Planning and land use

The Danish Ministry of the Environment is the public authority with responsibility for physical planning, including the Spatial Planning Act which aims to ensure the quality of Danish towns and open countryside. Approximately 80 per cent of Denmark's population live in urban areas and approximately 65 per cent of Denmark's land is farming land. The Ministry's planning activities balance and unite various interests in Danish land use. In its planning, the Ministry seeks to protect nature and the environment while respecting the living conditions of people, plants and animals.

After each election, the Minister for the Environment publishes a national planning report covering the government's visions for future developments. The government aims to balance development throughout Denmark, so that growth is not limited to cities, and to maintain the attraction of rural districts.

Three of the seven Environment Centres under the Danish Ministry of the Environment will enter into an active dialogue with municipalities about spatial planning in the municipalities where there may be a connection with overall state interests. These three Environment Centres are in Roskilde (Zealand), Odense (Funen) and Århus (Jutland).