BILLUND - BØRNENES HOVEDSTAD S. 3 BILLUND AS THE CAPITAL OF CHILDREN With the Billund City Vision we aim to set new standards for holistic urban development for both children and grown-ups. It is the ambition to realize the vision of Billund as the Capital of Children in all aspects of the town’s development, benefitting residents, visitors and employees – as well as the world. Billund has exceptional conditions for innovative urban development. Despite its relatively small size - it has a population of 6,000 - Billund has jobs, tourist attractions and an international airport all on par with the larger cities of Europe. And due to its special relationship with the LEGO Group, Billund is very much on the map locally and globally. The inherent tension in being a small town known all over the world offers unique opportunities and challenges for Billund. These are underlined by the high rate of development in the town. It is faced with large-scale change: LEGO House is under construction in the town center; new railroad stations at Billund Airport and LEGOLAND are in the early conceptual stages and the LEGO Group is expanding their operations in town. With these projects in mind, Billund Municipality, KIRKBI and Realdania have come together to forge a new sustainable vision and plan for Billund. It is the ambition to formulate an urban answer to the challenge: creating a place where play, creativity and learning come alive. A place putting kids first. The vision must provide overall direction for large-scale investments in the coming years while raising the bar for inventive globally oriented but locally embedded urban development. The vision must sustain Billund’s distinctive character as the Capital of Children. A team of advisors comprising BIG and Urgent.Agency has worked intently through 2015 to uncover and analyze the distinct challenges and opportunities Billund faces. The advisors have carried out extensive urban, architectural and cultural research in Billund in close dialogue with a range of local actors, residents and kids. From this, BIG and Urgent.Agency have developed the present vision and plan for Billund as the Capital of Children. BILLUND CITY VISION: A PLAYFUL, DENSE AND CONNECTED CITY The master plan for Billund shows the potential for creating a densified and diverse city, designed to support kids and adults playing, learning and growing in the city center. The plan forwards a central “loop” running through the heart of Billund to bring together business, companies, tourism and housing, developing a vibrant and urban environment with varied architecture and new connections between the urban areas. A central proposal is the Billund Playline: an inspiring, creative and safe infrastructure for pedestrians, runners, bicycles and future driverless pods. Billund Playline is a play trail for everybody - and perhaps, with time, it will become the world’s longest playscape! Densification of the town center and developing news ways of connecting work, the everyday, tourism and urban life is very much in focus. At the same time the vision will connect Billund to the surrounding landscape to create an urban experience where nature is ever present. The guiding premise is that connecting separate urban areas and users – residents, employees and visitors – will create a more creative town with quality for everybody. A key challenge is to ensure, that the vision will come alive over time. Consequently, the vision includes a range of recommendations for how Billund can strengthen organization, culture and cooperation among the actors in the city. The vision points out the importance of prioritizing collaboration and cultural initiatives in the urban development process. Billund has unique potentials for becoming a children’s friendly village for the entire world – a global model for high quality urban development. Formulating the Billund City Vision is a first step in that direction. BILLUND - CAPITAL OF CHILDREN P. 3
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