Then it is the last day in Copenhagen...
and I am sitting in a coffee shop somewhere south of the centre. Have been up way too early today, my window was out to an extremely busy street, where in addition construction works started this morning at 5 am. So, sleeping was not an option.
First of all, I would like to thank the organisers for making the conference comfortable, because I tend to get lost around campuses, inspiring, since researchers of 8 different countries gave thoughful presentations allowing for reflection, discussions and ideas and for the last I would like to thank them for enough food.
I chose to join theme 1 about landscape stewardship. Challenges arising within the theme concerned the different scales of the landscape, a scale in-between municipal borders. The connection of functional units instead of such borders might be much preferable, but seemed difficult to realise. It is also the scale of intervention, looking at policies or tactical levels or operational levels. It is about crossing borders, spatial as well as administrative borders. Participation methods are a dominating way of thinking and such processes seem easier to apply on a local scale, to create Spaces With locals. Develop identity, sense of place and a connection/ responsibility of "local" communities to their place. New governance methods focusing on perceptions and preferences are put forward.
But who is this "local"?
A changing urban, as well as rural society, is in need of and demands new innovative green infrastructure.
Landscape architecture needs to not only focus on creating space, it is the whole process, considering what is going to happen with the place (looking at gentrification), for whom the space is created (looking at functions and features) and it is the keeping of a place (looking at the long-term management). Since it is my point of interest, I was missing approaches considering the keeping of a place. A designed space can win many prices, but it is not a great place after all if it is neglected and not managed properly.
Conference impressions
The last I want to write about is the excursion.
There was no excursion focusing on urban green space management and thus I joined the excursion to rural projects and changes. I really enjoyed and understood, the wish to settle in a community that takes care of each other, builds their houses of recycled materials, treat their own wastewater and live depth free. The feeling of being included and to have people to rely upon on is quite strong when you been moving a lot. So I immediately saw myself within this community.
The second stop we made was at the summer house region of Copenhagen, around 26000 summer houses close to the beach. That it is possible to have houses just beeing occupied in the summer. But I do understand that you would like to have a house here, it is beautiful.
Experiencing the Geopark in Odsherred, looking at the damn and land reclaiming processes and the forgotten radio station in a changing landscape were the other stops, including dinner at the Dragsholm Castle. The castle is haunted by over 100 ghosts, but we made it back to Copenhagen in one piece.
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