Creating Copenhagen's Metro - On the role of protected spaces in arenas of development

The conception of Copenhagen's Metro is analysed as part of a strategy to rescue Copenhagen from a stalemate in transportation and city space planning and to transform it into a pole in Europe and the locomotive of Denmark's development. Through an arenas of development (AoD) analysis, we argue that Copenhagen's economic difficulties were due to three arenas: Denmark's national transportation strategy; the regional fiscal balance; and Copenhagen's transportation and planning. To remedy this stalemate, the Danish national government and Copenhagen's administration were instrumental in staging a new arena, the Metropolitan Area problem, which made possible the creation of protected spaces for policy changes, transportation solutions, and a redefinition of Copenhagen's Metropolitan Area.