Danish communal housing is building a better society. What can it teach us?
A ping-pong ball strikes me plumb on the forehead. No one else seems to notice, so I continue eating my fiskefrikadeller (fish cake) while the residents of Grønne Eng explain the benefits of communal living. “You can always find someone to look after your kids,” says Lene Skytte Hvid, mother of Niels, seven, and Bjørn, four, who are currently mucking around at the table-tennis table nearby and are my prime suspects for the ping-pong ball. “One of the main attractions for me was that my son would grow up with other kids his age to play with,” adds Anne-Sofie Helms, a digital journalist, and mother of six-year-old Louie.
A bearded older gentleman sitting opposite me at our long table introduces himself. Niels Kryger, 77, is a retired educational anthropologist. “The noise level can be a challenge,” he shouts, as I pass him the fish cakes. “But it’s young life, so…” He tells me Grønne Eng has far exceeded his expectations. “A good atmosphere. Good people.”
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