#1: E-scooters, Lynetteholm, border checks, art
Hi,
welcome to CPH Weekly, a new newsletter for Copenhagen.
If you’re like me - one of 152,000 or so foreigners living in the city - you might sometimes feel a little cut off from what’s happening here. Sure, you’re learning Danish, but maybe you’re not quite there yet.
So, as a way to help international Copenhageners (who make up a quarter of the population!) connect a little more with their home city, I offer this brief round-up of the past week’s political, economic and cultural news with a few tidbits of opinion, trivia and things to do in the Danish capital. All in all, a concise newsletter that goes out every Thursday. And don’t worry: I’ll go easy on the hygge and cringey reports about what neighbourhood is coolest.
Who am I? I moved here from Berlin, where I co-founded Exberliner, the city’s English magazine. I later ran Berliner Zeitung English Edition. I moved here in early 2021 for familial reasons.
I hope you find CPH Weekly useful and entertaining. Feel free to comment below. And please subscribe and share.
Best,
Maurice
Border controls extended
The Danish government has informed the EU that it will extend current border checks through at least May 11, 2022, The Local reports. A letter signed by the justice minister, Nick Hækkerup, states: “The ongoing and significant threat to our public order and internal security caused by militant Islamists and organised criminals, who are able to misuse free movement within the Schengen area, continues to be of great concern to the Danish.” The current controls were introduced during the refugee crisis in 2016.
Cut the Covid crap
Writing in the Copenhagen Post, lawyer Neil Smith debunks the myth being spread stateside and elsewhere that Denmark’s decision to lift all corona restrictions before most other countries can be attributed to the country’s supposedly libertarian “small state” approach. In his piece, Smith argues that the exact opposite is the case: “The decision should be seen not on a libertarian basis but the opposite: a controlled and responsible use of state power, which put restrictions on certain liberties in the short term, with the goal of achieving wider opportunities for society in the long run.”
Deadly street race
On June 20, a 21-year-old man was crossing the street at the intersection of Borups Allé and Mågevej and was hit by a ShareNow Mercedes travelling well over the speed limit. He died on the spot. The 19-year-old driver was taking part in an illegal three-car street race - and could soon face trial for manslaughter, according to DR. Police believe he was driving 126kph in a 70kph zone. Public prosecutor Kristian Kirk says the accused could be locked up for four years if found guilty.
A huge anti-Muslim banner
Copenhagen student Munati Fadel Al Yassery encountered a jarring surprise while visiting family in Middelfahrt on the island of Fyn. "We were just out for a walk, and then there was a huge banner that said, ‘Fuck Islam.’ I couldn’t help but laugh a little. It’s tragicomic,” she told DR. “I myself am a Muslim and believe in Islam, but I was not actually offended by it. I think it was more entertaining,” she explained. It was revealed that the xenophobic Danish Patriots party hung up the banner as part of a campaign to collect voter signatures.
E-scooter rentals are back
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re back. After a ban in October 2020, Copenhagen is allowing e-scooter companies to operate in the city once more - but this time with strict rules on parking and rental zones.
“They can’t be rented in the city centre and must be parked in one of 240 dedicated areas at the end of the journey,” the city's technical and environmental services department said in a statement. Riders who park scooters outside a designated zone could face a 338 kroner fine.
Fantasy island?
Lynetteholm, the huge artificial island the city wants to build as a barrier against rising sea levels and home for 35,000 Copenhageners, is already mired in controversy. The project was approved by the Danish parliament in June even though elected politicians could only read a partially censored version of the project’s financial plan. Henning Hyllested, the transport spokesman for Enhedslisten (Greens), has seen a non-censored version of the report and says the government is concealing the true cost of the 50-year construction project, whose completion is scheduled for around 2070. The tabloid BT, which broke the story on Monday, writes: “The historically huge construction project could end up costing taxpayers billions, even though top politicians have promised that the entire project will be self-financing.” The island is also coming under fire from environmentalists who say it will disrupt the Øresund’s marine ecosystem, as well as increase both Denmark’s climate footprint and local pollution thanks to hundreds of construction trucks passing through the city for decades. We’ll keep you posted.
After the silence - Women of art speak out
Marking the 50th anniverary of the arrival of the feminist Redstocking movement in Denmark in the early 1970s, Statens Museum for Kunst has curated an impressive exhibition of “protest art” by women from the past century, ranging from works by contemporary Danish artist Simone Aaberg Kærn (above) to the 1920s collages of Berlin Dadaist Hannah Höch. The info.
Save the date…
Municipal and regional elections (here’s a detailed explainer) take place on November 16. Danes, residents from EU countries, Norway and Iceland are eligible to vote as are other foreign residents aged 18 or older who have lived in the country for at least four years. On November 2, the municipality is hosting a free info event all about the elections in English.
That’s all for now. See you next Thursday.