The historical evolution of planning and metropolitan governance in the Greater Copenhagen Region

This paper explores the transformation of metropolitan planning policies and institutions in the Greater Copenhagen Region (GCR) over the past century. The paper’s focus is twofold. First, it develops an understanding regarding the fluctuating planning context in the GCR through a historical analysis concerned with the evolution of ad hoc regional plans. Furthering this analysis, the paper then delves into the diverse forms of metropolitan governance in the GCR and classifies them into different periods defined by particular policy milestones. The case of metropolitan planning and governance in the GCR is inspiring from an international comparative planning perspective given that the spatial concepts and logics provided by the influential 1947 Finger Plan for Greater Copenhagen as well as its succeeding descendants have endured as the foundation for modern city and regional planning to date. In this light, Greater Copenhagen is nowadays largely conceived as a spatially functional region in terms of encompassing a sound and cohesive housing and labour market with common environmental preservation and recreational areas across municipality limits. However, the paper also attempts to highlight that planning and governance at the metropolitan levels have been historically complex given the inherent discrepancies that commonly emerge between the evolving functional city-region and the political-administrative structures wherein Greater Copenhagen is located.