Case study on infrastructures growth: Copenhagen
Copenhagen’s population has been increasing lately:
Current growth rate: 0.9%; Current population: 1,358,608
Problems that Copenhagen faced and what infrastructure changes were made to
fix them:
1. Transport system
The ways and means of transport:
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In an effort to be greener, Copenhagen has made public transport and bike roads
convenient and widely available.
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Cycling is encouraged and said to be “built into the social norms of Copenhagen”.
Bicycles are pretty cheap and widely available not just in Copenhagen, but around
Denmark overall.
More railways were built and the schedules and routes of busses overall have been
modified to make them more convenient.
Busses, trams, and railways/subways are also widely available and cheap to use.
However, this, in turn, has caused:
-
Overcrowded and packed trams, busses and trains.
Congestion and capacity problems during railway rush hour (this has increased by the
years).
“Because of capacity problems on the rail network, it is impossible to provide more train
services on several central rail lines.”
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02723638.2019.1709757
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1852&context=clas
https://www.trm.dk/media/3765/the-danish-transport-infrastructure-2030.pdf
2. Waste control
Waste management practices:
 Waste is being separated into different fractions for recycling; additional fractions are
being introduced.
 Energy that is get after incineration is used for district heating.
 If you want to send waste to landfill you must pay 10 times bigger amount of tax than if
sending to incineration.
 It is illegal to send waste to landfill if it can be incinerated.
The outcome:
“Copenhagen now sends less than 2 per cent of waste to landfill. Approximately 45 per cent of
the waste is recycled and maximum use is made of the residual waste to generate heat for the
city’s district heating network.”
https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/city-of-copenhagen/solutions/making-the-most-of-waste/
http://www.urban-waste.eu/520-2/
3. Water and sanitation
Due to the growing urban population in Copenhagen, the city had to:



Secure safe drinking water in new infrastructure
Make affordable and safe housing
Reduce water consumption per person
Water and sanitation changes:

New housing in old facilities or new buildings, all secured with safe water.
“Because we are growing we have to look at different ways of densifying the city – using old
industrial spaces, but also building, higher, closer – and this is a challenge when we are also
facing climate changes” Lykke Leonardsen, Program Manager Green urban solutions, Municipal
Development.
https://iwa-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IWA_City_Stories_Copenhagen.pdf

The government is emphasizing the importance of sanitation through sanitation
awareness campaigns
“A web-based teaching programme has been prepared, comprising teaching of water and
drainage for pupils in basic school and upper secondary school.”
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/Section-8-Water-Consumption_Copenhagen.pdf

Water supply plan regulation
“The City of Copenhagen is continuously revising the water supply plan regulating the City’s
supply of drinking water. This ensures that initiatives are taken for future efforts to e.g. reduce
water consumption in the City.”
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/Section-8-Water-Consumption_Copenhagen.pdf

Establishment of individual water meters and water-saving toilets + water meter laws.

Installations were made “to replace drinking water extracted outside the City with water
extracted within the City from roofs, or, for example, wastewater purified through a UV
filter.” to make water more available and sustainable.
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/Section-8-Water-Consumption_Copenhagen.pdf
Outcome:


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Reduction of water use to only 26 gallons per person per day.
Housing and facilities with safe water
Infrastructure with water saving installations
Sources:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-23/why-copenhagen-has-such-greatwater
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/Section-8-Water-Consumption_Copenhagen.pdf
https://iwa-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IWA_City_Stories_Copenhagen.pdf