The Finger Plan (Danish: Fingerplanen) is an urban plan from 1947 which provides a strategy for the development of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark. According to the plan, Copenhagen is to develop along five 'fingers', centred on S-train commuter rail lines, which extend from the 'palm', that is the dense urban fabric of central Copenhagen. In between the fingers, green wedges are supposed to provide land for agriculture and recreational purposes.
By the definition in the Finger Plan the metropolitan area has a population of 2,016,285 (As of 1 January 2015[update]) and an area of 3,030 km2 (1,170 sq mi) over 34 municipalities.
The northern suburbs form the little finger of the plan and are traditionally the wealthiest. In popular language, the area is known as "The Whiskey Belt", although the area is mixed between mansions, larger houses, garden cities and mid-size houses. The area has a population of around 270,000 inhabitants.
The north-northwestern part of the suburbs forms the ring finger. The area is to a large extent formed by detached middle-class dwellings, with some exceptions of housing projects or upper-class areas. The area has a population of around 100,000 inhabitants.
The northwestern suburbs form the middle finger. It consists of a mixed area of both detached middle-class dwellings, widespread garden cities and large, low-rise public housing projects. The area has a considerable part of the industrial areas of metropolitan Copenhagen, mostly in the traditional sectors of manufacturing. The area has a population of around 110,000 inhabitants.
The index finger forms the western suburbs, which are those with the lowest income per capita and the highest crime rate. The suburbs vary from the petit bourgeois area of Glostrup to the widespread low housing projects of Albertslund and Taastrup. Of the total of 145,000 inhabitants, some 20% are immigrants of first or second generation.
The southwest suburbs along the coast form the thumb of the plan. While the central parts of these suburbs are dominated by high-rise housing projects and low-income inhabitants, the distant part is dominated by detached middle-class houses. These suburbs have a population of some 215,000 inhabitants, with a sizeable number of immigrants.
When the finger plan was initially introduced, the island of Amager was not included as the infrastructure was inadequate for modern suburban life. It has since been improved and the suburbs on the island hold some 53,000 inhabitants. Amager is now one of the most modern suburbs of Copenhagen with increasing wealth. With the opening of the bridge to Sweden this finger has been extended all the way to Malmö.