[Harumanbo Harucheonja] "Walking 6 km to work is easy in Copenhagen"

Visiting Copenhagen, the World's Most Walkable City①
People-Centered Infrastructure Toward Carbon Neutrality

Pedestrian-Only Street 'Strøget'
Pedestrian and Bicycle-Only Bridge 'Inderhavnsbroen'
Equipped with 400 km of Bicycle-Only Roads and More

Sofie Larsen, a woman in her 50s living in Copenhagen, Denmark, walks to and from work every day. The distance from Amager, where she lives, to Herlev, where her workplace is located, is a whopping 6 km. It takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to walk one way, so she spends two and a half hours commuting daily. Thanks to this, her daily step count easily exceeds 20,000 steps.

A view of Strøget Street in Copenhagen where people and the sky blend together to create a scenic landscape.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

Larsen said, "I started walking to and from work after discovering health problems 10 years ago," adding, "I regularly check my pulse and heart rate with a wearable device, and I can feel my health improving the more I walk." When told that this would be difficult to do in Korea, she replied, "Isn't the difference in environment quite significant? Denmark, especially Copenhagen, has 'fantastic' infrastructure for walking, so it seems easy to walk and walk a lot."

As Larsen mentioned, Copenhagen is known as a pedestrian's paradise, having been named 'the Most Walkable City' in the world by the nonprofit organization Walk21 in 2015. Supporting this reputation are pedestrian-only streets like Strøget located in the city center, pedestrian and bicycle-only bridges crossing the sea, and bicycle-only roads spreading throughout the city like capillaries.

Sophie Larsen is walking home from work on the pedestrian and bicycle-only bridge Inderhavnsbroen.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

Strøget, which starts at Copenhagen City Hall Square and extends to Kongens Nytorv Square, marked the beginning of Copenhagen as a 'walkable city.' Its name, derived from the Danish word for 'stroll,' reflects that it became Denmark's first pedestrian-only street in 1962.

Strøget has been central to Copenhagen's efforts since the 1960s to become a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city. At that time, Copenhagen was suffering from a rapid increase in cars, prompting a major overhaul of the city. To create a walkable Copenhagen, the city focused on designing urban spaces where pedestrians could enjoy various environments based on protection, comfort, and pleasure alongside pedestrian-friendly landscapes. The conversion of Strøget into a pedestrian-only street was carried out despite opposition from merchants. This decision was made under the expectation that it would reduce environmental damage, increase tourism revenue, and revitalize the downtown economy. The effectiveness was proven as the average number of pedestrians in Copenhagen increased by 40% by 1967, leading to the pedestrian-only designation becoming permanent rather than temporary.

Walking along Strøget, the street felt comfortable and was bustling with various people, including parents pushing strollers, while offering diverse scenery. The street is not a straight line but gently winding, providing visual variety and relaxation. Due to height restrictions limiting buildings to about six stories, walkers can enjoy an unobstructed view of the sky throughout their walk. Looking down, on both sides of the street, various shops representing Copenhagen and Denmark coexist, such as the Illum department store, LEGO, Royal Copenhagen, and Flying Tiger Copenhagen, attracting the attention of both tourists and citizens. Strøget embodies the essence of Copenhagen's urban planning.

Citizens are crossing Inderhavnsbroen, a pedestrian and bicycle-only bridge in Copenhagen, Denmark.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

Another key feature of walkable Copenhagen is the pedestrian and bicycle-only bridges that connect the islands of Zealand and Amager, uniting the city. Among these, the Inderhavnsbroen bridge, located on the outermost side, is a major contributor to Larsen’s smooth commute. Without this bridge, Larsen would have to detour over 1 km to cross the sea via a general bridge shared with vehicles. Around 4 p.m., Denmark’s typical rush hour, people and bicycles continuously crossed Inderhavnsbroen. Such efforts by local governments to create walkable environments are evident throughout Copenhagen.

It is important to note that Copenhagen’s infrastructure is designed not only for pedestrians but also for cyclists. There are large-scale bicycle parking lots in the city center that can accommodate over 1,000 bikes, and it is known that more than 400 km of bicycle lanes have been installed within Copenhagen. Dedicated traffic signals and exclusive left-turn lanes for bicycles, usually seen on car roads, are also provided. Thanks to these efforts, according to the World Economic Forum, as of 2018, the number of bicycles in Copenhagen reached 657,000, which is 5.5 times the number of cars (120,000).

Copenhagen’s initiatives consider not only humans but also the global environment. The city has set a goal to become a carbon-neutral city by 2025. While actively adopting eco-friendly energy sources such as the Amager Bakke combined heat and power plant with a ski slope opened in 2017, Copenhagen aims to reduce car usage and increase bicycle usage to 90%. The city envisions a sustainable future where pedestrians and cyclists are prioritized.