A coffee about The Copenhagen Way

On 28 April, Signe Kongebro, Global Director for Future Cities at Rambøll, joined Andreas Wenzel for a coffee and shared her insights. 

Cities are increasingly at the center of economic, environmental, and societal transformation. As pressures on competitiveness, climate adaptation, and resilience intensify, urban areas play a decisive role in shaping sustainable growth and innovation. They concentrate talent, infrastructure, and investment, while also serving as key connectors between regions and industries. As a result, cities are not only impacted by global challenges but are becoming critical drivers of Europe’s long-term resilience and competitiveness. 

“The Copenhagen Way” is a joint initiative developed by Rambøll, Urban Partners and BLOXHUB with a broad network of Danish and European stakeholders. The project documents Copenhagen’s transformation from a city in decline in the early 1990s to one of the world’s most liveable and competitive urban economies today. It highlights how long-term vision, institutional innovation, and cross-sector collaboration have enabled this development. Rather than presenting a blueprint, Copenhagen serves as a proof of concept, illustrating how cities can strengthen resilience and competitiveness in a rapidly changing European context. 

The topics for the 30-minute talk were: 

• Why cities matter – and why now 
• The Copenhagen Way – an operating model for urban transformation 
• From livability to investment – creating value in cities 
• Scaling the model – from Copenhagen to a European perspective