English /

We exercise too little and eat too much - thereby increasing our risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.

 

The built environment's design can either encourage or empede physical activity.

 

How can we plan cities in a way that makes us more active and makes healthy choices an easy and attractive element in our daily life? What does a poor indoor environment - in buildings with humidity problems and unsafe materials - mean to concentration, learning ability, productivity, and quality of life? And how can colour, sound, and light contribute to mental health and prevent us from becoming stressed, depressed or burnt-out?

 

 
Sustainable Development in the Built Environment
In Denmark, buildings are responsible for almost half of the total energy use. If we are to halt the climate change caused by humans, energy consumption in the built environment must be reduced.

 

Considering the climate and the environment ought to be a natural element of improving social and health-related aspects in any part of the built environment, and it should therefore be economically attractive and realistic to do so. This will demand that all groups in society see the benefit of living in a climate-friendly built environment that is healthy, attractive, and inclusive - and at the same time ensures a sustainable economic growth.

 

So the question is: How can these concerns be balanced and combined into a whole that ensures quality of life for all groups in society? 

  

The Transformation of the Suburbs 
Heavy industry is moving away from many industrial areas, and new opportunities arise for area development and integration of the previously isolated areas.

 

More than half the Danish population live in suburban housing based on a division of everyday life into functional units of work, leisure and sleep. Residential areas with shopping and childcare were located separately from cultural and leisure activities that in turn were separated from the office and factory areas of working life - with all areas delineated by belts of vegetation. This way, residential areas were protected from smoke, noise, heavy traffic, and other problems.

 

But the rigidly functional division of the suburbs does not match the modern ideas of contemporary urban living that include striving for sustainability, since an underlying premise of suburban life is using considerable energy on transportation. So how can we make the suburbs progress?