On a recent visit to Copenhagen, Making Spaces caught up with blogger Sandra Hoj to hear about her pragmatic, ever critical approach to issues of urbanism in a city that is widely regarded as being the most liveable in the world.
I first came across Sandra Hoj when I was planning a trip to Copenhagen. I read her blog on the city, and was immediately skeptical - why was she so critical of a city that seemed to be doing so much right? Yes bicycles might be parked askew, but at least people are riding bicycles. There seemed to be plenty of urban trees to me (admittedly from the photographs I'd seen on the tourism websites...). These things, combined with the simplicity of the blog, made me want to know which architecture school she had been to and how she defined her praxis.
Only when I began talking to Sandra did I understand that her approach is unlike that of any of the previous women we have featured. Not borne out of spatial theories learned at architecture school, Sandra came to work on the urban environment though blogging about her city. Once she began noticing and pinpointing problems, she wanted to take action to make improvements. So many people think of Copenhagen as a perfect, green city - which is something that annoys Sandra, as it leads to complacency. Her 'praxis' then is that of a user, from street level: "The way I realise that there is a problem, is usually because I get angry. That is my cue. Next, I identify the problem, and then my mind goes to work on a solution. And then the implementation, sometimes hands-on, and always by creating awareness through social media."
This manifests itself primarily in her work with Red Byens Træer (Save the Urban Trees), a citizens movement to save the urban trees in Copenhagen. Sandra detailed the ways in which she works to get the authorities to properly care for, protect and maintain trees in Copenhagen. She works with an arsenal of readily available weapons - blogs, social media, the citizens of the city - to identify problems, create awareness and incite change. This she does not within the city administration, but in conjunction with it - imploring those at the top to act. She creates sources of embarrassment for the politicians who are often deaf to the plight of trees when planning new infrastructure or housing. This, she says, has given her a reputation for being "annoying". But it works: just recently, the city implemented its first Tree Policy.
For more information on Save the Urban Trees, go here.
Only when I began talking to Sandra did I understand that her approach is unlike that of any of the previous women we have featured. Not borne out of spatial theories learned at architecture school, Sandra came to work on the urban environment though blogging about her city. Once she began noticing and pinpointing problems, she wanted to take action to make improvements. So many people think of Copenhagen as a perfect, green city - which is something that annoys Sandra, as it leads to complacency. Her 'praxis' then is that of a user, from street level: "The way I realise that there is a problem, is usually because I get angry. That is my cue. Next, I identify the problem, and then my mind goes to work on a solution. And then the implementation, sometimes hands-on, and always by creating awareness through social media."
This manifests itself primarily in her work with Red Byens Træer (Save the Urban Trees), a citizens movement to save the urban trees in Copenhagen. Sandra detailed the ways in which she works to get the authorities to properly care for, protect and maintain trees in Copenhagen. She works with an arsenal of readily available weapons - blogs, social media, the citizens of the city - to identify problems, create awareness and incite change. This she does not within the city administration, but in conjunction with it - imploring those at the top to act. She creates sources of embarrassment for the politicians who are often deaf to the plight of trees when planning new infrastructure or housing. This, she says, has given her a reputation for being "annoying". But it works: just recently, the city implemented its first Tree Policy.
For more information on Save the Urban Trees, go here.