Written by: Ibrahim Molough and Nayonika Manna
The Danish capital has voted to lift the ban on sleeping in public parks. A welcome change, but it highlights persistent gaps in care for the city’s most vulnerable.
Enghaveparken, one of the parks in Copenhagen where homeless people find shelter for the night. Photo Credits: Ibrahim Molough.
Until recently, sleeping in a park in Copenhagen could lead to fines or eviction. For the city’s homeless residents, finding a legal and safe place to sleep was a challenge. But that’s about to change: the city’s Public Works Committee (Teknik- og Miljøudvalg) has decided to lift the ban.
“Something as basic as sleeping should never be criminalised in Copenhagen,” said Karina Vestergård Madsen, chair of the city’s social affairs committee.
Public parks will now be accessible, though cemeteries and playgrounds remain off-limits.
The decision marks a symbolic shift in how the city approaches homelessness. Rather than treating it as a public nuisance, the city is beginning to acknowledge the rights and dignity of unhoused individuals. For Junior Kjartan Emhjellen, head of the Copenhagen branch of the national homeless organisation SAND, this is a positive and necessary development.
“Being excluded from both indoor and outdoor spaces sends a message that you don’t belong to society,” he says.
“This change reaffirms that homeless people still have rights.”
Kjartan Emhjellen, also known as Junior. Photo Credits: Ibrahim Molough.
“Overnight stays in the park are not allowed,” still reads the sign at the park entrance. Photo Credits: Ibrahim Molough.
The move is part of a wider reconsideration of policies affecting homeless individuals. In 2023, Copenhagen signed a Homeless Bill of Rights, affirming the right to a place to sleep. Still, Emhjellen is quick to point out that the gap between promises and practice remains wide.
As of 2024, Denmark counted 5,989 homeless people. According to Emhjellen, the country only has about 3,000 emergency shelter beds. “That means nearly half the homeless population has to sleep in the streets or on someone’s couch,” he says. He also highlights the challenges posed by limited shelter hours: many night shelters are only open from 11 PM to 7 AM and have very few beds. “Some only have 20 spots. If 30 people arrive, there’s a lottery. Those who don’t get in often can’t make it to another shelter in time, and they end up outside.”
One of the shelters for homeless people in Vesterbro. Photo Credits: Ibrahim Molough.
Despite Denmark’s strong welfare reputation, Emhjellen says systemic gaps persist, especially when it comes to early intervention. His own descent into homelessness started when his company failed and he could no longer pay rent. “The commune refused to help cover even a single month’s rent,” he recalls. That decision cost him his home and over a decade on the streets.
Even when housing is granted, the support is often incomplete. Emhjellen describes receiving a flat with mismatched or unusable essentials: lampshades without bulbs, cupboards with no hangers, pots and forks but no plates. In a speech to city officials, he offered to return the blinds, too small to cover his windows, as a gift. “Maybe they could try using them at home,” he suggested. The room fell silent.
For years, Emhjellen relied on public parks during the summer and the metro during the winter. The latter brought its own costs, he now owes over 100,000 DKK in transit fines. Concerns that lifting the park sleeping ban will attract large crowds are, in his view, unfounded.
“No one chooses this life. People won’t rush into parks just because it’s legal. It will be the same people, just with one less punishment.”
Internationally, Denmark fares better than some peers, with a rate of 63 homeless people per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the UK’s 426. But it still falls short of neighboring Norway, which has just 26. For a country with such a robust welfare model, that’s a discrepancy worth noting.
Copenhagen is moving, slowly, towards a greater respect for fundamental rights. But for sleep to no longer be a privilege, every person must first be given a roof worthy of the name.
We attempted to reach Line Barfod, chair of the Technology and Environment Committee, and Karina Vestergård Madsen, chair of the social affairs committee, but did not receive a response.
This article is for a socially conscious international audience and can be published in The Guardian or Al Jazeera English.