This project investigates how institutional barriers are preventing municipal planning for a transition
towards a more compact and potentially environmentally sustainable urban structure through
densification of existing detached single-family house neighborhoods in different urban contexts in
Denmark. The point of departure is the neighborhood’s negative environmental effects due to their
substantial land consumption and mono-functional character, which leads to a high demand for
mobility in the form of automobile use. Through a review of planning documents of 53 Danish
municipalities, four cases are chosen: Aarhus, Esbjerg, Solrød and Egedal Municipalities. Building
on a combination of transition and institutional theory, 15 institutional barriers for densification of
existing detached single-family house neighborhoods are identified through a study of regulation,
planning documents and interviews with planners from the four municipalities. While several of
the barriers are beyond the influence of municipal planning, three strategies are identified through
which the municipal planning and planner can address pivotal barriers and thereby promote and
facilitate densification of existing detached single-family house neighborhoods.