Due to increasing climate challenges, Copenhagen has been taking measures to secure a
more sustainable future and become CO2-neutral in 2025, by combining green
sustainable solutions with public involvement. The Copenhagen municipality emphasize
that citizens are a key prerequisite in the green transition and have also expressed formal
interest in supporting urban food initiatives and grass root activities, as a meaningful way
to support a sustainable development. However, there is room for improvement when it
comes to citizen involvement, and it is necessary to find new ways of inclusion across the
departments in the municipality. In our explorative case study we have interviewed
representatives of the municipality and urban food initiatives, and analysed our data in
relation to theory about public involvement, co-production and empowerment. We can
conclude that the local municipal satellite units offer a more dynamic and innovative
approach to public involvement. Furthermore, it is found that initiatives are likely to
experience an easier process of collaboration with the municipality, when their initiatives
fit the local agenda. Citizen involvement is not always the desirable scenario and may
constitute a waste of resources, but when handled ‘correctly’, it offers the municipality
and citizens an immense opportunity to co-develop a sustainable city.