Scaling Smart City Projects in Denmark: Challenges and Strategic Recommendations
Authors
Munch-Laursen, Mikkel ; Filtenborg, Alex Kristian
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-28
Pages
93
Abstract
Cities around the world are adopting smart city strategies to make urban life more resilient, sustainable, and livable. Here, a smart city means using data and digital technologies to manage and improve services such as transport, energy, waste, and public space. Despite Denmark’s strong reputation for digital innovation, many municipal projects remain pilots rather than becoming citywide solutions. Implementation, maintenance, and scaling are slowed by institutional, political, and organizational barriers. Municipal capacity and the governance frameworks they operate within determine whether smart city efforts progress or stall. This thesis examines how innovation diffusion, multi-level governance, and institutional constraints shape smart city implementation. It uses a mixed-methods design that combines a literature review, document analysis, mapping, stakeholder interviews, a survey, and a case study of Aarhus. The findings highlight persistent challenges, including fragmented governance and “pilot project fatigue” (also called “pilot sickness”). Concerns about data governance, public trust, and unequal access to digital infrastructure exacerbate these issues. The thesis also identifies enablers—such as effective stakeholder collaboration and adaptive governance models—that have helped some municipalities make tangible progress. The Aarhus case illustrates the benefits of flexible innovation ecosystems and community-driven smart city planning. The thesis concludes with strategic recommendations to improve cooperation between municipalities, strengthen institutional frameworks, and advance scalable, citizen-centred smart city solutions. Overall, it shows how Danish municipalities can move from isolated pilots to more integrated urban strategies by connecting theory and practice.
Byer verden over forfølger smart city-strategier for at gøre byer mere robuste, bæredygtige og gode at bo i. En smart city forstås her som brugen af data og digitale teknologier til at styre og forbedre tjenester som transport, energi, affald og byrum. På trods af Danmarks stærke ry for digital innovation kæmper mange danske kommuner med at få projekter fra pilot til fuld drift. Implementering, drift og skalering bremses af institutionelle, politiske og organisatoriske barrierer. Kommunernes kapacitet og de styringsrammer (governance), de arbejder inden for, er afgørende for, om udviklingen lykkes eller går i stå. Afhandlingen undersøger, hvordan innovationsspredning, flerniveaustyring (multi-level governance) og institutionelle begrænsninger former implementeringen af smart city-initiativer. Metodisk anvendes en mixed methods-tilgang med litteraturgennemgang, dokumentanalyse, kortlægning, interviews med interessenter, en spørgeskemaundersøgelse og et casestudie af Aarhus. Resultaterne peger på vedvarende udfordringer som fragmenteret styring og “pilottræthed” (også kaldet “pilot-syge”). Bekymringer om datastyring, offentlig tillid og en ulige udbredelse af digital infrastruktur forværrer problemerne. Afhandlingen identificerer samtidig faktorer, der gør fremskridt mulige: effektivt samarbejde mellem nøgleaktører og adaptive styringsmodeller. Aarhus-casen viser fordelene ved fleksible innovationsøkosystemer og borgerdrevet smart city-planlægning. Afslutningsvis gives strategiske anbefalinger til at styrke samarbejdet mellem kommuner, opbygge mere solide institutionelle rammer og fremme skalerbare, borgercentrerede smart city-løsninger. Dermed bidrager afhandlingen med viden om, hvordan kommuner kan bevæge sig fra spredte pilotprojekter til mere integrerede bystrategier ved at bygge bro mellem teori og praksis.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords