We used to go to the city center to buy clothes and books. Today, we also make ceramics and attend a carnival party.

The empty retail space in the heart of Aalborg had been standing vacant for a long time when Lotte Legarth moved in a year ago and opened the ceramics workshop Lerværk.

Previously, there had been a clothing store in the premises, but she saw the potential in creating a place where people could come in and make ceramics while enjoying a cup of coffee.

"We can see a huge demand from people who want to come in and do something creative together. It has exceeded all expectations," she says.

One of the customers at the open ceramics workshop is Louise Thomsen, who is there with her mother and daughter.

"It’s for doing something different from what we have the opportunity to do on a daily basis. So we can try something new together, be together in a different way," she says.

There are still empty retail spaces in Aalborg’s city center, but they have become fewer in recent years.

"The city center is undergoing a transformation from being a typical shopping destination to perhaps becoming more of a meeting place. Instead of going there just to shop because we have an immediate need to buy something, we’re now seeking experiences," says Jes Asmussen, the city manager of Aalborg.

Aalborg is not alone in tracking the number of visitors to its city center. Middelfart, Næstved, and Ringkøbing are also doing so, and all have registered more visitors last year than the year before, according to Anders Baagland, chairman of Danske Handelsbyer.

The development happening in Aalborg’s city center is also occurring in other cities and abroad, according to Tina Saaby, director of Dansk Byplanlaboratorium.

"The activities in the city center are shifting from being just places where you go in to shop to spaces where you sit down, enjoy a coffee, maybe see an exhibition, or do something else. And then you might also buy something."

She is pleased with the trend and that the registrations show progress for city centers.

"It’s really, really good that we’re getting lively city centers again. And the fact that it’s just as much about community as it is about shopping is, in my view, a very positive development," she says.

In Aalborg, for example, the Thomsen family enjoys ceramics, and Louise Thomsen finds it completely natural that experiences from going into town matter more to many people than shopping.

"I actually always think that’s how it’s been for me. If I just need to buy something, there’s also usually an exhibition in town or some activities like the ones we have today."

"But maybe there are more opportunities now," she adds.

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