Linking disadvantaged housing areas to the surrounding city

Several disadvantaged social housing areas in Denmark are currently undergo-ing thorough physical refurbishments, aiming to integrate them better with the surrounding city. The ambition is to attract new users and residents by opening up the borders of the area and establish attractive, new penthouse flats, and new urban functions within the area or spectacular new public spaces near it. In this paper the social impact of such transformations are analysed and dis-cussed based on case-studies in 3 Danish areas: Gyldenrisparken, Finland-sparken and Mjølnerparken/Superkilen. The analysis shows that especially eve-ryday-route strategies adding new public functions within the area can pave the way for integration with the surroundings. The applicability of such strategies is however highly dependent on the context, location and existing image of the ar-ea. Social distance may sustain though physical borders are removed, yet, in combination with other initiatives, linking the area better to the surroundings can over time benefit the image of the area.