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Scandinavian Model for the World?
"When it comes to building a prosperous society, the Nordic countries should be taken a role model for the developing and developed nations of the world."
Scandinavian Model for the World?
It often has been cited as the 'Scandinavian Model,' where Utopia seems to be taking place, but where exactly is it leading?
Well, I've put together a number of areas where Scandinavia is #1...
-Happiest place on Earth (Denmark...) *
-Lowest corruption in the world
-Education (Finland...)
-Cooperatives (Denmark)
-Employee ownership
-Highest membership in unions (83% in Sweden)
-Highest SOCIAL MOBILITY **
-Commitment to OIL-FREE COUNTRY ***
-Highest energy coming from windmills (20% in Denmark)
-Bike lanes along all major streets (Copenhagen)
-Safest roads in the world (Sweden) ****
-Food safety (Denmark and Sweden...) targeting hormones, salmonella, etc
-Banning of TV ads for children under 12 (Sweden...)
-Extensive benefits to children and mothers
-No serious poverty
-No littering
-Peace efforts in foreign policy (Norway...)
-Humane prisons (Denmark...)
-City-traffic management (Oslo)
-Women participation in politics (three times that of the US)
-Progressive Taxation *****
* "Denmark is the happiest nation and Zimbabwe the the most glum"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/studyworldgetshappier
** http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2005/LSE_SuttonTrust_report.htm
*** http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/nature/oil-free.htm
**** it would save 25,000 lives to have the same rates in America
http://www.sei.se/visionzero/moreinfo.htm
***** "The paper states that Scandinavia spends 8% of government spending on child and elderly care compared to only 2% in Europe." http://healthcare-economist.com/category/taxes/
Would the world be a safer place by following their example? It seems common sense to me...
Scandinavian Vs American Rights
How about this: As a citizen of a state, you have certain rights, as
well as duties. In the US, these rights are more or less abstract -
human rights (some places shoddily reinforced), right to carry a gun,
right to a lawyer etc. In Scandia, they're practical - health care,
pension, sick leave, workplace security... Tax levels and the way tax
is spent reflects this.
***
"Why be next to Sierra Leone?"
"If the average Norwegian lives 78 years, a child born in Sierra Leone will probaly die before reaching the age of 35. Sierra Leone's average life expectancy is 38.3 years, this is half that in Norway. If all Norwegians are literate and enjoy free education payed by the State, at the other extreme, only 36% of adults in Sierra Leone can read. The average salary in Norway is $45,000, but the average per capita income in Sierra Leone is only $470."
United Nations: Nordic Countries Best Place to Live in the World
The Nordic countries have the best standard of living in the world, as per the Human Development Report published by the United Nations
Best Standard of Living in the World
The Nordic countries are overall the best countries to live in the world, according to the Human Development Report which is published annually by the United Nations. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland figure among the top countries on the UN index because of their high levels of education, democracy, income and public health.
The Human Development Report (HDR) is an annual independent study commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme and published into more than a dozen languages. The HDR measures the wealth of nations by the standard of living of their population and considers several indexes related to life expectancy, education, economy and environment.
Economists, philosophers and political leaders have long emphasised human wellbeing as the sole purpose of economic development. A successful community is not that which has one wealthy member and nine living in poverty, but that one where all members of the community have succeeded in achieving a high standard of living. The HDR measures whether the national income of a nation is creating an environment for its people to enjoy a life with good health services, political freedoms, security against crime, greater access to education and a satisfying leisure time.
(snip)
Quality of Life, Income, Education and Life Expectancy
If we would only focus on per capita income statistics, we would perhaps be surprised to hear that the inhabitants of the small central European nation of Luxembourg are the wealthiest in the world, with an average salary of $53,780. The average salary in Norway is $45,000 but the Nordic countries are above all known for being an egalitarian society; of the seventeen richest countries in the world, Sweden ranks first as having the fewest people living in poverty and the fewest illiterate people, while other rich countries such us the United States have the the most, showing that stark inequality persists even in middle or high-income countries.
Education is one of the pillars of the Nordic society. Illiteracy is practically non existent from Iceland to Finland, and the free national education systems breed some of the most skilled workforce in the world. Moreover, when it comes to equality between women and men, all the five Nordic countries top the index and score again the highest; Iceland takes the lead in terms of emancipation, followed by Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland on the fifth position.
(snip)
Millions of people from the Scandinavian countries have emigrated out of their homelands during the last centuries to escape poverty and war. Today, the Nordic nations are prosperous and stable countries which have made impressive gains in the developing world and have demonstrated the possibility of eradicating poverty. When it comes to building a prosperous society, the Nordic countries should be taken a role model for the developing and developed nations of the world.
***
> In what conceivable way is it the responsibility of city designers,
> architects, the government, or anyone but ME to encourage my own
> physical activity?
Well, politicians have been elected to accomplish something good like this. If they don't make it SAFE for people, how do you expect them to come out?
COPENHAGEN'S 10-STEP PROGRAM
1. CONVERT STREETS INTO PEDESTRIAN THOROUGHFARES
The city turned its traditional main street, Stroget, into a
pedestrian thoroughfare in 1962. In succeeding decades they gradually
added more pedestrian-only streets, linking them to
pedestrian-priority streets, where walkers and cyclists have
right-of-way but cars are allowed at low speeds.
2. REDUCE TRAFFIC AND PARKING GRADUALLY
To keep traffic volume stable, the city reduced the number of cars in
the city center by eliminating parking spaces at a rate of 2-3 percent
per year. Between 1986 and 1996 the city eliminated about 600 spaces.
3. TURN PARKING LOTS INTO PUBLIC SQUARES
The act of creating pedestrian streets freed up parking lots, enabling
the city to transform them into public squares.
4. KEEP SCALE DENSE AND LOW
Low-rise, densely spaced buildings allow breezes to pass over them,
making the city center milder and less windy than the rest of
Copenhagen.
5. HONOR THE HUMAN SCALE
The city's modest scale and street grid make walking a pleasant
experience; its historic buildings, with their stoops, awnings, and
doorways, provide people with impromptu places to stand and sit.
6. POPULATE THE CORE
More than 6,800 residents now live in the city center. They've
eliminated their dependence on cars, and at night their lighted
windows give visiting pedestrians a feeling of safety.
7. ENCOURAGE STUDENT LIVING
Students who commute to school on bicycles don't add to traffic
congestion; on the contrary, their active presence, day and night,
animates the city.
8. ADAPT THE CITYSCAPE TO CHANGING SEASONS
Outdoor cafes, public squares, and street performers attract thousands
in the summer; skating rinks, heated benches, and gaslit heaters on
street corners make winters in the city center enjoyable.
9. PROMOTE CYCLING AS A MAJOR MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
The city established new bike lanes and extended existing ones. They
placed bike crossings – using space freed up by the elimination of
parking – near intersections. Currently 34 percent of Copenhageners
who work in the city bicycle to their jobs.
10. MAKE BICYCLES AVAILABLE
The city introduced the City Bike system in 1995, which allows anyone
to borrow a bike from stands around the city for a small coin deposit.
When finished, they simply leave them at any one of the 110 bike
stands located around the city center and their money is refunded.
http://www.newurbanism.org/pages/519562/index.htm
***
Well, they seem a different green in mind.
Denmark's Bottom Line Is Green
By Betty Lowry, member Society of American Travel Writers
© 2003 Betty Lowry
Denmark may not be what comes to mind when the words "green islands"
flash up on the screen, but while other nations talk about the
environment, the North Sea"s pretty country has quietly taken steps
to save it.
As the acknowledged "Environmental Capital of Europe" it has become
the center for action as well as ideas. In 2003 the Danish
Parliament initiated the decommissioning of the nuclear facilities
at Research Centre Riso. Thus "allowing us to concentrate fully on
our research with sustainable energy," said Jorgan Kjems, executive
director of the Centre.
Denmark already uses wind to generate nine percent of its energy and
has the world's largest offshore windmill park. Other projects
include providing environmentally-sound enzymes for anti-fouling
boat paint. The paint will be used initially by commercial fleets
and then by private and public water craft, large and small.
In pragmatic Copenhagen, scrubbed down buildings, meticulously
maintained gardens and long-term architectural preservation are
constants. Urban planning? The first question asked appears to
be "Is it ecologically sound?"
Not content with 150 miles of town and country bike lanes and the
statistic that there is a bicycle for every one of its 1.7 million
citizens, Copenhagen also has 2000 free bikes. Anyone who needs
wheels can drop 20 kroner (about $4) to release a bike for a day's
use. The bike can be returned to any other city rack, and the money
is automatically refunded. Daily summer bike tours of Copenhagen are
sponsored by City Safari. Countrywide, the bicycle is the
nonpolluting vehicle of choice since automobiles are taxed 100
percent, and owners are fined for any spot of rust.
Viking ships were once the cutting edge of navigation, and today
Copenhagen is the gateway for Baltic cruises. Ferries bring
daytrippers from Germany and Sweden who load up on roses as well as
duty-free beer and aquavit. Note that in this land of over 150
different beers you find no beer cans. Danes, ably assisted by
tourists, drink two billion bottles a year. Carlsberg and Tuborg are
rivals in supporting the arts as well.
Land is precious in tiny Denmark, and good agricultural land a
national treasure. Dairy cows graze on the grounds of what were once
vast estates on Funen and Jutland while tax advantages have saved
the manor houses turning them into luxurious country house hotels
and restaurants. Working farms and thatch-roofed village cottages
offer bed-and-breakfast at bargain rates.
Hotels and hostels must meet rigorous standards on everything from
water and energy consumption to guest room amenities before they can
flash the "Green Key" logo. Environmental impact is the bottom line
that has brought water consumption down as much as 20 percent. Soap
and shampoos are natural, and there are even self-sorting recycling
wastebaskets.
Denmark may be the smallest country in northern Europe, but it
covers 500 islands and nearly 7000 miles of coastline. As early as
1937, laws were passed to control pollution, impose recycling and
provide for the research and implementation of environmental
programs. Now more than 60 percent of all household waste is
recycled.
more...
http://www.goodmoney.com/denmark.htm
the Scandinavian model
Finland is #1 in Education
HOMEPAGE
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