Urban transformation focusing on safe environment
Bispehaverne is a safety renovation project in Aarhus that increased residents' perception of safety from 43 to 65 percent after the renovation. Safety is one of the foundations for social sustainability, permitting people to live a rich and active life and perform to the best of their ability.
According to the 2016 Police Safety Index, Bispehaven outside Aarhus was the most unsafe residential area in the country. A study carried out by Østjysk Bolig, the owner of the buildings, showed that insecurity and crime were closely connected to the existing area plan and design. But an ambitious renovation project led by LINK changed it all.
Disconnected basement rooms, deep and covered staircases and deserted footpaths were all factors that made residents feel unsafe. So, the goal of the extensive transformation was clear and simple: to create more safety, better living opportunities and more freedom for residents.
Original residential complex
Bispehaven is a residential complex not far from Aarhus City consisting of concrete blocks seven storeys high. The buildings were erected in 1970-73 and consist of 880 homes with 2300 residents. The area faced major physical challenges in relation to its functionality, coherency, structure and scale. This meant there was a need to increase the focus on Bispehaven’s physical framework and links to the surrounding city.
Transformation
The concrete blocks of the monofunctional residential area have been transformed into a diverse neighbourhood with a relevant and human area plan that rethinks the outdoor areas. This involves a strong focus on access conditions, bicycle parking, elimination of "blind" angles in connection with entrances / entrances, activation of lower floors and gables, visibility and transparency in relation to the outside world. Establishment of a new communal house, as a communal house for the whole neighborhood rather than just Bispehaven. The house's new location - away from the central part of Bispehaven - to a location close to the new light rail route, laying the premises for the safe and good neighborhood.
Measurable security effect
Since the completion of the renovation, surveys have shown that the share of Bispehaverne’s residents who feel safe living in the area has increased from 43% to 65%.
LINK Arkitektur has good experiences of strengthening social sustainability using architecture as a mean of transformation. In Korskærparken and Sønderparken in Fredericia, the crime rate was halved in the wake of LINK Arkitektur’s overall plan and comprehensive safety renovation.
Learnings from safety renovation projects:
• Safe areas have both a higher experienced value and a higher economic value.
• If you build right from the outset, you avoid problems later on and achieve a building stock that is sustainable over time.
• Claims for damages are reduced and maintenance costs minimised.
• You support the population’s democratic access to the public space by making it secure and safe to move in – particularly for vulnerable groups.
• Safe environments combine positive social control with integrity and freedom of choice.
• As architects, we can’t resolve serious criminality, but by designing environments in line with situational crime prevention, we can counteract opportunistic crime and create environments that feel secure. Together with the client, we can create the best physical conditions for people to feel and be safe – and we can really make a difference.
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