Highrise in Brande: Highlighting change in Danish urban planning

In recent decades, we have witnessed a move towards a further protection of central urban cores through introduction of retail planning in Denmark. Recent changes in legislation have significantly changed these principles through a planning reform as proposed by the liberal government and adopted by Danish parliament in 2017. The change in legislation fits with a longer trend of liberalization of spatial planning in Denmark since the mid-2000s. 4th of June 2019 it was announced that the building of a high- rise tower and accompanying shopping district was put on hold by the developer. A project proposed for outside the town of Brande, which due to its radical appearance had caused a stir in architectural- and urban planning communities. Before the 2017 planning reform, such a project would be impossible due to the retail planning sections in the Danish planning act. This purpose of this article is to unfold the project in Brande, the change in legislation, which made it possible, and the precedence it sets for Danish urban planning. The change in planning legislation and practice is contextualized with a historical background for Danish urban planning, and the change in planning principles is set in an international- and theoretical context.