17th Day: The Two Big Flows

There were some days I notice one thing: the incredible number of people coming and going from Christiania. Approaching this matter I notice two big and fast flows of people in the city: The tourists and the hash buyers.

I ask with myself: Why people are interested in Christiania? Why the tourists? Why the hash buyers? At the first glace it’s very easy and simple to answer: 1) Because here there’s one of the fewer and important “Alternative community” in urban areas in the world; 2) Because the buyers can’t buy freely in another place of the Copenhagen.

I don’t know if Christiania doesn’t have a good image to all of the Danish society. I think some of them link Christiania with the hash market. Some Christiania’s residents think that it’s impossible to survive without the hash market because it attracts the tourist and without the tourism many of their commercial houses and restaurants would be broken.

I don’t think it really works like this. I notice the tourist groups going inside Christiania and not only at the Pusher Street where is sited the hash market. It shows us different interests in the Freetown Christiania. I believe the things like: Christiania’s history, the urban artistic interventions, the character of its urban space, the sustainable development, the funny of its buildings, the art done by non-artists, the alternative society in the middle of a great European city… so… there’s a lot of different reasons to people come here.

Nowadays I wonder what would happen to Christiania if the Danish Govern legalizes the hash market… I don’t think that Christiania would disappear… maybe the commercial one but only the hash market one. Christiania has really beautiful spaces where people can come and smoke and feel free and happy. As I told you before: The Freetown has a rich urban spatiality that Copenhagen can’t have by itself. Christiania does have a special enough character to attract more and more people… even more without the stigma of the hash market.