Are Bikes the Secret to Danish Bliss?
By
Ben Fried
3:55 PM EST on January 18, 2008
Seeking an answer to the question “Why are Danes happier than everyone else?,” ABC News speculates that trust and bicycles make all the difference:
In Denmark, you can see trust in action all around you. Vegetable stands run on the honor system, mothers leave babies unattended in strollers outside cafés, and most bicycles are left unlocked. And perhaps the bicycle is the best symbol of Danish happiness. Danes can all afford cars, but they choose bikes — simple, economical, nonpolluting machines that show no status and help keep people fit.
Since they give bikes their due, ABC gets a pass for neglecting the congestion pricing theory of happiness.
Photo: bananaterror/Flickr
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
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