Christiania

In 2008 I visited Mea Shearim, the ulta-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem. Many tourists visit the area and there are large signs posted in many languages that ask visitors to dress modestly and not take pictures.
On Saturday, I visited another neighborhood with similar regulation signs. However, Christiania, in Copenhagen, is the polar opposite of Mea Shearim. Christiania has been an autonomous area of Copenhagen since the early seventies. It is known for it's unusual architecture, bright paintings, and drug trade. It is because of the drugs that signs are posted in Christiania with three rules: have fun, don't run, and don't take pictures.
The neighborhood is not huge, although it is big enough to have a small lake and several streets. The architecture was unusual; many of the houses were built by the residents from salvaged materials. The more traditional buildings have colorful murals on the wall and there are various pieces of eclectic found object artwork.
I was primarily struck by two things. First, I was surprised how open drug sales are. After doing some reading, it seems that several years ago the drugs went underground, but now it's out in the open again. It is illegal to buy and sell marijuana in Denmark. However, due to Christiania's fuzzy legal status, drug sales go on without consequences. On "Pusher's Alley," vendors had tables set up with their products for sale.
The second thing that struck me was how junky it was. There were lots of houses with tarps over parts of them, scraps of things and garbage sitting in yards. I think Christiania has seen better days. In an autonomous, self-ruled community I would hope to see things like edible gardens, a community kitchen, and small businesses. The residents of Christiania are supposed to be working towards buying their land from the city. However, there is not a clear plan to do this and from what I saw I wonder if it is possible. Christiania is clearly at a crossroads.