Denmark's Utopian City:

Did They Figure Out How to Make People Better Neighbors?

 DANISH NEIGHBORHOODS

As much as I would love to say yes, this is the best design for fostering neighborly love, I can't but I can say that this is truly a design concept that I  have never thought of before. For me this is a reverse cul-de-sac, the backyard is the front yard, and the privacy, we Americans love so much kind of disappears, as we now share our "backyard" line with the center of this community.

Forced Friendships:

Having grown up in a cul-de-sac, however, I am not sure this is the lone reason, I grew up playing with my neighbors, and knowing everyone in the cul-de-sac. I think having such a centralized shared area, versus a street where people park this forces a lot more interaction than otherwise. However, as a child growing up this does not give as much sense of discovery, where you can get on your bike and make probably the 10-minute bike ride through different streets to your friend's house. Along with that, however, I can see why a parent may find this development ideal, everything is very safe, and there is not a ton of traffic, I imagine. 

What the Article has to Say:

• "Built-in 1964 to the design of 'genius landscape architect Erik Mygind,' Brøndby Haveby mimics 'the traditional patterns of the 18th century Danish villages, where people would use the middle as a focal point for hanging out, mingle and social interchange between neighbors.'"
• "As Lenni Madsen, a Danish Quora user with a Brøndby Haveby house in the family, puts it, 'Imagine your average small-time community, where everyone knows everyone else, you see each other across the hedge, perhaps sharing a beer or having coffee at each others’ houses.'"