Accidental neighborhood tour (Denmark Day 13)

We started the day with a class meeting at the park--on the Odense River itself.

Two of the professionals that accompanied us on the trip shared about their career experiences and answered questions for this outdoor class session. Their insights into how they navigate the power dynamics of urban planning helped me think about ways that my position (as a doctoral student at a major US public university) comes with opportunities to bring a people-centered perspective to issues that matter in my city. Also, how the professionals manage to continue to do the work based in values in the current political climate made me think about why I do my work and in what ways it matters for me to be one of the ones in that work. I really appreciated their thoughtful and forthright answers.
As we asked questions and listened to the answers, I noticed how the city planners had treated the Odense River as a public asset for living the good life. It reflected the thought behind cycling--make it an appealing part of a good life. 
I had intended to see more of the work that I knew Connie had done by walking through art of what she'd shown us the day before and then riding the new (as in opened May 2022) light rail. I started off into the city on foot and missed a turn or made a wrong turn or sets of both. So, I ended up on an accidental neighborhood walking tour. What neighborhood? I honestly don't know. 

I came across far more streets that lacked bike infrastructure like traffic calming or bike paths. This intersection still had painted bike lanes.
The big box store had bikes in the bike parking, but it definitely accommodated a car-based life.
This felt downright dangerous for biking. I saw people biking, but the car drivers didn't slow down and didn't grant much passing space for safety either.
To be fair, the painted shoulders widened when the overall road did. Then again, wider roads make for faster speeding drivers.
Since I walked, I felt comfortable on the sidewalks. By then time I realized my turn/no turn/wrong turn mistake, it was shorter to walk back to the hotel. So, that's what I did. All in all I had a very relaxing day observing a small bit of Odense infrastructure.

Next up: Sleepy Sunday wanderings

Random pic of the day: Pigeons on a sign and its lights.

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