emiliaburkhart

malmö 6.26-6.29

It has been a few days since leaving Copenhagen for Malmö, and I must admit that I miss it. Malmö has its charms, including some incredible falafel, but the magic of Copenhagen’s transit infrastructure and sun-warmed wooden docks is hard to top. Despite my preference, I found a clear overlap in social trust and capital across both cities. These factors are inspiring and appealing aspects of living in Scandinavia for me, and each instance that reminded me of the strong social trust felt like a shock.

After our class tour of Nordhavn in Copenhagen, while walking back to the subway station, I saw something that really struck me. As we passed a gym, I noticed a baby in a stroller just parked right outside the doors unattended. In Denmark, this is a traditional and common practice even in a metropolitan capital like Copenhagen. The Danes strongly believe in the benefits to a baby’s immune system from frequent exposure to fresh air. This is coupled with the country’s low crime rate overall, leading to a sense of safety and security. In the US, leaving a sleeping baby outside would be frowned upon or even reported, and truthfully, wouldn’t be as safe. Our country’s priority of independence over community feels glaring now that I have had to experience the alternative.

In Malmö, I thrifted a pair of vintage leather kitten heels that I am oh-so-excited to wear out in Amsterdam, but they needed a slight repair. I went to the mall at Triangeln to visit the cobbler (which feels like a funny mall activity), and turned in my shoes for service. With an expedient turnaround of 30 minutes, I planned to sit in the plaza outside to pass the time. On my way outside, I first headed towards the public restroom, and was admittedly a bit surprised to find myself standing in front of a fare to gate to enter. The mall bathrooms are attended by a cleaner and require a tap-to-pay payment of 10kr ($1 USD). My American mind was hesitant and a little annoyed at first, but soon realized how much this makes sense. I think I have grown so used to a dirty public restroom that a clean one for a fee barely crossed my mind, but it worked in this mall like a well-oiled machine. 

This social trust has its limits, and interestingly, fails to apply to an essential part of the cities we have visited— bikes. Bike theft is surprisingly common in Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, especially for rented bikes like ours. Bikes outnumber residents in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, but the theft doesn’t tend to be for the purpose of wanting a new bike. Instead, the majority of bike theft is through larger crime rings, which distribute stolen higher-end e-bikes and cargo bikes across the region. Though bike theft is also a problem back home, the bike locks we use are much more robust than those typically used over here… 

I feel like I have seen a broad spectrum of social trust in these countries and found its limitations as well. The payment system for public restrooms seemed like a program I could see transferred to US cities. People would for sure be mad at first to have to… wait for it… pay for a helpful service, but I think the benefits would be seen quickly. Also, this has the potential to create jobs and lower health risks as our public shared restrooms would be cleaner and safer.