The East Jutland urban belt

Facts

100-km urban sausage

By Lisbeth Øhrgaard, Arkitekt MAA og byplanlægger (2 stories)

Denmark's new town of over one million inhabitants stretches like a belt between Randers and Kolding. The construction of the East Jutland E45 motorway has fuelled urban development in the area. The motorway has attracted businesses and shopping centres along its hundred-kilometre length. The municipalities have constructed new commercial districts close to the motorway that have completely changed the diverse landscape. In many places, the open scenery is dominated by commercial buildings and urban sprawl. In 2006, the Ministry for the Environment pointed out in its National Plan Report that an overall urban development plan was needed. Otherwise, in time, the towns would spread into one long continuous town. This area has the highest population growth in Denmark.

Public place

Listen to the story
Share

Contribute to The East Jutland urban belt

Have you visited / Want to visit? Contribute to this place Add to route

Selected entry

Fat sausage or rotten banana?

Story written by Lisbeth Øhrgaard

Time / Periode 1980 2010

2 Comments 0 recommendations

The East Jutland urban belt has been nicknamed the fat sausage". It conjures up an image of a patient getting fatter and fatter with arteries hardening while facing the risk of an imminent heart attack. The area is also called "the hundred kilometre town". It is symptomatic of the unequal distribution of growth in Denmark. Many perimeter areas are experiencing the opposite of the area along motorway E45. Urban migration, empty buildings, and decline are a stark reality for areas from Thisted down towards the west coast of Jutland and over to South Funen and Lolland-Falster. That has given the perimeter area the nickname "the rotten banana". The Mayor of Thisted took exception. He declared, "We don't want to be part of the rotten banana when East Jutland is the fat sausage!” "

Recomend Log in or create profile to recommend
Send
Share
Share in facebook
Add your own story

View all stories

Comments to the story (1)

Rod Michael , a year ago

My wife and I are American and we had an opportunity to visit and spend a day with a distant relative in Hobro, Denmark last year (Sep, 2010). During the course of conversation that day they happened to mention that much of Denmark's homeless population is concentrated in a part of Denmark that they referred to as the "Rotten Banana.' My inference was that the term rotten banana is applied locally because of the concentration of homeless people in the region to which the term referred.