Copenhagen’s eco-village meets all 17 Sustainable Development Goals

In community gardens, there’s space to grow vegetables and the dining hall will offer healthy cooking classes. The site also features a health clinic and gym. Indoor spaces are ventilated for better air quality, filled with natural light, and designed to minimise noise for quality sleep.

Promoting an outdoor lifestyle, a 550-acre nature reserve is nearby and all urban structures are designed to co-exist with flora and fauna, meaning that local air quality will be healthier for those breathing it every day.

‘We know that biodiversity has a huge impact on the health and well-being of the asset’s users, so even if there is a lot of nature close by the building, we wanted to invite it in,’ Nielsen says.

Of the 17 goals, some were easier to address than others and many conflicted. Prioritising air quality, for instance, meant using more materials that increased CO2 emissions.

‘Building balance,’ is achieved through encouraging human behaviours that will counter these factors in the long-term – such as promoting people to bike, which isn’t hard considering Copenhagen is one of the most cycle-friendly cities in the world.

Requiring a little more creativity to achieve, goals like #14 (protecting the ocean) involved sourcing materials that have recycled plastic fishing nets and avoiding using chemicals synonymous with ocean pollution.

The goal of ‘no poverty’ is handled two-fold: rent for property is to be cheaper than surrounding conurbations, and there will be sharing centres where neighbours can donate or borrow items and use a shared workshop to renovate damaged items.

It may sound like an idyllic fantasy, but the project is well underway. The initial phase of construction wrapped up this fall and residents will reportedly get to move in as early as next summer.

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