Copenhill (Denmark Day 3)


First, we gathered. Getting to the facility was our first task. I checked out both Google Maps and a paper city map to see which route I might enjoy most. I also thought it might lessen the chance of getting completely lost. It worked! More on that meandering to and from the facility in a future post. For now, know that we all made it on our own time and on time for our tour. We're all pros at parking now.

After we had pedaled our way out to the bit o land with the incinerator, we found out that our tour guide wasn't there--and wasn't coming. Luckily, the outside of it is open to the public for free. Why is that even halfway interesting?

Copenhill is a waste plant-power plant...but wait, there's more!...
...ski slope...
and
...the world's tallest climbing wall...
with a wildflower-filled hiking path up to the top if the stairs or elevator don't suit your fancy. Elevation gain: 85 meters.
You can see the bridge to Sweden (and Sweden itself) from the top of Copenhill. 

Copenhill is more than multi use. It's multipurpose. It handles all of Copenhagen's non-recyclable (and more) waste. It turns the heat of burning the waste into energy. It houses offices. It serves as public green (in the summer) space that's easily accessed by bike. It offers paid recreation. Copenhagen needed a way to handle its waste and the people went with building more than a simple incinerator. I'm starting to get the impression that it's very Copenhagen to see space as serving a social purpose.

Next up: Meandering (or getting a little lost on the way)

Not-so--random pic of the day's activity: a bumble bee!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Out n About (Day 26 Netherlands)

Image
I woke up with a plan, a very good plan, to take every form of non-automobile transport easily available in Amsterdam. Bike to Rijkmuseum Bike to the bookstore district  Take the ferry from behind Central Station  Bike around Noord Amsterdam  Ride Metro back with my bike before rush hour  Drop my bike at the hostel Take a bus out Take a tram back What I actually did: Slept in too late for the art museum Biked to the bookstores Ferried to Noord Amsterdam  Biked up through Noord to a Metro station ...and realized I missed the last train before rush hour that would allow bikes on board. So, I biked around Noord Amsterdam neighborhoods for the rest of the day, ended up at a light industrial waterfront area that had been redeveloped into design offices, restaurants, and what I think of as "the usual" attempts to spruce up an old port or industrial area to attract high income people to work and visit in an ar...
Read more

European Cyclist Federation (Day 22 Netherlands)

Image
We met with the board chair of the European Cyclists' Federation, Henk Swarttouw, to learn more about how bicycling advancements work at the EU level. While the Dutch approach to cycling as a normal part of transportation, rather than viewing it as an "alternative" transportation, exists in their own forms and histories in other countries of the EU (such as parts of Denmark and Germany), expanding infrastructure to increase the utility and ease of cycling varies widely across the union. When a country or region within a country wants advice on network design, they sometimes turn to the European Cyclists' Federation for guidance.  The European Cyclists' Federation also works as advocates at various levels. At the EU level, the ECF works to improve cycling across all of the union. For example, they try for policy to ensure that biking and rail connect networks and work together. They also work on tax policy that would categorize bikes as basic needs. Whe...
Read more

Transit, a piece of the pedal puzzle (Day 21 Netherlands)

Image
It's a bit startling how easily people can get around here in the Netherlands. Short distances or long distances, we can move about without a ton of planning.  We met up with Bradley Tollison, a former participant of this learning abroad program, at the Driebergen-Zeist train station to learn more about how cycling complements transit more than it competes. When a region makes an ongoing effort to make a less-car life a real possibility, it pays attention to human behavior. In the Netherlands, the city planners noticed that a large portion of bike trips went to or from trains.  (Photo from Cuijk Station near Nijmegen) Turns out, people living in Denmark can participate in a program where they use the same card as the train trips for a bike share bike. So, they can bike to the train (possibly on their own bike), park it, take the train, then borrow an OV fiets (bike) to complete the journey on the other end. I'd noticed these bikes at the stations near Nijmegen (lik...
Read more