Dear Lord Mayor: Let Copenhagen lead the way with universal design

The letters bring together concrete proposals, perspectives and visions for how Copenhagen can develop as a socially and environmentally sustainable city, while also strengthening dialogue between professional communities and political decision-makers. The campaign is a new edition of an initiative first launched by CAFx in 2019.

Bevica Fonden and the Royal Danish Academy are contributing to the campaign with a joint letter from Director Marianne Kofoed and Head of Institute Natalie Mossin. In the letter, we focus on social sustainability, equality and universal design – and on Copenhagen’s opportunity to lead the way in developing a city where more people can participate on equal terms.

Read our letter below. On CAFx’s website, you can learn more and find all 40 letters.

‍

----------------------

Dear Lord Mayor,

Around us, the international order as we have known it since the Second World War is being shaken, and hard-won civil and human rights are once again coming under pressure in many places. At a time when progress on inclusion and diversity is being rolled back, and small nations such as ours are facing growing external pressure, we need cities that lead the way, inspire others and insist that human equality, inclusion and diversity remain essential guiding principles for our cities and public spaces.

Copenhagen has already taken important steps in this direction. Now is the time to hold on to those ambitions – and perhaps set them even higher – because there is a need to show what we can achieve when we choose to act.

In 2023, Copenhagen held the title of World Capital of Architecture. The title was awarded by UIA and UNESCO in connection with the city hosting the World Congress of Architects. The Congress concluded with the adoption of the ten principles of the Copenhagen Lessons, the first of which states: “Dignity and agency for all people are fundamental in architecture. There is no beauty in exclusion.”

The health and quality of life of its citizens are central to Copenhagen’s culture and recent development. Since its year as World Capital of Architecture, Copenhagen has continued to work with universal design and has, among other things, incorporated it into the Municipal Plan 2024 with the aim of developing the city in ways that enable more people to participate actively.

As Lord Mayor, it is not only an important political signal that Copenhagen wants to develop the city with universal design in mind. It also creates obligations for the city’s day-to-day practice as the authority responsible for managing, developing and operating the city. Enabling more people to participate benefits Copenhagen’s citizens and users and can position the city as an inspiration to other cities, both in Denmark and internationally. This is particularly relevant nationally in the implementation of the Danish Government’s 2025 national architecture policy, in which universal design also plays a central role.

Looking at Copenhagen, we can see that you and a majority of the City Council are prepared to take on this responsibility, and that you have the mandate of the electorate. We know that, as we write, work is well under way to establish universal design as a fundamental principle within the Technical and Environmental Administration, and that the concept is also being incorporated into the work of other city administrations.

We would therefore also like to take this opportunity to thank you and your colleagues for your commitment and political determination to develop our capital into a city with room for the diversity that makes us who we are.

It matters that there are cities such as Copenhagen, where citizens and politicians engage in dialogue and dare to be ambitious about where they want to go. And where political commitments are followed through in budgets, plans and concrete action – even when this requires new knowledge and experimentation and therefore also involves the risk of mistakes and criticism.

At a time when preparedness and resilience are high on the agenda, we also know that the strongest form of preparedness is to be part of a community in which the stranger in the street, our neighbour and municipal employees are all part of a shared “we” – one that has room for the diversity it encompasses.

We look forward to contributing wherever we can, and to continuing to listen to one another as we renew and reshape a city where people can live their lives from exactly the starting point they have.

Kind regards,

Marianne Kofoed, Director, Bevica Fonden
Natalie Mossin, Head of Institute, Royal Danish Academy – Institute of Architecture and Technology