A movement for visionary minds in the built environment

Be a part of New Urban Voices

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Be a part of New Urban Voices

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Be a part of New Urban Voices • Be a part of New Urban Voices •

Join Here

WHAT IS NEW URBAN VOICES?

We are a non-profit association based in Copenhagen. We offer an open, cross-disciplinary platform for rethinking the future of cities and the built environment.

We believe that urban planning should serve the public good and the long-term sustainability of our planet. We emphasise that today’s social, economic, and environmental challenges require new perspectives and collaborative solutions.

Through working groups, public events and collaborative projects, we give voice to new ideas, critical perspectives and creative visions for driving urban change.

Our stance is both critical and constructive: we challenge the status quo while building alternatives that benefit society as a whole.

WHO ARE WE?

We are a collaborative network of dedicated professionals from across diverse disciplines with a shared passion for the built environment.

We meet once a month to share updates, exchange ideas, and start new projects.

These meetings are open to anyone interested in taking part in New Urban Voices. We value and grow from everyone’s perspectives.

No prior experience required.

See our Calendar

WORKING GROUPS

København 2.0 - En ny vej til Hovedstaden

We wrote a book. København 2.0 is the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration at New Urban Voices. It addresses some of Copenhagen’s most pressing challenges and combines a deep love for the city with the conviction that it’s time to rethink its future. The book presents 34 concrete proposals for reimagining the capital, with a central focus on strengthening democratic participation in the city’s development.

The book was originally written in Danish, but we are working together to present an English version soon.

NUV WALKS

During NUV Walks we gather to explore Copenhagen’s neighbourhoods and urban landscapes, uncovering what the city and its surroundings are really about. Some walks guide us through lesser-known places, others invite us to view long-standing sites with fresh eyes, and some are simply opportunities to meet and inhabit urban spaces together.

JAKARTA - AN ORPHANAGE FOR GEDONG POMPA

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is home to more than 30 million people in its metropolitan area. The city is heavily affected by climate change, and large parts of Jakarta are sinking between 3 to 10 cm every year. In Kampung Gedong Pompa, the consequences are visible everywhere: cracked concrete structures, damaged homes, and communities living with the constant risk of flooding.

The lost orphanage in Kampung Gedong Pompa was originally built in 2007 after a major flood. The building was a safe space for children to live and learn, and a vital community hub for its residents. Today, due to subsidence, groundwater extraction, and rising flood levels, this space has been lost.

Through participatory design, the goal is to place the community at the centre of the rebuilding process and generate local ownership. The next steps are to finalise the design together with the community, find the right partners, and produce a short film to raise funding and create a platform where residents can share their stories.

FUTURE NEIGHBOURHOODS

Through Future Neighbourhoods, we examine how urban spaces in Copenhagen are currently used, while uncovering their unrealised potential and the gaps in how they serve people. The project centres on utopian thinking and the collective power of imagination to re-envision these places.

Do any of these ideas resonate with you, or do you have your own concept to pitch? Join one of our monthly meetings — we’d love to hear your input.

Check our Calendar

OUR MISSION

We provide a dynamic platform for professionals and activists within the areas of spatial planning and the built environment to form working groups and give voice to constructive visions towards change. We do that on a foundation of three pillars:

OUR STANCE

We believe urban planning and the built environment must prioritise lasting, sustainable improvements that enhance the public good and quality of life for all inhabitants—human and non-human. Recognising the complexity of societal challenges, we emphasise that economic, social and environmental issues demand fresh, cross‑disciplinary perspectives.

We focus on constructive criticism. We aim to challenge the status quo by building on, and bringing new life to, critical perspectives regarding the economic, societal, and ecological consequences of current solutions.

OUR APPROACH

Urban environments have a history of being at the forefront of discussions regarding economic, social and ecological justice. However, these environments are heavily reliant on systems outside the city. Cities cannot exist, nor be understood, in isolation from local and global resources, ecosystems, human communities, and interspecies relations, which make our way of life possible.

Our world reaches beyond the built urban environment as a solitary entity, as we believe that attention must be brought to the urban-rural interconnectedness, global systemic issues and the spatiality of our planet’s resources.

OUR WORLD

The demand for change comes in many shapes.
Our methodology is to be a constructive incubator for a variety of expressions, visions, and ideas regarding change in the built environment.

At New Urban Voices, we operate with a flat hierarchy: decisions are consulted in plenum, projects are collaborative, and every voice and perspective is considered. Our output spans between written work — opinion pieces, research papers and manifestos — as well as events, performances, exhibitions, film and podcasts. What unites all of this is our focus on urban change.