Governance impacts on urban competitiveness. Better governance will lead to more effective delivery of public services and implementation of policies that stimulate economic development, such as the ones identified in Chapter 2 of this Review. The Danish population has great trust in government and its capacity to solve problems, and a discussion of governance arrangements is indispensable in assessing Copenhagen’s competitiveness. Governments have different functions, all of which impact on a region’s competitiveness: they can provide stability and predictability, and protect the rule of law, cherished values and property. Governments can also obstruct economic activity with burdensome regulation and red tape. Metropolitan officials are rarely able to act successfully in isolation; they must find ways to make alliances with and co-ordinate with the relevant actors for the metropolitan area. Important to any governance arrangement is its relationship with the private sector, which can help governments to coordinate actors to work toward a more competitive region. By definition, metropolitan governance involves several stakeholders in a multi-level government framework. This chapter assesses this framework and discusses the main critical issues.