The "Blended City" as Spatial Imaginary and Practice

Dato
05.11.2026
Tidspunkt
13.00 - 18.00
Adresse

Det Kongelige Akademi
Danneskiold-Samsøes Allé 51
Auditorium 6, Indgang J&K
1435 København K
Danmark

Pris
Gratis med tilmelding

This symposium examines the role of the “blended city” as a spatial imaginary in urban theory, urban policy, spatial planning and design – and the diverse ways in which it is interpreted, mobilized, and contested in practice. Featuring leading international voices from academia and practice, it marks the culmination of a two-year DFF Explorative Research Network in the Humanities grant led by the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation and Aalborg University BUILD.

The “blended city” has become a highly influential concept in architecture and urban planning, widely used by politicians, planners, and architects to justify interventions aimed at creating more socially-mixed public spaces, neighborhoods, and cities. It is what researchers have referred to as a “spatial imaginary”: a shared notion of a preferable city that in turn focuses on urban challenges that need to be addressed to achieve it. Like imaginaries such as the “smart city” or the “livable city,” it can align different actors around common goals. Its meaning, however, remains vague and contested. In Denmark, the “blended city” has been framed in a range of different ways: as a response to disadvantaged housing areas; as a justification for large-scale demolition, redevelopment, and resident displacement; and as a rallying cry for affordable housing in urban centers, and inclusive and diverse neighborhoods and public spaces.

Collage of photos, charts, and maps beneath the large title “The Blended City as Spatial Imaginary and Practice”.
Photo: Upper-middle image: Britta My Thomsen / Solidaritet.

The research network has examined the “blended city” as a spatial imaginary in Denmark and internationally, comparing theory, policy, public discourse, measurement frameworks, and spatial outcomes to critically explore its implications for planning theory, policy and practice. It has explored the gap between the vagueness of the “blended city” as an imaginary on the one hand, and its very real consequences in policy and spatial transformation on the other – with policies such as the Parallelsamfundslovgivning and Tætter På II - Byer med plads til alle involving the investment of tens of billions of kroner and impacting the spaces and lives of tens of thousands of citizens. 

The intended purpose of the symposium is not simply to question the “blended city,” but to create a dialogue between relevant research and practice stakeholders about when social mixing is a meaningful urban goal, how it should be understood and measured, and what approaches might support more just, equitable and inclusive cities. 

The symposium will include presentations and panel debates bringing together researchers and practitioners from Denmark and abroad across the disciplines of architecture, planning, economics and the social sciences. 

International contributors include Prof. Sako Musterd (University of Amsterdam), Prof. Simin Davoudi (Newcastle University), Prof. Laura Kurgan (Columbia University), Prof. Helena Mattsson (KTH Stockholm), Senior Researcher Sonia Alves (University of Lisbon), and lecturer Amani Hassani (Brunel University). Danish contributors include Aysha Amin (Andromeda 8220), Prof. Tom Nielsen (Aarhus School of Architecture), Prof. Anna Piil Damm (Aarhus University), Assoc. Prof. Troels Schultz Larsen (RUC), Senior Researcher Marie Stender and Post Doc. Elise Stenholt Lange (Aalborg University BUILD), Assist. Prof. Nina Stener Jørgensen, Prof. Deane Simpson (Royal Danish Academy), Lars Autrup, (Arkitektsforeningen), Tina Saaby (Byplanlaboratorium), Bent Madsen, (BL), amongst others.  

The symposium is free and open to the public and will be held in English. Please register by emailing Camilla Schmidt at csch@kglakademi.dk

Programme

13.00-13.05: Welcome and Opening Statement, Lene Dammund Lund, Rektor, Royal Danish Academy

13.05-13.30: Introduction: The Blended City as Spatial Imaginary and Practice

13.30-14.30: Session 1: Framing the Blended City: Scale, Measurement and Segregations

14.30-15.00: Coffee Break

15.00-16.00: Session 2: Building the Blended City: Social Mixing and its Effects

16.00-16.30: Coffee Break

16.30-17.30: Session 3: Governing the Blended City: Politics, Biopolitics and Power

17.30-18.00: Closing Discussion

Moderator: Jesper Pagh

Extended information about the symposium

The Symposium will frame the “blended city” not as a neutral planning concept but as a powerful spatial imaginary with a high degree of ambiguity. It performs as a common background understanding that shapes how politicians, planners, architects and the public define urban problems and desirable futures—much like the “smart,” “sustainable,” or “livable” city. Yet, as a concept it is highly ambiguous. In Denmark, the “Blended City” concept has been mobilized to support different agendas, from arguing for greater social diversity, affordable housing and inclusive public space, and to justify demolition, redevelopment and displacement in disadvantaged housing areas. The symposium will bring these tensions into view. 

The Symposium addresses why this ambiguity matters. Because the “blended city” is not only an abstract planning ideal—it has tangible consequences for public policy, investment, urban space and people’s lives. The research network has examined the “blended city” as a spatial imaginary in Denmark and internationally, comparing theory, policy, public discourse, measurement frameworks and spatial outcomes. A central concern has been the striking gap between the concept’s vagueness and normative flexibility on the one hand, and the scale and specificity of the interventions carried out in its name on the other. In Denmark, policies such as the Parallelsamfundslovgivning and Tættere På II – Byer med plads til alle involve investments of tens of billions of kroner and contribute to profound transformations of neighbourhoods affecting tens of thousands of residents. Understanding how an ambiguous spatial imaginary acquires this degree of political and material force is therefore crucial for planning theory, policy and practice.

The Symposium connects theory and discourse to spatial and material urban outcomes. Rather than treating urban social mix as an abstract ideal, the symposium will reflect on how ideas of “blending” become translated into policy, measurement frameworks, planning practices, architecture and changes to neighborhoods. Examples discussed will include policies such as the Tættere På II and school redistricting policies; alongside case areas such as: Tingbjerg, Nordhavn, Gellerup, northern Copenhagen, Mjølnerparken, etc.

The Symposium places Denmark within an international comparative conversation. Bringing together leading researchers and practitioners allows Danish debates on social mix, segregation, housing and urban transformation to be considered against international theory, evidence and experience. 

The symposium will foreground some of the fundamental disagreements around the “Blended City”. These include whether social-mix policies improve conditions for vulnerable groups or address the underlying causes of segregation and structural inequality; why demands for social-mixing applied unevenly across different social groups and neighbourhoods; how choices of scale and measurement determine which forms of segregation become visible, politically actionable, or overlooked; etc.

The symposium asks what comes after critique. Its purpose is not simply to question the “blended city,” but to create a dialogue between relevant research and practice stakeholders about when social mixing is a meaningful urban goal, how it should be understood and measured, and what approaches might support just, equitable and inclusive cities.