The Danish Town Planning Institute
The Danish Town Planning Institute works to improve the quality of cities and landscapes. We believe that holistic planning enhances quality of life.
Our Ambition
Our ambition is to be a driving force in the development of physical planning in our cities and landscapes. We aim to contribute to solutions for both today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. That’s why we focus on key issues such as social life, climate change, biodiversity, and the balance between urban and rural areas.
The Danish Town Planning Institute brings together stakeholders across disciplines and institutions through courses, conferences, networks, development projects, as well as debate and dissemination.
We facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences—both nationally and internationally—to strengthen competencies and lay the groundwork for experimentation and innovation in planning.
As an independent organization, we offer an open forum for dialogue and debate on planning. Our goal is to elevate the quality of conversations, decisions, and planning processes that shape our cities, landscapes, and lives.
The Organization
The Danish Town Planning Institute – The Foundation for the Promotion of Urban Planning – is an independent, self-governing foundation working to create better cities and landscapes. The foundation’s purpose is to promote the quality of our urban and rural environments through a holistic approach – and that’s exactly what our team of around 14 interdisciplinary staff members works on every day.
The foundation was established by a group of dedicated professionals with a shared interest in urban development and is today governed by a board of directors that sets the strategic direction and represents the foundation externally.
Each year, the foundation’s representative body – made up of members from municipalities, organizations, and institutions – meets to discuss the work and provide input for the priorities of the coming year.
100 Years with Urban Planning on the Agenda
The Danish Town Planning Institute was founded in 1921 to strengthen professional standards in Danish urban planning and to place planning firmly on the political agenda. The initiative was launched by a group of professionals and politicians with backgrounds in public health, aesthetics, and infrastructure.
During the interwar period, we collected and shared knowledge with municipalities through our library, courses, and public debate. We played a central role in the creation of Denmark’s first planning laws in 1925 and 1938. After World War II, we contributed to the development of the Finger Plan and helped establish urban planning as a recognized profession.
From the 1950s onward, we developed professional forums such as Byplanskabet and various publications – and we were among the first to highlight the importance of citizen participation and urban renewal.
For over 100 years, we have created space for dialogue between practice, research, and policy in Danish urban planning.