The project aims to challenge urban development, directed by mass-housing development and private sectors. This is set with a focus on how quality urban design can create enhanced, and more contextually appropriate neighbourhoods, with attention to the local communities. To showcase this, the project suggests a new approach on how to develop the site “Molestien”, in Sydhavnen, Copenhagen Southwest. This starts with an analysis of the local area, and how the history, built topology and urban features can help to appraise the site context.

To create a framework, the project draws from the New Urbanism approach, to set up principles of well-known urban design methods, and further create a toolbox on how a neighbourhood can become more communal and socially functional. This includes inspiration from the transect theory and placemaking, which guides the design with regulatory and specifc design principles.

Moreover, this leads to a conceptualisation of how the different typologies in the project district can be used as guidelines for neighbourhood planning, both in terms of the built-up character and the associated culture. This ends up in a design proposal, for a new neighbourhood on Molestien. The proposal sets a new standard of how new development in an existing culture can become successful. The built environment in the neighbourhood is formed by small-scale local typologies, with inspiration from local surroundings. This intends to allow users of the neighbourhood to interact, and experience a great concentration of diversity, which can stimulate personal needs. In addition, the great diversity also creates opportunities for different places to stay, and interact with other people, which aims to enhance unity and community in both the local neighbourhood and the greater Sydhavn.