KØBENHAVN

Abstract

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and

the Kingdom’s only metropolis. The city

embraces institutions of royalty, state and

national culture as well as all the ‘people’

of Denmark. Whereas national institutions

are by and large located within the walls

of the fortress city, the ‘people’ are generally

located in neighborhoods constructed

during rapid industrialization. The article

explores the idea of Copenhagen as a folkelig

city, a city that accrues both legitimacy

and authenticity by invoking the

‘people’ in all their social, regional and

ethnic diversity in certain areas of the city.

Although a down-to-earth, non-elite, folkelig

community is commonly thought to

derive from the daily lives of ‘common

people’ in lower class neighborhoods, the

article illustrates how the idea of folkelig

community is intentionally evoked in

efforts to revitalize such very neighborhoods

deemed lacking a proper sense of

community. The article discusses how two

voluntary organizations run by middle

class reformers invoke different aesthetics

of diversity and authentic commonality in

attempts to infuse a working class neighborhood

undergoing urban renewal with

a new sense of folkelig community. With

each their own facility for voluntary sport

and culture, both aspire to create venues

promoting a common sociality that cross

cuts social difference. While the locally

based organization invokes a plural community

of locals, the nationally based

organization invokes a plural community

of citizens. The article concludes that the

aesthetic of common diversity and the performance

of folkelig community are vital

to the ideal of the good city upheld by

Copenhagen’s mentors, organizers and

authorities.