We Need to Talk About Vesterbro's Gentrification Problem

The awkward promo for Urban House.

Having an apartment in Vesterbro will definitely make you the object of envy amongst the hipper crowds—or anyone, really. Especially the bulk of poor students who have to settle with living in places like Nordvest, or – God forbid – Valby. In fact, odds are that the girl you just fell in love with in Kødbyen is way more likely to end up in your boudoir if your area code is somewhere between 1500-1799. Yet while Vesterbro has become the mecca for young trendy urbanites to live and party, the long-term residents of this part of town are less than thrilled with the gentrification of what used to be their chemical haven.

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One of the last remnants of old Vesterbro is Mændenes Hjem, a shelter that provides safer surroundings for the drug addicted and homeless—the population Vesterbro used to be known for. I’ve been working there for a while, and the contrast between the fashionable young elite and the struggling inhabitants of old Vesterbro is growing more apparent to me daily. It’s easy enough for the rich and beautiful to ignore; after all, you can just cross the street when you happen upon a prostitute or crack fiend on your way to Kødbyen. Yet, for myself and others who work in this environment, this attitude raises serious concerns. The city might have been given a facelift in the beginning of the 90s but the original inhabitants are still here, being kicked out of their homes by ridiculous rents and confined to even tighter areas to get their needed fix.

The question stands: has Vesterbro morphed into a place where the marginalized have become a mere inconvenience to the lithe new inhabitants of the blossoming youngster paradise? Or has the gentrification contributed to a diverse society where the homeless addict, the working class mother, and the rich kid can all meet and blend together in a sort of delightful urban smoothie?

I spoke with a couple of Vesterbro natives – both those who grew up andstill live here – in order to get their view on the matter.

Svend, 53

VICE: What is your relationship with Vesterbro?
Svend: I’ve lived here long before the city renewal – back when everybody in Vesterbro actually knew each other – in a small apartment with no heat or warm water.

What effect did the gentrification of the area have?
I believe that the intention from the government’s side was good. But it meant that there was no longer room for the disadvantaged, and honestly they are the ones who made Vesterbro. This town used to have a pulse that I can’t feel anymore. Almost all of my friends have been forced to move after the city renewal. I think that the way people are talking about the drug scene has changed for the worse, which has been caused by the huge increase of higher social classes in the neighborhood. The gentrification has caused inequalities in our city and that is shit.

Do you believe it’s important for the newcomers to engage in the history of the city?
You’ve simply got to, but people keep to themselves in their expensive apartments. They keep their backyards locked because they fear a drug addict will intrude on their space. When debates about where to put the fixing room or other issues regarding the homeless and addicted come up, people have this dreadful mentality where they want nothing to do with it. But that’s all a part of the city and the addicts and homeless people are just as much entitled to occupy the streets as you and I. You have to engage in the environment, but most people don’t and that’s what’s causing this divide between rich and poor.

Are there any positive sides of the gentrification?
I like the young people and the fact that they can contribute to a livelier city and I think it’s great that the apartments have gotten properly renovated with things like heat and warm water. But I don’t see anything good about this huge increase in apartments bought by wealthy parents. I would love it if young people and students from every layer of society would have the opportunity to live here, but they don’t. Vesterbro is now in the top three most expensive regions in Denmark which creates this closed society, impossible to get into without money.

Laila, 60, and her Granddaughter Gina, 24

VICE: What is your relationship with the city?
Laila: I remember the city from when I was four years old. Everything worked in a different way back then. I remember one time a little four-year-old girl, who was living upstairs, came down knocking on my door and asked me if I had some weed she could bring her father. Today you probably would have called social services. But back then everything was more laid back around here and you didn’t spend time judging your neighbors.

Do you believe that the gentrification has contributed to a more divided society?
Gina: I see it as the eternal battle between the social parties and the liberal parties. A kind of citizen war. To me the gentrification was a typical suggestion from a liberal mayor. But you know what? People actually know how to interact and develop by themselves. You ruin the authenticity and the aesthetics by renewing a city overnight.

Maybe. Would it be better if newcomers engaged in the history of the area?
Yes, but I don’t see people doing that. I believe a lot of the newcomers should reevaluate what it is that they are spending their millions on. If you are living in a place and walking around blind, not wanting to be confronted with the harsh reality of your town, maybe you should go and live somewhere else. Right now there is no room for the people who truly need to be living here. People just want that special Vesterbro label without owning up to the reality of it.

What about Kødbyen though, doesn’t that represent the essence of Vesterbro?
Kødbyen is a super cool place in every way, but it is still a youth phenomenon that is a copy of something already existing in other capitals. So, no.

Are there any positive sides of the gentrification?
I don’t really see anything good about it. Every opportunity that homeless people had of giving themselves a break has been shut down. Closing every yard, shutting down the public restrooms at the Central Station. For some, freedom is having money and a huge kitchen with hardwood floors, but for others that is exactly what gives them claustrophobia and they need the streets to breathe. I think the gentrification has made that hard for a lot of the inhabitants.

So it doesn’t make room for people who are actively choosing a different lifestyle?
Laila: Not at all. I was one of the few weak ones able to be strong. I stayed in my apartment refusing to move while they were renewing the city. I still don’t have a bathroom and I don’t have hot water. They wanted to make my apartment a part of the housing cooperation but I declined. It is just so against my philosophy with all that material abundance.