Urban ecology and sustainable building in a Danish era of public de-regulation: New actors - new strategies?

The article describes the changed conditions for sustainable building in Denmark in the last decade and describes the different actors and there relations during this period. It also discusses to what extent the new right-wing government, which came to power in 2001, initiated these changes or if these changes were already to bee foreseen under the previous government.

In the previous decades, Denmark has gained a reputation as an environmental frontrunner in sustainable building, through a number of initiatives in new buildings, urban renewal and building operation. These initiatives have to a large extent been based on public subsidies, and on grass-root activities.

The new government however, has changed many of the previously state-supported conditions for sustainable building, and have escalated and narrowed a policy based on the principles of New Public Management. The discussions will include new building, major renovations /urban renewal, building operation and general environmental initiatives in the sector.

For each of these areas, changes within the recent 3-5 years are compared on background of a short historical description from the last app. 20 years. The central question will be, to which extent the changes should be seen as a result of respectively the right-wing government, or international trends in environmental management and public regulation – as characterised by the concepts of “Ecological Modernisation” and “New Public Management”.

The recent development in the sector will be discussed in relation to these two theoretical perspectives.