The revitalization of post-war social housing areas has been the subject of sustained academic and policy interest across Europe and beyond. What is common amongst these areas are experiences of socioeconomic unevenness and as a consequence stigmatization. Attempts to address these effects through redevelopment by spatial practitioners have been shown to exasperated social problems by focusing on solving the symptoms of the socioeconomic unevenness rather than addressing their causes.

In the spring of 2018, the Danish government released an anti-ghettoization policy called ‘The ghetto plan’ aimed at drastically changing social housing areas referred to as ‘parallel societies’, which subsequently affects the lives of the residents. The policy expands on the pre-existing ghetto list, which ranks social housing areas as ‘deprived neighbourhoods’, ‘ghettos’ and ‘hard ghettos’, ultimately stigmatizes the area and its residents.

The thesis critically explores the advancement of anti-ghettoization policies in Denmark and the impact that they have on social housing areas, which ultimately facilitate their redevelopment and gentrification. The redevelopment and gentrification causes numerous problems for the residents of these areas. The thesis investigates the experiences of residents affected by the policy construct, in order to identify ways of alleviating challenges imposed upon them through a design strategy.

The focus of the thesis is on the social housing area; Gellerupparken. Literature research, local interviews and local mappings were performed to create a sound basis for identifying challenges and potentials of the area. Social and spatial locally bound challenges were uncovered during the thesis, along with numerous potentials for improving the area. The final design strategy proposes a strategic framework that addresses the most critical challenges, and strengthens the potentials found. The purpose of the framework is for the residents to use it as a lobby document to stimulate an alternative approach to the redevelopment of the area, which can assist strategic actors and decision makers in the short and long-term, by highlighting what the residents deem to be of vital importance.It also serves to put forward suggestions to decision makers, about how more localised and sensitive practices