FLIGHT TO THE CITIES

Denmark is undergoing a flight from the countryside to the cities. Of the country's 98 kommuner, 65 experienced a reduction in population during the period 2010-13. Furthermore, those worst affected are in "udkants Danmark", Denmark at the edge; the border with Germany, the western and northern coasts of Jutland, the southern part of Zealand, some of the islands. On Fünen, the island in the middle where I live, only the main town of Odense has grown, everywhere else has shrunk.

For those areas left behind, this represents a problem. Not least in the housing market; abandoned or derelict buildings, a mass of "for sale" signs. The map showing the kommuner with the greatest proportion of houses for sale mirrors almost exactly the population one. In the worst affected areas, up to one in twenty properties are for sale.

Kommuner get much of their revenues directly from income tax, so fewer people mean fewer revenues. At this week's local government conference, there was a call from the losers for a change to the redistribution law, so that more money is redistributed from the rich kommuner in Copenhagen and elsewhere to the kommuner out in the sticks. Not surprisingly, this call was rejected by the winners, who are doing very nicely, thank you.

Denmark has always put weight on social solidarity. The flight to the cities is putting pressure on this idea.

Walter Blotscher