Hvor bor lykken i dag?

Resumé

The article discusses potential consequences of the experience-economical turn in building preservation. This is done with the heritage and experience economy based urban renewal project for the social housing estate Avedøre Stationsby outside Copenhagen as empirical case. After a description of the mutual links in both everyday thought and storytelling between the home as basic human phenomenon and the idea of happiness, followed by a consideration of the growing need among people to consider and shape their home, a need brought about by globalization, the article gives an account of the functionalist movement in its pre and post World War II-phases and reflects on the central idea in both of equality and happiness for all. This leads to the main discussion and evaluation of the urban renewal project for Avedøre Stationsby. The article argues that the renewal project appears exemplary on a practical level, in that it seeks to protect the social profile of the estate and at the same time allows for functional and aesthetic changes that can help counter the estate’s current anonymity and enhance the sense of belonging among residents. At the same time, however, it is argued that the experience-economical turn in building preservation seems to pose a threat in the discussed context. The transformation of the original narrative of inclusion, equality and happiness into an exclusive trait leads to a blurring of the central narrative and an introduction of an alternative neoliberal narrative which states the exact opposite, namely that a good and happy life is no longer for all, but rather for the few.