Why Copenhagen's 'superblocks' are the template every city needs right now

In 2017, Copenhagen began transforming nine city blocks in the Nørrebro district into what urban planners now call a "superblock" — a configuration in which through-traffic is redirected to perimeter roads, and the internal streets are handed back to pedestrians, cyclists and residents.

The results, now measured over several years, are striking. Air pollution on interior streets dropped by over 70%. Local business turnover increased, contrary to the fears of retailers. Residents reported significantly higher levels of social interaction with neighbours. And crucially, the neighbourhood became somewhere people choose to stay in, not just pass through.

What actually changed

The superblock model didn't add a new park or install public art. It didn't build new housing or offer financial incentives. What it did was fundamentally restructure the relationship between people and the public realm — by removing the dominant presence of cars and replacing it with space that residents could define for themselves.

In practice, that meant children playing in streets where cars previously moved at speed. Elderly residents sitting out on summer evenings. Spontaneous conversations between neighbours who had lived within twenty metres of each other for years without ever speaking. The kind of micro-social fabric that makes a neighbourhood feel like a community rather than a collection of addresses.

The stickiness principle at work

What Copenhagen demonstrated isn't just about urban design. It's a proof of concept for the stickiness principle in action: that when you invest in the quality of the shared experience of a place, you create genuine attachment. People don't choose to stay in places because of a marketing campaign or a regeneration press release. They stay because of how the place makes them feel, day to day.

The superblock works because it creates the conditions for belonging — for that sense of being part of something shared. In a housing context, in a town centre context, or in a rural community facing decline, the underlying question is the same: what would it take to make this feel like somewhere people genuinely want to be?

What this means for UK places

Several UK cities are now exploring superblock-style approaches, with varying degrees of ambition. Barcelona's implementation across the Eixample district is the most widely referenced. Closer to home, London's Low Traffic Neighbourhood programme has produced both enthusiastic advocates and vocal opposition — a reminder that the politics of space reallocation are never simple.

For local authorities and developers operating in the UK context, the Copenhagen model offers something more useful than a design template: a framework for thinking about what kind of place experience generates genuine attachment. Traffic is just the most visible variable. The underlying question — what conditions allow community bonds to form? — applies everywhere.

Nick Bolton is Managing Director of Positive Places Ltd. Sticky Places is published fortnightly. Subscribe here.