More and more articles in newspapers and planning reports in Copenhagen are talking about green and blue planning policies …. so policies that look in a coherent way at green nature in the city but alongside policies for water quality and for making the harbour and lakes a more crucial part of life in Copenhagen.

Recently, I came across this publication from the Technical Department of the city council that was published in 2013. Drawn up by, among others, the architectural studio of COBE, the illustrations are good at showing just how many different ways there are to deal with the hard edge of the quay around the harbour that forms the link between the land and the water and there are many ideas about how to encourage more access to the water and more activities.

The cycle route around the harbour is now complete and at over 13 kilometres it draws in a large area of water of the inner harbour and, as work on the new district of Nordhavn moves forward, more and more facilities on the water have been provided. The new swimming area in Nordhavn opened last year.

City planners are now considering the possibility of designating the wooden decking and the inner part of the dock at Ofelia Plads, north of the National Theatre, as a new official swimming area.

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