infrastructure projects aarhus
strategy 1
The challenges of urbanism in the post industrial era are clear. Aarhus will grow by 25% - 75,000 people – over the next 20 years. Obviously, this will be a challenge for the infrastructure of the city. Aarhus has also set a goal to be co2 neutral by 2030. Aarhus is in fact rethinking the city – facing past mistakes, facing current challenges and future visions. Aarhus has initiated two key urban regeneration projects on a massive scale which will change the profile of the city, its sense of identity and its sense of being part of global urbanising landscape. The threshold from a provincial harbour city to a european metropole is at stake in these developments. The inner harbour of 83,000 m2 is being reclaimed as part of the city once again and the task of creating a living, working, studying and playing environment, relieving pressure in the city, opening up for new relationships, reconnecting the city to the water and offering a visionary learning environment where the highly ambitious Urban Media Space will present a version of the library for the ibook era. Investment in environmental, social and cultural infrastructure aims to support a transformatory process of the dislocated Gellerup social housing dream from the ‘70’s with its 18,000 residents of whom 85% have immigrant background. The most deprived “city within a city” in Denmark, the aim is a more open, dynamic and socially inclusive environment which interacts with the rest of the city. How to keep its uniqueness in the transition and how to build on the positive aspects of the community? To the north of the city there is a challenge of creating new, sustainable, green communities for some 40,000 future residents - among other places in Elev, and this vision also makes demands to create the best healing environment in the largest hospital complex in Scandinavia, Skejby Hospital. Another agenda will be finding alternatives to monotone industrial areas – based on high aesthetic, ethics and environment. The aim of a C02 neutral city by 2030 is being kick started by a number of structural initiatives, including green roofs, extension of one of the best city wide heating an hot water systems and a new integrated transport system with the Light Rail System as the core element. 6 major cultural insti-
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