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A yellow harbour bus at the Bryggebroen stop in Copenhagen harbour, with modern waterfront office and residential buildings

Denmark

Copenhagen

Photo: Kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Copenhagen is speeding up local plans to build more affordable housing, starting nappy recycling, adding six citizen-designed green streets and filling Lynetteholm, its new storm-surge peninsula.

Updated · Checked against official sources

  • Residents

    329,671 men and 340,718 women

    1 July 2026

  • Lord Mayor

    Sisse Marie Welling

    Socialist People's Party

  • EU programmes

    4

Latest

  1. Climate and energy ·

    Copenhagen starts collecting nappy waste for recycling

    Copenhagen has begun collecting used nappies from blocks of flats with young children and from municipal day-care centres, so that they can be recycled instead of incinerated.

    Facts and source
    • Copenhagen has started collecting nappy waste for recycling.
    • About 50 million nappies a year are currently thrown out for incineration in the municipality.
    • The city expects to collect 5,000 tonnes of nappy waste once the scheme is fully in place in 2029.

    Source: Københavns Kommune, “Nu skal københavnerne sortere bleer til genanvendelse”

  2. Regeneration and housing ·

    Copenhagen moves to cut waiting times for local development plans

    Copenhagen is preparing measures to shorten the time it takes to process local development plans, including letting officials adopt simple plans and, as a trial, letting developers draft proposals.

    Facts and source
    • Officials are to be able to adopt simple local plans themselves, without political approval.
    • As a trial, developers are to be allowed to write draft local plans themselves.
    • A catalogue of measures was presented to politicians on Monday 5 October.

    Source: Københavns Kommune, “København sætter fuld fart på sagsbehandlingen af lokalplaner”

  3. Regeneration and housing ·

    Copenhagen approves six new resident-led city-life streets

    Copenhagen has approved six more city-life streets, local streets redesigned with planting, seating and traffic calming on the initiative of residents, with work expected to start in spring 2027.

    Facts and source
    • The six new streets are in Christianshavn, Nørrebro, Østerbro and Vesterbro.
    • The round drew 33 project ideas, and the city-life funds have received 167 applications in total.
    • Work on the six streets is expected to begin in spring 2027.

    Source: Københavns Kommune, “Seks nye bylivsgader på vej”

  4. Climate and energy ·

    Copenhagen revives its expert group on air pollution

    Copenhagen is re-establishing an expert group that will publish yearly recommendations on reducing air pollution and residents' exposure to it.

    Facts and source
    • The city budget sets aside DKK 4.6 million to set up and run the expert group from 2027 to 2030.
    • The expert group will have up to 13 members.
    • A similar expert group advised the city from 2019 to 2023.

    Source: Københavns Kommune, “Ekspertgruppe genopstår for at sætte fokus på ren luft i København”

  5. Mobility ·

    Copenhagen consults residents on whether Langebro bridge should keep opening

    Copenhagen has opened a six-week public consultation on whether Langebro should remain an opening bridge or be closed permanently to ships, before politicians decide on its costly renovation.

    Facts and source
    • A six-week public consultation runs from 9 September.
    • Renovating the bridge so that it can still open would cost more than DKK 400 million.
    • Renovating it as a non-opening bridge would cost more than DKK 200 million.

    Source: Københavns Kommune, “Nu starter høringen om Langebros fremtid”

City briefs are drafted with AI from official sources; every fact is checked against the source text before an editor approves it.

Projects we track

4 projects · 3 under way

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    CULTIGEN: community-shaped tourism

    An EU-funded project building a data-driven tourism governance model, with a photo-voice app and local ambassadors, to spread visitors to less central neighbourhoods. It runs from December 2024 to May 2028.

    Budget EUR 3,753,408.64 (ERDF granted) Funded by European Urban Initiative (ERDF) Culture

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Lynetteholm peninsula and storm-surge protection

    A new peninsula between Refshaleøen and Nordhavn, filled with surplus soil from building sites, that forms part of Copenhagen's storm-surge protection. A 60-hectare coastal landscape is planned, with a first stage due to open around 2029.

    Funded by By & Havn Climate and energy

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Six new city-life streets

    Residents' proposals for six greener, traffic-calmed streets in Nørrebro, Vesterbro, Østerbro and Christianshavn were approved in October 2026. Work is expected to start in spring 2027.

    Regeneration and housing

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Nappy waste collection for recycling

    Since 19 October 2026 the city has been placing bins for nappy waste at blocks of flats with young children and at municipal day-care centres; a treatment plant in Hvidovre starts operating in February 2027.

    Climate and energy

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

EU programmes and networks

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