Copenhagen to Switch Anti-Terror Barriers With Trees in Aesthetic Facelift

In recent times, many European cities have been forced to erect anti-terror barriers to prevent vehicular terrorist attacks. While the concrete barriers may surely contribute to the security of city centers, they are less than appealing to the public eye. The Danish capital, Copenhagen, has come up with a way of beautifying these precautions.

To make the unattractive concrete roadblocks against terror attacks more aesthetically pleasing, Copenhagen is aiming to first decorate the barriers and eventually replace them altogether using trees and benches.

"We are following the recommendations of Copenhagen Police and [the Danish Security and Intelligence Service] PET regarding the establishment of speed-curbing measures. However, the terrorists won't be dominating the agenda of our city forever," Morten Kabell, Copenhagen deputy mayor for technical issues, told the Danish TV-channel TV2.

According to Kabell, the current concrete structures will in the long run be replaced with trees, benches and other objects, which will have the same deterring effect, while also contributing to a nicer atmosphere.

While Copenhagen City Hall has fundamentally agreed to make the change, it remains yet to be decided how the project, which starts in September, will be funded.

According to Kabell, more concrete barriers are currently on the way. To make these barriers more palatable, the city has been reportedly seeking the public's help to turn them into eye-catching decorations, spaces for ads. Kabell referred to the barriers around City Hall Square, which have already undergone a "facelift," effectively becoming benches.

#whatsnottolike.. #grønterrorsikring #cykelparkering #rådhuspladsen #madeindenmark #tagtomat #dkpol #kbhpol #urbangardening #twitterhjerne pic.twitter.com/fVDbRh2DMU

— Mads B. Lauritsen (@tagtomat) 15 июня 2017 г.

​"It's not just the municipality's business to decide what a decoration should consist of. Let a thousand flowers blossom. If a local public school has an idea for a decoration, all they need to do is to come forward," Kabell Morten said.

Since 12 people were killed in a truck attack in Berlin at the beginning of the year, a number of large concrete blocks have been set up in the Copenhagen city center as a precaution against similar scenes.

Meanwhile, Denmark's fellow Nordic nation of Finland is beefing up security in the wake of a knife attack in Turku, which killed two and wounded eight.

Concrete roadblocks and strategically placed trucks have already become a common sight at mass events across Finland. Furthermore, police have increased their visibility by having more patrol units on site during different events. Cities like Helsinki, Oulu and Kuopio have even discussed installing permanent driving barriers.

The knife attack could reportedly cause a re-evaluation of the government's budget spending. According to Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, the Finnish government is now investigating whether any additional funds should be channeled towards domestic security, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported.

Earlier this spring, the government funneled an extra €100 million to be divided between the Finnish Security Intelligence Service, the police force, the border guard and the Armed Forces.