Amager Fælled: the defence of the commons in Copenhagen, Denmark
Description:
City and port developers By & Havn have revealed their plans for Amager Fælled, the urban nature area in south Copenhagen. A 40-hectare large, green zone near the Sundby metro station will be transformed into a new neighbourhood with several 7-storey apartment buildings offering 2,000-3,000 housing units, as well as with shops, supermarkets, parking and daycare centres. Construction companies are currently submitting their project proposals and By & Havn hope that construction work will commence in 2017-2018 and that the first residents will be able to move in two years later. [1] That old beach meadow was back in 1992 given to a commercial company By & Havn by the municipality and the government for payment of the Copenhagen Metro. The agreement is part of the national law for the area. Hereby they repelled an ongoing preservation law which one-day prior had legally been adopted. Today this old meadow, with several species listed nationally and internationally for preservation is designated for being parceled out for building. The area is unique for its great bio diversity which have survived all these years because the land has never been cultivated by the farming industry. Due to its location, environmental hazards from fertilizers and pesticides have been limited. Today nearly 30 years after the legislation have been adopted we have been more aware of the importance of preserving the nature but due to its monetary costs this awareness has not rubbed off on the politicians. Scientists have already warned the project will create irreversible impacts. One of the issues would be flooding due to Amager Fælled’s low position. In addition, there would be the elimination of critical habitats and species, and potential contamination throughout the construction process and even in the long-term. The closeness of the project to surrounding areas – for example, a nearby lake that many bird species inhabit – could also be devastating.[2] |
Basic Data
| Name of conflict: | Amager Fælled: the defence of the commons in Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Country: | Denmark |
| Location of conflict: | Copenhagen |
| Accuracy of location | MEDIUM (Regional level) |
Source of Conflict
| Type of conflict: 1st level: | Biodiversity conservation conflicts |
| Type of conflict: 2nd level : | Land acquisition conflicts Deforestation Urban development conflicts Wetlands and coastal zone management |
| Specific commodities: | Infrastructure, housing Land |
Project Details and Actors
| Project details: | Amager Fælled is a commons in Copenhagen, set to be reduced in size following the decision of the city and port developers By & Havn to convert a portion of the urban nature area in south Copenhagen into buil environments. By & Havn revealed that five architectural teams had already started working on potential masterplans for the Amager Fælled District, located just north of Vejlands Allé and the Bella Center convention centre. But the decision to develop some 40 hectares of the nature area on Amager Fælled in the capital has not gone down smoothly with many Copenhagers. “Who wants to live in a stone desert? It’s now or never if we want to conserve Copenhagen’s nature,” Tommy Petersen, the head of Radikale party at City Hall, wrote on Twitter. “It’s completely crazy to build 2,500 homes on Amager Fælled in Copenhagen. It must be stopped.” [3] |
| Project area: | 308 |
| Level of Investment: | 150,000,000 |
| Type of population | Urban |
| Affected Population: | 500,000 |
| Start of the conflict: | 18/09/2016 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | By & Havn from Denmark - Owner of the area |
| Relevant government actors: | Copenhagen Municipality The State of Denmark |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | -Danmarks Naturfredningsforening (The Danish Society for Nature Conservation) http://www.dn.dk/ -Miljøorganisationen NOAH (The environmental organization NOAH) https://noah.dk/ -Forests of the World (http://www.forestsoftheworld.org/) - Amager Fælled Venner |
Conflict and Mobilization
| Intensity | MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization) |
| Reaction stage | PREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Local ejos Local government/political parties Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Recreational users Local scientists/professionals |
| Forms of mobilization: | Creation of alternative reports/knowledge Development of alternative proposals Involvement of national and international NGOs Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches Arguments for the rights of mother nature |
Impacts of the project
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Noise pollution, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover Potential: Soil contamination, Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity |
| Health Impacts | Potential: Other Health impacts |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Loss of landscape/sense of place Potential: Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Displacement, Land dispossession |
Outcome
| Project Status | Proposed (exploration phase) |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Under negotiation |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | There is opposition to large scale building in Amager Faelled, a green commons in the city of Copenhagen. The conflict is still developing. |
Sources and Materials
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| Other comments: | Amager fælled is a very diverse and unique green area just 2.5 km from the centre of Copenhagen. The area has various vegetation and biotopes; mainly shrubland with a mix of forest, lake, reed forest and old salt marsh with grazing cows, and it is mainly left wild. Due to its size of 2.5 km2 it’s a really good opportunity for the Copenhagen citizens to step out into almost wild nature. There are present plans of using the old marsh areas for buildings, as well as road construction. |
Meta information
| Contributor: | Steffen Rasmussen, Friends of Amager Fælleds, [email protected] |
| Last update | 18/11/2017 |
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