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You have already worked with cities in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Mauritius. What have you observed?
The Danish island of Samsø springs to my mind when I think about islands and sustainable development. It has set itself the goal of being the first carbon-neutral island in the world and has been striving for years to achieve this vision. Of course, it is a much smaller territory than Mauritius. But
all good practices are transferable and scalable.
An island is faced with various constraints and must operate
within a certain context, which encourages creative thinking. The city of Copenhagen, which is in many respects a benchmark for urban design and planning, is actually an island with finite boundaries. It is bordered by the sea on one side and 23 other municipalities on the other. This requires tremendously efficient use of the space you have to work with. I live in the city of Frederiksberg which, due to historical quirks, is surrounded by Copenhagen. An even smaller urban ‘island’, but with densely populated neighbourhoods, a visionary policy, trees and a strong environmental dimension.
In closing, do you have any thoughts that you would like to share with Mokazine readers?
We are in the age of urban planning. What I have seen around the world, both in my work and while shooting my TV series, The Life-Sized City, is that there is a collective global drive with citizens standing up and insisting on being heard – whether they live
in the heart of a megacity or in a neighbourhood on an island nation. Most of the successful and significant projects I have seen are the result of a community effort: citizen engagement is the new urbanism. And taking the ideas of our citizens on board is the new leadership!
newsworthy
sustainable urban planning
2023 / NO 5 / MOKAZINE 59