Skip to content. Skip to navigation Go to page content Go to navigation of subsection Go to section "Why Denmark" Go to subsection "Study in Denmark" Go to subsection "Live in Denmark" See "Guides" Go to "News"

You are here: Home News on Danish higher education Danish cities among world's 'smartest'

Danish cities among world's 'smartest'

By 2050, more than 6 billion people will be living in urban areas. Denmark has set ambitious goals to optimize sustainable urban development, energy consumption and economic activity
Danish cities among world's 'smartest'

Copenhagen and Aarhus CO2 neutral by 2025

The two largest cities in Denmark, Copenhagen and Aarhus, have set ambitious goals to become CO2 neutral by 2025 and 2030, respectively. Many other Danish cities have set out similar plans for sustainable developments. We call these 'Smart Cities'

'Smart Cities’ impact on the global economy and climate

Cities across the world contribute to climate change - and are in turn affected by its consequences. Over the next 20 years, the world will see another seven cities with more than 10 million people - each year.

This urbanization leads to increased demand for energy-consuming services such as housing and transportation. As a result, a growing number of large cities face significant energy, environmental and climate-related challenges now and in the future.

One of the great challenges is to combine sustainable urban development with competitiveness. To stay competitive, cities need to become more energy-efficient, consumer-focused and technology-driven. They need to become smart.

Six dimensions to a ‘smart’ city

Whether developing new cities from scratch or rebuilding existing cities the challenge is to ensure that the city becomes more livable, economically successful, and environmentally responsible. The following six dimensions can be used to measure how 'smart' a city is:

  • Smart economy (high productivity, entrepreneurship and ability to transform)
  • Smart mobility (strong ICT infrastructure and sustainable transport systems)
  • Smart environment (Sustainable resource management, pollution prevention, environmental protection)
  • Smart people (diversity, creativity and participation in public life)
  • Smart living (cultural facilities, housing quality, health and safety issues)
  • Smart governance (political strategies and perspectives, transparency and community participation in decision making)

 

Learn more about Smart Cities in Denmark and in the rest of the world

Video: Dario from Italy explains why he chose to do his PhD in Sustainable Energy in Denmark

Master of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management (M.Sc.) in Denmark