European Cities’ New Urbanism: Case study of Copenhagen

Jawon Lee

doi:10.22776/kgs.2025.60.6.735

All Issue

2025 Vol.60, Issue 6 Preview Page Next Page

Research Article

European Cities’ New Urbanism: Case study of Copenhagen 코펜하겐을 사례로 한 유럽도시의 뉴어바니즘

31 December 2025. pp. 735-751

PDF XML

Abstract

This study examined the evolution of Copenhagen’s Finger Plan across different periods. First proposed in 1947 and implemented through regional planning along railway corridors in the 1950s and 1960s, it was legally institutionalized in the 1970s and has since been sustained as a long-term planning framework that continues to guide urban development while preserving its foundational principles. Conceptually likening the urban core to a palm and the railway-based development corridors to five fingers extending outward, the plan is commonly referred to as “Finger Plan 1.0” in its original phase. In the 21st century, as climate change emerged as a central planning concern, the model was transformed into a second-generation framework, known as “Finger Plan 2.0,” which demonstrates flexible adaptation to new environmental conditions. Widely regarded as a quintessential model of traditional European urbanism, the Finger Plan has influenced not only European cities but also planning practices in the United States. Its key components—planning rooted in cultural and historical context, socially oriented policies that reinforce publicness, accessibility as a basis for community cohesion, transit systems prioritizing pedestrian routes, and mixed-use, compact land development closely parallel the principles of New Urbanism, a movement that gained traction from the 1980s onward. Addressing urban congestion and regional imbalance, New Urbanism advocates for community-based stability, flexible adaptation, and the practical pursuit of sustainable development. Through a diachronic analysis of the Finger Plan’s evolution and case studies of representative districts, this research seeks to observe and interpret balanced regional development strategies from a geographical perspective.

Keywords

the Finger Plan

development corridors

conservation of green spaces

socially grounded public policies

accessibility-oriented spatial structure

social integration

New Urbanism

본 연구는 코펜하겐의 핑거플랜 계획을 시기적 변화에 따라 분석해 보았다. 1947년 제안되어 1950-60년대 철도축을 따라 지역계획이 실시된 이후, 1970년 법제화되어 원칙을 보전하며 도시계획을 실천하고 있는 장기 도시계획이다. 도심을 손바닥으로, 철도축을 따라 나가는 각 지역을 다섯개의 손가락으로 비유한 핑거플랜은 초기 계획을 1.0이라 칭하고, 이후 21세기 기후변화 대응을 최우선과제로 2.0 세대라 칭하며 유연적으로 환경 변화에 적응하는 계획을 지속하고 있다. 핑거플랜은 전통적 유럽피안 어바니즘의 모델이라고 평가되며 유럽 도시는 물론, 미국 도시에서도 그 원칙이 적용된 사례들이 있다. 1980년대 후반 미국과 캐나다 등에서 제기되었던 커뮤니티를 중심으로 한 공동체 활성화와, 도시의 비지적 확산을 제어하는 전통적 경관 보전의 뉴어바니즘은 코펜하겐이 이미 실행한 도시계획의 상당 부분을 원칙으로 하고 있다. 문화와 역사적 배경을 토대로 한 계획, 공공성이 강화된 사회정책, 접근성을 통한 커뮤니티 강화, 보행로를 우선으로 한 대중교통 체계, 혼합적 토지이용 계획과 압축적 공간활용 계획 등이 1980년대 이후 제시된 뉴어바니즘의 사조와 유사하다. 도시과밀과 지역균형 문제 해결에 대안책이 되고 있는 뉴어바니즘의 원칙은 커뮤니티 기반의 안정적인 성장과 유연적인 대응으로 지속가능한 발전의 실행을 목표로 하기 때문이다. 도시지리학 관점에서 코펜하겐 핑거플랜의 시대별 변화 과정과 각 사례지역의 분석을 통해 뉴어바즘적 도시 관리에 관해 논의하였다.

키워드

핑거플랜

성장축

녹지보존

공공정책

접근성 강화

사회통합

뉴어바니즘

References

European Environment Agency, 2022, Urban Green Space Indicators, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen.

SPUR, 2022, Housing for everyone, the Danish way, https://www.spur.org/news/2022-08-31/housing-for-everyone-the-danish-way, accessed 15 September 2025.

Bohl, C. C., 2000, New urbanism and the city: Potential applications and implications for distressed Inner-City neighborhoods, Housing Policy Debate, 11(4), 761-801.

10.1080/10511482.2000.9521387

Calthorpe, P., 1993, The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream, Princeton Architectural Press, New York.

City of Copenhagen, 2014, Copenhagen Cloudburst Management Plan, Copenhagen.

City of Copenhagen, 2020, Copenhagen Climate Plan 2025, City of Copenhagen Technical and Environmental Administration, Copenhagen.

City of Copenhagen, 2023, Population and income statistics by district (KK Statistikbank), https://kk.statistikbank.dk/, accessed 12 September 2025.

City Population, 2025, Nørrebro population statistics, https://www.citypopulation.de/en/denmark/copenhagen/admin/1003, accessed 10 September 2025.

Congress for the New Urbanism, 1996, The Charter of the New Urbanism. Chicago, Washington, DC.

Duany, A., Plater-Zyberk, E. and Speck, J., 2000, Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, North Point Press, New York.

Dupuy, G., 2008, Urban Networks and Spatial Planning, Routledge, London.

Finger Plan Secretariat, 1947, Egnsplanved København (The Finger Plan for Greater Copenhagen), Danish Town Planning Institute, Copenhagen.

Gehl, J., 2010, Cities for People, Island Press, Washington D.C.

Hall, P., 2002, Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the Twentieth Century, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.

Knowles, R., 2012, Transit oriented development in Copenhagen, Journal of Transport Geography, 22, 251-261.

10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.01.009

Lee, J., 2019, Interpretation of the ideal city model for enhancement of good urbanism, The Geographical Journal of Korea, 53(2), 247-256.

Lee, J., 2020, A Korean model of new urbanism, The Geographical Journal of Korea, 54(2), 179-195.

OECD, 2017, The Governance of Land Use in OECD Countries, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Statistics Denmark, 2023, Crime statistics, https://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/sociale-forhold/kriminalitet, accessed 12 September 2025.

Talen, E., 2002, The social goals of new urbanism, Housing Policy Debate, 13(1), 165-188.

10.1080/10511482.2002.9521438

The Danish Nature Agency, 2015, The finger plan: a strategy for the development of the greater Copenhagen Area, https://www.naturstyrelsen.dk, accessed 14 September 2025.

Information

Publisher :The Korean Geographical Society
Publisher(Ko) :대한지리학회
Journal Title :Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
Journal Title(Ko) :대한지리학회지
Volume : 60
No :6
Pages :735-751
Received Date : 2025-10-20
Revised Date : 2025-11-24
Accepted Date : 2025-11-28
DOI :https://doi.org/10.22776/kgs.2025.60.6.735

Journal of the Korean Geographical Society ISSN:1225-6633(Print) 대한지리학회지

All Issue