Suburban Greenspace

Suburban Greenspace

Today we went north of Copenhagen to explore gardens used by suburban residents outside the city. We started by visiting a community near Fredensborg designed by the famous architect Jørn Utzon, who is renowned for his design of the iconic opera house in Sydney Australia, and then visited the famous oval allotment gardens in Nærum, designed by the Danish landscape designer C. Th. Sørenson.

By creating the private gardens within communal greenspaces, these suburban communities reap the benefits of both public and private greenspaces, but the juxtaposition of these highlights the differences between public and communal spaces. The private spaces tend to be much more densely packed with a variety of types of plants, including flowers shrubs and in the case of the oval gardens, vegetables. People in these spaces have room for creativity to design their gardens as a private and personalized sanctuary. One man and his wife who we met today shared with us their garden enclosed within the Jørn Utzon community, and showed us how they had personalized their space by adding a variety of flowers and trees, and had even built a raised bed to suit their needs.

This personalization can also be seen in the oval gardens, where individuals can basically do whatever they want to within their spaces. In their individual oval shaped gardens, which are surrounded by hedges, community members can have structures of a variety of sizes, including small cottages and greenhouses, and can plant trees, flowers and vegetables to their liking. Like the courtyards of the Utzon community, residents are able to feel like they have a private space to cultivate to meet their individual needs and to feel somewhat separated from the greater community. 

On the other hand, the communal spaces of both areas are noticeably different in appearance and function from the private spaces. They have larger expanses of grass filled lawn, which creates an open feel in some areas, and is useful for larger community activities. The first space we visited has very large expanses of grass, as well as a communal patio with a dining area, and the private courtyards opened up to these spaces allowing the individuals to be connected to the community from their own spaces. According to the man who showed us around, the residents frequently use the dining patio and grassy areas, and these seem to establish a sense of community. 

At the oval gardens, the spaces between the ovals serve as the communal spaces as well as a building for communal use. This building and lawn spaces tended to be much more sparse and grass filled, and seemed to function as a multipurpose space for all community members to enjoy. The daughter of Sørenson informed us that these spaces are often used for children playing and are cherished by the community members.