Last night I read this fine article about Christiania, the "free city" located on an old military base not far from downtown Copenhagen. The article does a good job of describing the place as I remember it from my own visit.
I hope it lives on. It really is a public good at this point, not just for the tourists it brings to the city but also for the example it provides of a different way of living. The government would be foolish and mean to shut it down. Indeed, I think they should work with the residents to reestablish the kinder, gentler pot market that existed a decade ago, before the government shut it down and let rougher folk come in to replace it in the shadows.
Today the residence of Christiania just accepted to actually buy the properties (they have been squatting for 40 years). They are buying the land way below market value (http://cphpost.dk/news/local/87-local/51539-minor-conditions-separate-freetown-and-state.html)
ReplyDeleteHere's a prediction: The economic incentives - selling seaside residences in one of the World's most expensive cities with a hugh profit - will be too big of a deal not to enter and the area will be normalized within ten years time.