Organization of Norwegian Suburbs
How are Norwegian suburbs zoned and organized differently from American suburbs?
The way you structure the physical reality of your society can profoundly affect the lives of people who live in it. I want to give some hints here at what helps keep Norwegians healthy, encourage interaction and socializing between people of different classes and background.
People naively think that the difference between a Nordic country and the US is simply down to:
- Higher taxes.
- Free health care and college.
Please don’t read this as somehow being about stating America is terrible and Nordics rules. Rather, I want to show that society is about a lot more than just your tax level and what services are available for free. There are a lot of choices you can make at the physical level. For example: how you structure a city.
Creating Space for Interaction and Play
In Norway, children are highly valued and this is taken into account in how we design neighborhoods and schools. Norwegians love nature and think access to nature is very important for people starting at a young age. This is reflected in how neighborhoods are built.
