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Atlas as Instrument Reacting to the possibility of an expanded interpretation of sustainability and livability discourse, the range of maps, diagrams, statistics, drawings, and information graphics of the Atlas document multiple aspects and registers of the architecture and urbanism of Copenhagen – ones not necessarily incorporated within current indexes such as that of Siemens or Monocle. In such a context, the ambition is that the Atlas might speak to the potential of an openended tool capable of supporting a pluralistic debate over urban sustainability and livability discourse in general, and upon Copenhagen – or the various Copenhagens – in particular. This, it may be argued, is especially necessary in a context in which much of the authority and control of information – particularly around the theme of environmental sustainability – has been black-boxed by technical specialists. The intention of the graphic format of the Atlas is to allow for a more intuitive understanding of complex conditions or systems, which are often couched in more disciplinary specific and exclusive language and visualizations. In these terms, a goal of the project is to democratize and make more accessible enhanced levels of understanding to support a more informed general debate on themes related to urban sustainability and livability. This aligns to the ambition for the publication to support a pluralistic debate on the future of the city at its various scales of understanding – to embrace the potential of multiple possible sustainable, livable, or usable futures. It is in these terms that the Atlas is not intended as a comprehensive or exhaustive rendering of the territory in the form of an authoritative reference atlas, but rather as a nonlinear document offering various points of entry into a range of debates and reflections. Just as the editors were forced to accept the impossibility of capturing all aspects, registers, or interpretations of a particular city, territory, or place in the atlas format – this dilemma coincides with the infinite possible range of registers of materials, documents, and perspectives that might have been incorporated into such a publication format. This also relates to the extended level of depth with which many spreads could have been developed – in some cases, a spread could have formed the introduction to an atlas of several hundred pages itself. During the development of this version of the Atlas, conceptual frameworks were developed for a number of alternative atlases. For example: one incorporating extensive photographic documentation and interpretation (with Gerhard Richter’s Atlas project as inspiration); another focused on subjective mappings, citizen surveys, and GPS tracking data, etc., articulating a citizen’s Copenhagen from eye level; or another unfolding the story of the city and its territories through the curation of a diverse range of archival documents, newspaper clippings, and other media formats, to name just a few. For now, these alternative atlases are postponed to the possibility of later volumes. The current publication has instead remained focused upon responding to the registers of information typically
Introduction
incorporated into ranking indexes or expanding those areas that are not included in such discussions, but perhaps could be if a more critical, open, and encompassing view of environmental and social sustainability and livability is to be embraced. It is not solely intended that readers approach the publication in a linear way through the lens of the themes described above; the Atlas can also be read in a range of other ways, for example, as a collection of articles addressing contemporary Copenhagen, or articles introducing aspects of the discourse on urban sustainability; as an experiment in urban atlas-making, or what an atlas could do; or as an introduction to possible deeper study related to one of the themed chapters. Chapters In addressing an object as complex as a city or urban territory, the main body of the Atlas is divided into chapters which each organize different lenses through which the city and region is imaged or represented, and through which a variety of territories with their own internal consistencies and differences emerge. Each lens privileges a certain thematic focus and typically implies a particular relation to the concepts of sustainability or livability – each of which are introduced at the beginning of each chapter. 1 The Urban Formation chapter unfolds aspects of the periodization of the various historical phases of development of the city, and the changing contexts, ambitions, and logics present during these different periods in the city’s formation. 2 Urban Demography explores spatially the various demographic characteristics relating to themes such as health, wealth, happiness, education, and equity – unfolding a series of possible interpretations at the intersection of the spatial and the social. 3 The Urban Textures chapter examines the character of different urban patterns and typologies constituting various Copenhagens – each based on different ambitions, ideologies, and formats of societal organization at the time of their realization. Each pattern or texture represents a certain disposition in relation to density, height, spatiality, building geometry, programmatic mixity, green space, infrastructural organization, etc. 4 The Urban Spaces chapter emerges from the context of Copenhagen’s reputation internationally as a model of high-quality democratic public space – through the municipality’s high level of investment in such spaces, its image-branding efforts, as well of those of companies such as Gehl Architects. 5 Urban Mobility examines the theme of mobility across and within the various Copenhagens – particularly in the context of the central role it plays in sustainability discourse, from Copenhagen’s reputation as a bike-friendly city to the role of transport-oriented development (TOD) thinking in the development of the Copenhagen Finger Plan.
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