From DAC to RU - the return of the train in my everyday life

By the 1st of September 2009 I am no longer employed in Sustainable Cities ™ at the Danish Architecture Center. Instead I have returned to the Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change at Roskilde University (RU), where I am a part of the research group Space, Place, Mobility and Urban Studies. And let's just get the spatial change over with right away. No, it's not about the outer space, but about the spaces we dwell and move in and between every day; urban spaces, nature spaces, mobility spaces and so forth. It is a geographical concept constituting the understanding and analysis of the world.

Geography is very much in play when speaking about Roskilde University (RU). RU is - as most might have guessed – located in Roskilde. Or, more precisely in Trekroner which is a Roskilde suburb. It is an approx 25 minute train trip from Copenhagen Central Station. It is a different spatial location than DAC, located in the heart of Copenhagen, very close to where I live. Many have therefore asked me if I am not annoyed by suddenly having to spend so much time on transportation.

And what is surprising to most is that the answer is – no. But by further explaining the understanding grows. The fantastic thing about this mobility time is that it creates a free space between home and work. It creates my own in-between where I can think about my work or why my husband and children are amazing – or amazingly annoying, philosophizing about the state of the world or just read the things I didn’t have time to read.

Meanwhile, my daily bike ride to the station is also a welcoming return - days just come off to a better start when my body has moved just a little before it is placed in an office chair in front of a computer.

My return to Roskilde University does not, however, mean that I will disappear completely from Sustainable Cities ™. I've been lucky enough to be allowed to continue interfering, among other things, through my weekly blog. Also the sustainable perspective will be an essential part of my further research and teaching at RU. So this is just a change of scene, not a change of topic.