Aalborg, Denmark

Aalborg is defined by its strong culture of cooperation among politicians, civil society, and businesses. The city is rapidly developing, but this growth—especially in mobility—risks undermining its climate goals. Aalborg envisions a future with transparent, two-way communication between the municipality and its citizens, where climate-related decisions are accessible and well-understood. Despite upcoming internal changes, such as merging the climate department with health and culture, the city remains committed to maintaining strong citizen networks. 

Aalborg is committed to implementing potentially unpopular but necessary climate measures. Citizen engagement is limited to familiar groups, leaving out key demographics like residents in the outskirts, housing associations, and educational institutions. While the city is digitally advanced, its platforms are largely one-way, lacking mechanisms for participatory urban design. There’s also concern that some businesses may resist collaboration due to competitive interests. A major need is to “translate” complex climate data into accessible, actionable knowledge that transcends political agendas. 

Aalborg is focusing on building collaborative networks without predefining problems or boxing in stakeholders. It aims to expand its climate panels to foster cross-sectoral dialogue and to involve more city departments in climate action. GreenDEMO can support this by promoting inclusive, co-created solutions and helping Aalborg learn from other cities’ successes. The initiative also encourages household-level climate commitments and seeks to unify the city’s 90+ climate partnerships under a cohesive strategy. GreenDEMO is instrumental in enabling Aalborg to move from digital access to digital participation, and from isolated efforts to collective climate action.