How Cool is Copenhagen: Playgrounds for all ages

Even on our first stay in Copenhagen (fifteen years ago), I noticed that Danish playgrounds were a different breed from their American counterparts. At our son's school in Hellerup, for example, the playground was built by the students from old lumber and giant tree branches. There was lots of rope walks and plenty of climbing opportunities. Definitely not as safe as your standard American school playground, but lots more engaging and very attached to the community it served.

On our current stay in this fair city, I have noticed that playgrounds have become even more important to urban life. Playgrounds- for children and adults - have evolved into the essential furniture of Copenhagen's many "outdoor rooms." I'll illustrate this assertion with a picture of a fairly standard children's playground around the corner from us on Sankt Annae Plads.

Playground on Sankt Annae Plads, near FDR monument



Horse sculptures at Sankt Annae Plads playground

The playground is nicely integrated into a larger park - increasing the usefulness of both. An older resident using the benches along the perennial border might enjoy hearing and watching the children in the playground. This one is geared to younger kids ( not much climbing stuff), and in fact, there is a kindergarten behind the church across the street. But what's most interesting to me is that there are original, artist-made sculptures of horses for kids to climb on. And that is no anomaly. Most of the playgrounds I've seen this year include some original sculpture or design element.

Taarnlegepladsen/ Tower Playground in Faelled Parken

Older kids section of Tower Playground in Faelled Parken

Taarnlegepladsen, or Tower Playground, in Copenhagen's enormous Faelled Park is not your standard playground. The equipment is designed to look like the city's historic towers and steeples. Kids can pretend they are giants and jump from rooftop to rooftop, or look at a map of the stars inside the replica of Rundetaarn, the old observatory tower.

Some playgrounds are even more site-specific.

Playground with whimsical towers in Brumbleby

The playground in the contained neighborhood of Brumbleby looks like parts of the complex have broken free and started dancing.

Kongens Have (The King's Garden) Playground next to Rosenborg Castle

In the King's Garden, a giant carved dragon guards his egg, surrounded by sandbox moats and guard towers, just meters away from the Renaissance Rosenborg Castle with its actual moats and royal guards.

Another great new feature of playgrounds, and public spaces, around Copenhagen is the inclusion of fitness-related equipment for adults. The aforementioned Faelled Parken has at least three "motion centers" are well as running trails, soccer fields and basketball courts. The new Amager Beach Park has everything from kayak canals to running/rollerblade trails to umbrella-covered fitness centers with body weight-driven equipment.

Adult fitness equipment on Pakhuskaj, near Langelinie

One particularly innovative project is Superkilen (2011, by 8-House architects BIG), which links the spaces between and behind buildings in the Norrebro district of Copenhagen, through a series of outdoor "rooms" with bike and walking trails, playgrounds, fitness equipment and unique seating areas. The Red Room marks the entrance to Superkilen from the main avenue, Norrebrogade, and includes skating ramps, team sports and fitness equipment. This leads to the Green Room with an artificial hill, playground and picnic areas, and ends in the Black Wedge, with chess tables, benches and room for outdoor markets. Because Norrebro is a multicultural area of the city, design features include palm trees, a Moroccan-style fountain, a Japanese octopus and an Indian elephant slide.

Red Room of Superkilen, Norrebro

Entrance to Green Room of Superkilen, Norrebro

Japanese Octopus slide in the Green Room of Superkilen

And even though these are (for the most part) mid-morning, weekday photos - the parks are being used by adults, with or without their children. People are: a) moving their bodies, and b) sitting outside instead of in front of the TV inside. When I see someone on a park bench here, I don't necessarily assume they are creepy or a drunk. There are those, too, but there are also folks like me, enjoying my seat in a beautifully appointed outdoor room.

With these playgrounds in mind, I was excited to read an article in last week's NYTimes about how Oklahoma City is taking advantage of the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the new Affordable Care Act to build bike lanes, walking paths and an Olympic rowing complex, and to put in place nutritional counselling. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/health/door-to-door-in-oklahoma-city-preaching-healthy-living.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&moc.semityn.www The article states "Republicans in Congress derided the prevention program as 'a slush fund to build sidewalks, jungle gyms and swing sets.' " But the (Republican) Mayor Mick Cornett is using funds to turn this famously fat city into a "laboratory for healthy living" - which is just how I would characterize Copenhagen.

Go, swing sets, go!

Organic food: a rant from my desk in Copenhagen

One of the lead stories in the NYTimes last week reported on a Stanford University study of organic fruits, vegetables and meats. The decades-long study concluded that organic foods are not substantially more nutritious than conventionally grown products, and may still contain some trace of pesticides (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/science/earth/study-questions-advantages-of-organic-meat-and-produce.html). I read the article and the subsequent op-ed piece by Roger Cohen (Sept.7) with jaw dropped, because both the Stanford study and the opinion piece had so completely missed the mark about organic foods.

How incredibly limited to view the production of food solely in terms of the costs and benefits to the individual consumer! What about the impact on the planet and on climate control, for chrissakes! As Mark Hertsgaard points out in a story related to the Farm Bill -- and not in reaction to the organic foods study -- conventional farming is a leading contributor to greenhouse gasses. (see http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/opinion/the-farm-bill-should-help-the-planet-not-just-crops.html)  Conventional monoculture farming practices also leach the soil of moisture, which further contributes to extreme drought. In other words, so what if we're creating catastrophic weather conditions for ourselves and future generations - as long as my peas cost a little less and carry an acceptably low level of pesticides.

And what about the workers who must apply the pesticides and handle the products covered with pesticides day in and day out? Maybe a significant trace of pesticides don't leach through a banana's peel into the fruit itself, but how many hands are on those bananas before we peel it? Years ago, I heard Eric Schlosser speak at Princeton about his landmark book, Fast Food Nation. While he was gratified that many readers had eschewed fast food in favor of sustainably grown products as a result of his book, he was shocked that there wasn't more outrage about the working conditions fostered by conventional agriculture and slaughterhouses. For him, this was the biggest take-away from all his research on the subject.

In Copenhagen right now, there is a very personable poster around town explaining that public kitchens, which prepare the food for Copenhagen's nursery schools, senior centers and meals for shut-ins is now 75% organic, with a goal of achieving 90% by 2015. Copenhagen will then have the most sustainable municipal food service in the world.

Billboard in Kongens Nytorv about Copenhagen Community Kitchens

If one then goes to the website for the Copenhagen public kitchens,  http://www.kbhmadhus.dk/ , it becomes clear that the 90% benchmark is part of a larger sustainable energy plan for the city - a plan which includes more and better public transportation and bike paths, and increased reliance on incinerated trash and windmills for energy. One will also find menu plans and seasonal charts of local fish and produce for use by parents - because local foods use fewer fossil fuels to travel to your table.

Some of the 1,750 food service workers employed by Copenhagen public kitchens

The emphasis on organic, locally sourced food in Denmark is not just occurring at the public level. It is part and parcel of what makes the restaurant scene here so vibrant. The "new Nordic" restaurants such as Noma and its progeny are buoyed by a compelling world view about food, where it should come from and how it should be grown. As a result, the food is remarkably fresh and delicious. You can taste the outdoors in the salads and the seafoods we've had the pleasure of eating here. Even humble root vegetables - locally grown potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, and black radishes - are taking a star turn in these restaurants because they taste of the earth, and not because of some extraordinarily complicated preparation.

Whether public or private the overriding message in Denmark is clear - it's about the planet, stupid. Keep an eye on the big picture, including the food you eat,  and everyone is better off.