ROSKILDE, DENMARK
Anthony Vergara
Evolving with nature
Roskilde, Denmark is a small but quick growing town with a fascinatingly rich history, dating back to the pre-Christian Viking Age.
Today, the town is a peri-urban environment moving away from its agricultural and Viking roots. There is still crop potential for the land from an agronomic perspective, but the many attractive characteristics such as proximity to Copenhagen (Denmark's capital), top-class education and research centers, a booming business sector, and the attractive rural landscape drive farms to be sold off and expand the urban edge.
Given this, the promotion and installation of Green Infrastructure is vital to promoting the holistic preservation and growth of both humans and the surrounding ecosystem.
Fast Facts
• Population of 55,121 in city (10th in Denmark), 80,687 in whole municipality
• Estimated growth of 1,000 inhabitants/year
• Area – 212 km² (the whole municipality)
• Annual Rain – 60 cm (24 in) Annual Temp – 8.5°C (47.0 °F)
• Flat, 20 meters above sea level
THE GREEN RING
Above shows Roskilde's current land use being a dense city with surrounding mixed farmland. The "Green Ring" is a group of green spaces being preserved/cerated to heighten the health, climate management, flora and fauna, and business/economy of Roskilde and the surrounding land. Each has its unique micro-ecosystem and assets to the city. The plan includes the maintenance, beautification, and innovation of green infrastructure and the ecosystem surrounding the city.
Below is the development of connecting roads and walking/biking trails to each space within the "Green Ring" allowing easy accessibility for all. Yellow lines are existing infrastructure and the orange lines are future projects.
Rainwater and flood management is vital for Roskilde due to being on a body of water and receiving 60cm of rain annually.
The city is taking action in many different ways to ensure protection such as water sufficient homes, permeable pavement, creating lakes, channels, and wetlands, building sluice gates to control water levels and flow rates of the channels, and several more highlighted below.
All of this is to help complete the hydrological cycle and protect citizens from floods and the rising ocean levels. Roskilde Water and Climate Adaptations 2019-2022 (see bibliography) is an excellent document containing full plans for past and future green infrastructure, water management, and coastal protection projects.
SKATE BASIN
Duel use canals were installed to use as an intensive skatepark and rainwater management from residential areas. Combining recreational areas with water management has made Rabalder parken an award-winning Green Infrastructure park in Roskilde.
FLOOD TUBES
Temporary water tubes are installed periodically to keep back the rising coasts and flash flooding during emergencies. Being an incredibly susceptible area to flooding along with the rising coasts, these are important but only the beginning of infrastructure to hold back rushing water.
INCREASING BIODIVERSITY
To connect the cities run-off with the surrounding waterways, green roofs, green walls, bioswales, and mini canals through sidewalks are actively being installed as multifunctional assets to control the rate and pathway of run-off all while promoting biodiversity in the urban environment.
