A Sustainable City Story: Copenhagen

Copenhagen is a city that has taken great strides and implemented a number of initiatives to become more sustainable! This beautiful city in Denmark has become a benchmark for which other countries look to and hope to achieve, both within the way that the city is run and also how the people within it have adapted their lives to be more environmentally friendly! So how has Copenhagen achieved this and how can other places around the world change to develop as they have? Many attribute this city’s success to how the government within this region has made sustainable living more accessible for those living within it. In other countries, being sustainable is hard, and without the proper infrastructure and systems put in place to help people be more sustainable, many people are simply not able to be as environmentally friendly as they would like. Copenhagen has put these different systems and infrastructure in place to better help its citizens live sustainable lives!

What are The Features of a Sustainable City?

Putting the Environment at the Heart of Policy

When it comes to creating policies to help benefit a city and help it to function better, Copenhagen has included the needs of the environment when creating these different policies. Known to be the most sustainable city in the world, they have accomplished this through identifying different elements that can adapt within public and private policies to ensure that the environment is considered when it comes to city planning. Having sustainability and ecological thought at the centre of creating government policies helps to change the way a city functions, and it has worked in Copenhagen!

Energy Production

To produce energy using non-renewable resources is a detrimental and often unavoidable task. To power cities, you need to have a constant source of energy that can ensure that you do not run out of power. Copenhagen has come up with renewable energy sources to power the city so that energy is not something that causes harm to the environment!

Energy Consumption

Whether it is the buildings that they are erecting or the heating and cooling systems in homes around the city, Copenhagen has created systems that are efficient with energy and energy production! Energy within a city is extremely important, without businesses will stop, homes will be without power and the entire city would crumble. This does not mean that the way that energy is used and produced cannot be changed to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly! Older buildings are retrofitted with newer and more energy-efficient systems to ensure that the energy that is used, is used correctly and in ways that make sure that it lasts!

Green Mobility

When you get up in the morning and make your way to work, you more than likely get into your car and you are on your way. In Copenhagen, more than one-third of the population gets to work by using bicycles and with the carefully structured bike routes around the city and bike racks located in convenient locations, this city has made it easy! This new way of living greatly reduces the amount of carbon emissions that are released by cars and also provides a much healthier way for people to get to and from work!

How Copenhagen Became The Most Sustainable City of The World?

They Own Urban Farms

Urban farms are small green spaces that are located across the city that allow for people to grow and buy their own produce! This supports green initiatives all throughout the city and also provides a space where residents can purchase and grow their own produce. This reduces the number of carbon emissions in the atmosphere while also decreasing food security within the city!

Green Grocery Applications

Green grocery apps are big in Copenhagen and they have helped empower many people when it comes to their shopping habits! Green grocery apps help promote foods that have been sourced through sustainable means, promoting them to potential customers through apps. Each of the products and different brands that sell their products on these apps is vetted and checked to be sure that what they are selling has been sourced through sustainable channels. Organic produce and items that are found to be produced and sold in sustainable ways are then sold through this app, helping customers make better decisions about the foods that they buy and the businesses that they support.

They Built Recycled Buildings

Building homes, shopping malls or anything else that a city may need to function takes up a ton of time and resources. While it is possible to do this in green and eco-friendly ways, these systems are often costly and take a lot of time. In order to figure out a way around these kinds of issues, Copenhagen came up with the idea to build recycled buildings! These buildings are made from many different things, but they all have one thing in common; they have each been recycled! Do not be alarmed if you see a shop that is located within a shipping container as these are just one of the kinds of recycled buildings that are used throughout the city!

Sustainable Fashion Scene

Copenhagen has many different initiatives that centre around sustainability, one of them being sustainable fashion. From projects that centre around being able to give clothes back to stores when you no longer use them to recycling initiatives that ensure that businesses are rewarded for their sustainability, there are many ways that the sustainable fashion scene is growing in Copenhagen!

They Have Safe (And Scenic) Bike Infrastructure

When it comes to sustainable city planning, Copenhagen is a city that can be extremely proud of what they have accomplished! The scenic bike routes and infrastructure throughout the city ensures that people can use this form of transport to easily get to and from where they need to go! As one of the best sustainable city features, the bike routes in Copenhagen are widely known and many other cities have tried to replicate this system!

What are The Effects of Copenhagen on Sustainable Tourism?

There has recently been a lot of buzz around the popularity of eco-friendly cities and how sustainable tourism can help to better the way that we travel. As certain cities become better in the way that they function and the way that people within them live, travelling to these places can be a great way to see first-hand how it is done! Copenhagen holidays offer tourists the chance to do just that and it could therefore be a great place to consider for your next vacation! From Copenhagen weather to the different things to do in and around the city, there is a lot that would make this a great spot to enjoy an eco-friendly holiday! Copenhagen is also a city that is proud of its achievements and they offer tours and chances to see the various things that they have to do to become more sustainable and efficient!