Pelsgor: How Copenhagen Shaped a Community into Reality

There's no way I'm going to live in an apartment without a balcony!!!!

That's how we almost gave up on the beautiful apartment with the southern windows.

But the realtor smiled and said: Come, let me show you the Fællesgård.

We went up to the fifth floor.

He opened a side door, and suddenly… Narnia on the roof.

A glass greenhouse. A shared outdoor kitchen. Fruit trees. Bean bags, seating areas. An herb garden.

A hidden paradise reserved just for the residents.

In Copenhagen, almost every block of buildings has a shared courtyard.

But it wasn't always like this. In fact, until the 1970s, the backyards of Copenhagen were referred to as "the rat corridors." These were cramped, dark, smelly, and neglected areas, filled with shacks, noisy workshops, and toilets that separated the buildings and blocked light and air.

Then Copenhagen underwent a revolution.

Architects and planners, including Jan Gehl, argued that humans are not built for situations of "completely private" versus "completely public." We need the middle ground. Gehl claimed that when there are "semi-private" spaces, people spend more time outside. This time spent near other regulars creates "weak ties" between neighbors. They aren't good friends or family, but they're much more than complete strangers.

He saw these courtyards as magical no-man's lands and proposed to the municipality to transform these courtyards from a nuisance into a resource.

They demolished the shacks, consolidated spaces, and connected the courtyards.

And when the space changed, society changed too.

Urban studies have shown:

Shared courtyards alleviate loneliness.

They increase the sense of security.

They create weak but stable connections between neighbors.

They enhance social trust.

They strengthen solidarity.

The shared courtyards create a Sensory Community. This is a community that doesn't rely solely on interactions, but on an atmosphere built through the senses, through our being in a shared yet intimate space, familiar to all of us through the feelings it generates. Light, scent, a creaking swing.

And this!!! Friends!!! Is one of the reasons Denmark is repeatedly ranked at the top of countries with the highest levels of social trust in the world.

It's not a cultural issue; it's an architectural one!

The municipality isn't naive either.

It's beneficial for them:

Less crime.

Less loneliness and less illness.

Fewer floods due to gardens that drain water.

And more families that stay in the city and pay taxes.

I, obviously, easily gave up on the balcony.

So maybe enough with the lectures, raising awareness, and "community activities," and more urban planning that actually creates community?