The Copenhagen Way, New York’s way: Turning vision into five‑borough delivery

While one city, each of the five boroughs has its own ecosystem. Why do you recommend we look at the city as a whole rather than specific parts of the city?

Systems—and inequities—are citywide. Buildings policy in Midtown means little if it can’t land in Parkchester, Flatbush, or St. George. Freight reforms on the waterfront must reach neighborhood storefronts. A multi‑borough lens is the only way to build legitimacy, spread risk across varied contexts, and learn fast enough to scale what works.

Which of the tenets of The Copenhagen Way would most naturally work in NYC?

I’d say about half of the tenets are already active in New York City. The first being long‑term strategic planning and governance. The New York City Economic Development Council (NYC EDC) is a great example of this, a non-profit dedicated to promoting economic growth throughout the five boroughs through innovation, sustainable infrastructure, and public-private partnerships. NYC EDC’s Circular Design & Construction Guidelines is a good example of long-term strategic planning – it’s an operational guide to reduce waste and embodied carbon in the city’s built environment. The guide provides a ready-made template for integrating circular specifications into procurement, piloting material passports on public projects, and building salvage/reuse marketplaces with industry.

There’s also the City of Yes initiative, a suite of citywide zoning text amendments that modernize current regulations to meet today’s needs in three areas: climate, jobs, and housing. “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality,” streamlines and expands where clean-energy and resiliency solutions can be installed. “City of Yes for Economic Opportunity” reduces red tape for small businesses and startups by allowing more flexible commercial and maker uses, updating outdated use rules, and supporting neighborhood-serving and home-based enterprises. “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” aims to unlock more homes citywide by enabling a wider range of building types and conversions, supporting accessory dwelling units, and reducing barriers like certain parking mandates.

Another tenet that fits nicely is systemic innovation. There are already several platforms in the works across the city. A few examples are:

• The Mass Timber Studio from New York City Economic Development Corporation that works towards regulatory and code reform to make the use of mass timber feasible and support early-phase projects with mass timber planning and design across the five boroughs.
• BATWorks, the Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, will become a home for climate technologists, entrepreneurs, and talent working to develop, pilot, and deploy new solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. The program is expected to add over than 600 jobs, have an estimated economic impact of $2.6B, and serve over 150 startups over the next 10 years.
• The Climate piloting ecosystem on Governors Island with a clear “pilot‑to‑procurement” pathway. Our project KlimaKover is part of this initiative and has seen great success in providing cooling shelters against extreme heat.

Lastly, I feel like in a place as full of culture as NYC, city‑making as culture has a clear place. NYC’s CreateNYC Cultural Plan, stewarded by the Department of Cultural Affairs, has been helping to embed cultural development directly into urban planning, fostering resilience and economic vitality since 2019.

Which parts of The Copenhagen Way may not work in a city like New York?

Of the six tenets, I think holistic mindset and alliance driven practice and co-responsibility will be the hardest to adopt in New York City.

While I talked through some of the long-term strategic initiatives, there are still many that are short-term focused, presenting a fix, but not designing or planning for the future. On top of that, when you mix complex systems like a volatile market and a fast-paced environment, it doesn’t always provide the grounding to look at the big picture.

As for alliance‑driven practice and co‑responsibility, while there are several local alliances in New York – such as Times Square Alliance or Gotham Park Alliance – risk averseness is often an issue. It’s also important to consider that the long term, there can be strategic misalignment, fueled by the complexities that the NYC ecosystem brings.

Where does adaptive capacity fit in?

Any strategy that’s going to work for New York City needs to be flexible and scalable. And this absolutely aligns with The Copenhagen Way. Again, if you consider The City of Yes, it is designed to have different goals based on neighborhood density (low, mid, and high) and goals that could be adopted city-wide. Being able to adapt would be key to bringing this type of city-building philosophy to New York.

What are some recent initiatives in New York that leverage cross-sector public–private–civic partnerships as a driver of urban transformation?

I’d say look at SPARC Kips Bay. This is a collaboration between the City and State, CUNY, and NYCEDC, powered by $1.6B in public investment, $2B anticipated private capital, and an expected $42B in economic impact. That right there is The Copenhagen Way in action. There’s a clear public purpose, strong anchor institutions, committed financing, and a workforce pipeline linked to real employers.

A recent Ramboll project that helped identify alternate uses for two diesel power plants in southwest Brooklyn is another great example. A collaboration between New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, and local community-based organization UPROSE, this project highlights the effect partnerships can have on advancing the needs of underserved communities through green innovation, funding, and revitalization.

Any final thoughts?

With a new mayor only a few months into his term, NYC is in a liminal space. Mayor Mamdani made many campaign promises during election season, including introducing a rent-freeze on nearly one million rent-stabilized properties, a fare-free bus system, and a commitment to build over 200,000 more affordable housing units over the next decade. If they come to fruition, these initiatives would aid in making the city as a whole more affordable, sustainable, and resilient, while providing the population with a buffer against the continually rising costs of urban living and creating new public sectors jobs.

It’s an interesting time to be a New Yorker on many fronts, but I’m excited to see what happens over the next several years and how the city adapts for long-term progress and sustainability.