. I just know that it was a strange vote, people didn\u2019t really know what they were voting for and only a few people were there, so they don\u2019t represent everyone.\u2019<\/p>\n For Henrik Gutzon Larsen, \u2018framing the management of this issue in ethnicized politics, particularly in this type of housing, could conceal a different kind of objective: selling social housing.\u2019 Attributing unique problems to these areas, \u2018makes actions that would have been unheard of before, like getting rid of social housing, possible.\u2019<\/p>\n Mohammed has been an employee of H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden\u2019s youth club for 20 years, the place where Daniel and Ahmed spent time as teenagers after school. Adjacent to the recycling centre, this space for young people aged 13 to 18 to meet after school is a place for socializing, keeping young people off the streets and preparing them for the future.<\/p>\n It was late afternoon when I visited the youth centre. Classes had already started and it was a community dinner evening. Hassan, the centre\u2019s other social worker and another H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden resident, was already in the kitchen with his apron and some young people had already arrived. If they want to, they can help prepare dinner so they don\u2019t have to pay. \u2018But since it\u2019s only 10 Danish kroner (\u20ac1.34) for dinner\u2019, says Mohammed, \u2018most people pay.\u2019 Some were in the computer room, others were playing Playstation, others were on the sofas, distracted by their mobile phones, and there were still some very carefully tending to the tomato plant in the small garden at the entrance to the centre.<\/p>\n The youth centre is a \u2018safe haven\u2019 where young people can relax after school or on holiday and be \u2018themselves\u2019, in Mohammed\u2019s words, but that\u2019s not all. It\u2019s also a place for advice and preparation for adult life, especially \u2018in a neighbourhood that was, and still is, a problem area where most young people hang out on the streets and do things they shouldn\u2019t do,\u2019 according to Hassan, a social worker who has been at the centre for 11 years.<\/p>\n Before they turn 18, there is a list of things that employees try to teach them. It is a list that brings together practical knowledge that is often unknown to some families in the neighbourhood. \u2018We help them with the things they need to know, the basics. For example, dentistry is free until you\u2019re 18, and when our young people are 17, we remind them to get their last check-ups before it costs them,\u2019 Hassan explains.<\/p>\n They also help them to apply for a residence card if they don\u2019t already have a passport, a process that has become more difficult over the years, they support them in applying for social housing lists so that they can have a long-term flat at affordable prices, and they also organise visits to some companies or institutions so that they can get an idea of the academic and\/or professional path they would like to follow.<\/p>\n At the moment, Mohammed isn\u2019t worried about the young people he sees and works with. He says \u2018they\u2019re on the right track with school and work.\u2019 They play sports. \u2018There\u2019s no crime, no gangs\u2019 and he says it\u2019s a pleasure to be working there. But the vote on 21 March 2023 on the sale of the space owned by 3B, the housing association that owns all social housing in H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden and Sundholm Syd, and is responsible for the densification project in the H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden neighbourhood, has upset the apple cart. The uncertainty about the future of the youth centre\u2019s current premises is felt not only by staff, but also by former members Ahmed and Daniel.<\/p>\n \u2018The only thing I know is that they\u2019re going to sell\u2019, says Mohammed, and that \u2018some private companies might buy.\u2019 The red-roofed buildings next door \u2013 the \u2018temporary civic centre\u2019 mentioned in the H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden Regeneration Plan \u2013 make up institutions for children and adolescents.<\/p>\n As Mohammed says, the area is attractive, it\u2019s close to the city centre, it\u2019s well connected with the metro and bus network and \u2018Copenhagen doesn\u2019t have many places to build anymore\u2019. \u2018They did it next door in Urbanplanen, where they also built private housing, so I think it\u2019s the same thing that will happen here. In twenty years\u2019 time, only people with money will live here.\u2019<\/p>\n Hassan would be more than happy if the institutions there were renovated and provided the same services, but \u2018if they remove the centre from here and move it elsewhere, it will be difficult for us to establish a strong relationship with our young people and children.\u2019<\/p>\n In addition to uncertainty over its premises, the youth centre\u2019s budget, provided by the Municipality of Copenhagen, has been cut over the years. Ahmed, who is helping with translation, intervenes: \u2018Every year they provide a bit less, but it\u2019s still a small enough cut for no one to really fight it because it\u2019s not that drastic. They have to lay off staff every year or do less of something. They can\u2019t finance themselves and in the end they will get so little money that there\u2019s no-one left to complain,\u2019 Ahmed explains.<\/p>\n Not knowing the fate of the centre, which is a \u2018safe haven\u2019 for the neighbourhood\u2019s young people and children, breeds a sense of hesitation, insecurity and loss, especially for the young people who complain that there is \u2018nowhere to go\u2019 in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n According to Ahmed, the lack of resources for families in the neighbourhood not only affects parents, but also young people living in the area. \u2018Many families don\u2019t have much money, so there isn\u2019t always much to do at home. Many parents end up being away most of the time. So if you take away all the football pitches or the playgrounds or anything\u00a0 else, they\u2019re just left to wander around.\u2019<\/p>\n Daniel was always told not to cross the street where H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden physically and mentally ends. Sundholm can be seen to the north with the new 3B flats \u2013 Sundholm Syd \u2013 and, above that, the imposing yellow buildings from the early 20th century that serve as support institutions for around 200 to 300 homeless people.<\/p>\n When I was younger, I was afraid to go there. I\u2019d hear stories from older people about the homeless people who lived there and the substance abuse on the streets. The juvenile prison is also in the area, so it always seemed to him to be an \u2018isolated and segregated\u2019 area.<\/p>\n To counteract the isolation of the area, near the intersection of Sundholm and H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden, S\u00f8nderbro\u2019s regeneration plan proposes \u2018a social meeting point for the whole neighbourhood,\u2019 says Rasmus, the architect responsible for the project.<\/p>\n According to him, this space should include the homeless people living on Sundholm \u2013 \u2018a very vulnerable group\u2019 -, the residents of Sundholm Syd, the residents of H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden, and also the children of two special needs schools that are located right next door. He admits that the area is very complex, but he says that the \u2018space needs to be able to contain different types of uses without excluding certain groups\u2019.<\/p>\n Considered a \u2018romanticized\u2019 project by some participants in the project meetings, this initiative is the embodiment of the soul of urban regeneration in Copenhagen.<\/p>\n Location of temporary housing, Copenhagen. Image courtesy of the author<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n J\u00f8rgen moved to Sundholm in 2015 when 3B opened the housing competition for the newly built flats in front of H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden. Called Sundholm Syd, it was when he happened to cycle past on his way to work that he discovered a kind of \u2018lottery\u2019 for a flat in the development.<\/p>\n In Niels\u2019 words, this development was a \u2018way of attracting wealthier residents than those who already lived in H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden\u2019. And indeed, since 2015, 48 new households have arrived in the neighbourhood, belonging to a stronger socio-economic demographic.<\/p>\n Aware of the aim of this housing to encourage diversity in the neighbourhood and create a social mix, according to J\u00f8rgen, all the new residents were aware of the compromises this involved: \u2018The homeless who sometimes make noise, the youth prison next door where young people set off fireworks and cry in the middle of the night. It\u2019s a bit annoying, but it is what it is. Some of us came with an understanding of, please don\u2019t cry, don\u2019t steal, behave normally and we\u2019ll all be happy, but that\u2019s not the world we were put into.\u2019 (Many of the young inmates at S\u00f8nderbro\u2019s juvenile prison have friends in the neighbourhood, and it is they who set off fireworks outside to entertain their friends inside).<\/p>\n Nevertheless, since J\u00f8rgen arrived in the neighbourhood in 2015, he admits that the various social groups don\u2019t interact on a daily basis.<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t share Rasmus\u2019 enthusiasm for the area as a social meeting point for people in the neighbourhood, but he also confesses that he is not very involved in the process of renovating the neighbourhood. He thinks there needs to be a greater purpose for people to start interacting with the process. \u2018If it\u2019s to remove the car park, add a bit of grass and some benches, I don\u2019t see that doing anything.\u2019<\/p>\n Daniel also agrees that there needs to be a reason for the people of H\u00f8rg\u00e5rden to use that part of the neighbourhood. In his opinion, the opening of some cultural venues, a youth centre or even \u2018some shops and caf\u00e9s\u2019 could make the area less isolated, and he would view that project with some optimism.<\/p>\n For his part, Ahmed shows some concern for the gentrification of the neighbourhood, for example when he thinks about the future of the old barn next to the space about to be regenerated. \u2018They\u2019re going to present it as inclusive, everyone is welcome, but no one is going to invite us. It\u2019s going to be a high culture thing that people from outside are going to use a lot.\u2019<\/p>\n Rasmus says that, in the renovation team, the risk of gentrification is \u2018something we take seriously\u2019, but he doesn\u2019t think it should be too great a concern.<\/p>\n However, Lars Lindegaard Gregersen, Artistic Advisor at Glimt Amager, one of the organisations based in S\u00f8nderbro, believes that the neighbourhood \u2018could very well go down that path.\u2019 According to him, it all depends on the institutions or cultural activities that exist there, \u2018because if it is designed to try to get more of the rest of the city to come to Sundholm, with things exclusively for people who live in neighbouring areas, then it could easily foster a conflict with Sundholm residents who feel their space is not really their own.\u2019<\/p>\n In my last conversation with Rasmus, the architect maintained a hopeful tone, believing that small steps had been taken in the right direction. At the beginning of September, the regeneration team organized a social event that included a community dinner. Around eighty people attended and, according to their calculations, thirty to forty of the participants were homeless people living in Sundholm.<\/p>\n Everyone shared the same meal together.<\/p>\n This is just the start for S\u00f8nderbro\u2019s regeneration, which, as many others have before it, promises to create a more integrated neighbourhood. Yet the question remains: will S\u00f8nderbro be an example of true inclusion or just a half-realized promise?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This article was written within the mentorship programme of the EU-funded<\/em>\u00a0Come Together<\/a>\u00a0project<\/em> leveraging existing wisdom from community media organization in six different countries to foster innovative approaches.Uncertain future<\/h2>\n
Breaking down invisible borders<\/h2>\n
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