Lessons from Sustainable Transit-Oriented Cities 53
Figure 2.3 Evolution of Copenhagen’s “transit first” plan a. Finger plan
b. Five-axis radial investment
c. Corridors of new satellite towns served by rail
Source: Cervero 1998; reproduced with permission from Island Press, Washington, DC.
to create a more compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly urban form. It highlights the planning, design, institutional, and financial approaches used to leverage transit-oriented station areas and corridors. Copenhagen: Transit Oriented and Bike Friendly
A textbook example of long-range planning visions shaping rail investments, which in turn shaped urban growth, comes from Copenhagen, with its celebrated “finger plan.” Early in the planning process, planners identified corridors for channeling overspill growth from the urban centers. Rail infrastructure was built, often in advance of demand, to steer growth along desired growth axes. Greenbelt wedges set aside as agricultural preserves, open space, and natural habitats were designated and major infrastructure directed away from districts with these features. The evolution of Copenhagen—from a finger plan to a directed rail-investment program along defined growth axes to a finger-like urbanization patterns—is shown in figure 2.3. On the periphery of Copenhagen are new towns that are bike and pedestrian friendly. Suburban towns of 10,000–30,000 inhabitants, like Ballerup, Brønby, and Høje-Taastrup, are laced by greenways that connect neighborhoods, schools, retail centers, and pocket parks to inviting rail stops. About half of residents in these middle-class, master-planned new towns take a train to work, and four out of five walk, bike, or take a bus to their community’s rail station. Copenhagen planners have long embraced the notion that industrial progress should not encroach on the rights and needs of pedestrians and cyclists. They created one of the first and the longest car-free streets in Europe, Strøget, which, during summer, accommodates some 55,000 pedestrians, often shoulder to shoulder. Street life is not viewed only in terms of foot