The article explores the societal conditions under which the various approaches to Danish housing improvement and urban renewal have been exercised since the early part of the 20th century. In doing, so, the article analyses the specific approaches used by the Danish state in order to improve the physical and social living conditions in the cities, as well as discussing the actors and their interests behind these approaches. Thus the aim is to use the theory of planning dosctrine to investigate how Danish urban policy has changed historically, under different rationales and on behalf of different stakeholder interests and powers.