Odense
Odense is a municipality with 186,000 inhabitants, covering an area of 304.3 km2 and is Denmark's third largest city with its role as regional capital of South Denmark. Odense has been a member of Nordic City Network since the network started.
Odense Council has set the bar high for the development of the city with Vision Odense – to play is to live: Odense must not only be one of Denmark’s biggest growth centres in terms of knowledge, innovation, education, experience and play and learning. The ambition is also to develop Odense into the most sustainable city in Denmark.
Odense's strongholds are among other areas health, education, manufacturing, communications and experience economy, and media / advertising industry. Potential growth areas are biotechnology and health, welfare robots and technology, communications and IT, and the experience economy.
Syddansk Universitet is the 3rd largest university in Denmark and Campus Odense alone has 14,000 students and 800 researchers. With a total of 30,000 students on further and higher education courses, Odense has one of Denmark’s highest proportions of students in relation to the total population. This naturally has a great impact on the atmosphere of the city.
The city's main cultural institutions are the Odense Symphony Orchestra, Odense Central Library, Odense City Museums and Culture Machine. There is also a wide range of central cultural institutions in the City - Art Center at Brandts, National Media Museum, Odense Theatre, four small urban theaters and various other cultural activities. In addition there among other Odense Zoo Bazar Fyn and a number of historic buildings and neighborhoods.
Major challenges
The city has a continuous focus on improving the framework for urban life, with the development of new urban spaces that attract people to spend time there and play. The development of the area around Campus Odense is the biggest urban development initiative in the history of Odense. It is an important part of the enhancement of the educational and research environments to develop a knowledge city.
- Development and transformation of downtown - Thomas B Thrigesgade-omdannelsen/Musik & Theatre House / Harbour / City Campus / Traffic & Mobility Plan / light rail / axis to Rosengårdscentret (commercially relief center outside of downtown) and the University.
- Attracting and retaining knowledge workers and students
- Sustainable growth
- Better branding of the city
Projects related to knowledge city
- Action on the street
Two play streets are ready to be used by both children and adults in Roersvej and Carl Baggers Allé. The streets have been converted and fitted with play elements. This is designed to give the local areas a focal point and they also attract people to play and exercise.
- Light railway
The planning of Odense’s development and infrastructure is to a great extent based on the energy and synergy that will be generated in the Campus area. This includes the establishment of a light railway, running between Odense Banegård Center, Rosengårdcentret, IKEA and Syddansk Universitet, ending at a ‘Park and Ride’ by the motorway.
- Robots in the playground
At the robot playground at Rosengårdskolen, the latest technology has moved out of the classroom and into the play equipment. The computer-controlled devices give the children tasks and challenges that require both physical activity and ingenuity. The playground was developed in cooperation with the robot researchers at Syddansk Universitet and gives the children a living insight into some of the many possibilities offered by robot technology.