Situation
Copenhagen Municipality has worked dedicatedly with area renewal programmes since 1997, aiming to improve quality of life, safety and agency in disadvantaged urban areas. The initiatives are carried out in close collaboration with local stakeholders and residents. Specifically, an area renewal programme is a five-year initiative that, based on a politically adopted neighbourhood plan, works to lift disadvantaged urban areas in Copenhagen.
Complication
The initiatives have undoubtedly created positive changes in the urban areas over the past 28 years, but the area renewal programmes still need to understand what works best, and how they can use this knowledge to strengthen the urban development of the future. In other words, the insights from the evaluation are intended to help shape future urban development initiatives so that they create value, both for residents and for the city’s development.
Recommendation
The evaluation explores the value and impacts of the area renewal programmes and takes a closer look at how different methods and approaches to holistic urban development can uplift neighbourhoods. By bringing together experiences from previous and current area renewal programmes, the evaluation will generate knowledge about how locally anchored and place-specific approaches can be used to address complex problems, so that they can create districts where everyone can thrive.
