For many people, Copenhagen is a place of longing: a relaxed atmosphere, friendly people, cafés by the water and bicycles everywhere. The city seems light, open and inviting – a place where people enjoy living. But behind this perceived serenity lies a sophisticated strategy that is gradually transforming Copenhagen into a sustainable smart city.

Christian Gaarde Nielsen, Team Lead at Copenhagen Solutions Lab, emphasizes: “A smart city only becomes something through the functions it works with. It's about making the city smarter, greener, and more socially sustainable.”

In Copenhagen, this means climate protection measures, mobility planning, include energy infrastructure and the circular economy are supported by digital tools and data so that the city can achieve its green goals without disrupting people's everyday lives.

Data, technology, and game plan: the smart city strategy

Copenhagen's smart city strategy was launched in 2014. Initially, there was still uncertainty: technologies were to be used, but for what exactly? “We first tested technologies in city administration to see how processes, decision-making, and workflows could be improved with more reliable data,” explains Nielsen.

It quickly became apparent that a rigid long-term plan would not work because technology, political priorities, and organizations are constantly evolving. This led to the creation of a flexible “game plan”: a framework that targets innovation where it brings the greatest benefit. For example, one goal is to support the climate strategy until 2035, advance 20 long-term projects from 2024 - 2028, and at the same time ensure ongoing administrative tasks.

Smart city in everyday life: bicycles, energy, mobility

The strategy is evident in the everyday lives of Copenhageners:

• Circular Economy: A digital waste tool enhances supervision, streamlines case management, and ensures fair business waste costs by integrating data efficiently.
• Energy and buildings: Digital systems promote the share of renewable energy and integrate buildings into the smart energy system of the future using automated building operation, coupling to the energy grid and realizing flexibility using, among other things, AI elements.
• Mobility solutions: Sensors and digital platforms collect real-time data to make traffic flow more smoothly for all road users and promote environmentally friendly modes of transport and integrate bicycle lockers to daily commute-patterns.

"Citizens don't necessarily see these as smart city projects. They simply experience better services, more efficient use of tax money, and continuous improvements," explains Nielsen.

Pilot projects are developed in collaboration with specialist departments, external partners, universities, and the private sector. After successful testing, the specialist departments take over the final implementation themselves. This results in innovation that has a long-term impact without the city administration neglecting its normal operations.

Continuous improvement instead of an end point

A central principle of Copenhagen: there is no end point. “The city can always improve, always become smarter,” says Nielsen. By creating a framework for continuous innovation, new solutions can be tested and evaluated while the city continues to function as normal.

Copenhagen does not compare itself to cities like London or New York, which focus on economic sustainability. Instead, it is about the green transition and social sustainability – and about learning from other Nordic cities such as Helsinki or Oslo in order to improve.

With this approach, Copenhagen clearly demonstrates that a smart city is not an end in itself, but smart city solutions support transformative innovation needs within the city’s strategic plans – constantly in motion, always developing and improving.

Denmark's development as a smart country was already a topic in 2018 – the country was the first partner country of the Smart Country Convention.