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Cities for Kids and Bikes

 A common theme in my reflections has been the mixing of ages in public spaces and the abundance of children on bikes. In addition to safe bicycle infrastructure, Copenhagen has facilitated a city for kids through access to playgrounds, courtyards, parks, and a general whimsy in the city. The parks and playgrounds in Copenhagen were abundant and I found the concept of a manned/staffed playground really interesting. Dedicating staffing and money to playgrounds is a very foreign concept to me since child development and joy are not invested in the United States outside of the school system (and even then…). The traffic garden showed a deep care and investment in child joy and safety I found refreshing and inspiring. In addition to the various playgrounds I found, I also documented micro-playgrounds or places for play and playgrounds in more mature locations (such as museums). This showed how integrated children and their activities are into all aspects of Danish life. 



The Danish Architecture Center exhibit, So Danish, had this tiny doorway that said “Shortcut to the future”. The door was the size of a small child and I thought it was a sweet metaphor that the shortcut to the future could only be comfortably passed through by a child. The museum also had a playground on the side of it outside and a slide inside. Often times museums are not viewed as spaces for children, especially in the US. The incorporation of activities and places for children and adults in museums emphasizes my point about the acceptance of Children in public spaces in Denmark.


While getting to CopenHill I biked through the residential area of Freetown Christiana and noticed several small play structures and activities along the dual biking and pedestrian path. These, while run down, were easy to access and see from the residential homes. They were incredibly abundant along the path and I loved how they were all slightly different. I assume most of them were homemade and designed specifically for the needs and wants of children in the area. In addition to playing structures, bicycles strewn all over were abundant in the residential area of Christiana, several of them children's bikes. I enjoyed biking in Christiana, and I imagine it’s safe for children, due to the lack of cars and vehicles in the neighborhood. 


The traffic garden and the play structures in Christiana are two wildly different approaches to biking for kids and creating cities for kids. One is very structured and the other is unregulated and a tad wild. However, both achieve similar effects and create and integrate children into public spaces and prioritize sustainable transit and child joy in their community. 


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