5 Parks in 3 Hours

PROMPT: What functions does public urban greenspace perform in a city in general, and specifically in Copenhagen?

Though Copenhagen is a major city, the number and size of green-spaces for citizens to utilize is incredible.  The many greenspaces make Copenhagen more than just a busy metropolis.  Copenhagen is a great model for a functioning, peaceful, and green city.  Citizens utilize the local urban greenspaces for a multitude of different activities and purposes.

The parks we visited included Kastellet, Østre Anlæg, Bostanisk Have, and Ørstedsparken and Amaliehaven. These parks (minus Amaliehaven) are refered to as the Fortification Parks. This is because the old fortification surrounding Copenhagen was destroyed and made into parks.

What was intriguing about each park was the diversity.  There were distinct differences in the feel to the park, plants growing, age of people, amount of people visiting the park, and the activities that each park offered.

Amaliehaven was very geometric with its sharp clean-cut boarders, walkways, and trimmed hedges.  The walls on the first and second level gave the park a feeling of seclusion despite being next to a major road in the city.  This barrier gave the park a formal but calming and quiet atmosphere.  I noticed this park mostly being used for reading and strolling.

Kastellet is a park along with an active military base in the center.  And yes, you can walk on the base and they don’t stop you (…that is definitely not allowed in the U.S).  The green park surrounded the military base and was on higher grounds.  The single pathway winding around the base was long, continual, and in a star shape.  People were jogging, picnicking, reading about the war memorials, and enjoying the view from above.  

Østre Anlæg was a beautiful park that didn’t seem to belong in a busy metropolis.  Waterfalls, three lakes, benches, hidden pathways, animal-life, and beautiful plants covered the grounds.  Along with these serene things, Østre Anlæg had 2 basketball courts, blacktops, open fields, kids playgrounds, and many excited children playing.  This park seemed to appeal to all age groups because of the variety of amenities and resources offered.

Botanisk Haven was a beautiful park with rich and vibrant colored plants and flowers.  This park displayed more flowers than any other park previously seen.  It was a very organized, strict man-made layout.  Signs and tags labeled every last flower and plant.  Many tourists were there along with photographers, families, students, and maintenance workers. 

A large pond in the center Ørstedsparken was very visually appealing.  The pathways wrapped around and featured many statues, one of which included Ørsted himself.  This park, similarly to Østre Anlæg, seemed very out of place.  When you stepped in and down the slope to the lake, little city noise could be heard.  What was particularly interesting was the water feature in the park.  Just above, on higher grounds, was a play area for children and recreation.  A stream ran through this area (the children were particularly fond of this) and then eventually ran into the green nature part of the park.  The water feature really intertwined the loud, busy, and fun space with the serene pond and garden. 

 

Thinking back on the 5 parks we visited today, it’s clear to me that every park serves a different purpose.  The many parks Copenhagen offers allow every person to experience nature in different ways.  While some parks may feature a part of history, be a spot for walking a dog, reflecting, playing ball, getting away from the busy city, or learning, no one clear function can define a park.