Readers Write: Affordable US housing 鈥榯he Nordic way鈥�; US Constitution: the vision vs. the letter
Letters to the Editor for the June 23, 2014 weekly magazine:
SEDAN: The May 12 cover story, 'The Nordic way,' reminded me of Sweden鈥檚 program to tackle its post-World War II housing shortages 鈥� which could be a model for the US.
JOHNSON: There are those who understand and honor the promise and vision of the Constitution and those who can鈥檛 seem to see beyond a simplistic, self-serving interpretation of its letter.
Letters to the Editor for the June 23, 2014 weekly magazine:
SEDAN: The May 12 cover story, 'The Nordic way,' reminded me of Sweden鈥檚 program to tackle its post-World War II housing shortages 鈥� which could be a model for the US.
JOHNSON: There are those who understand and honor the promise and vision of the Constitution and those who can鈥檛 seem to see beyond a simplistic, self-serving interpretation of its letter.
Affordable US housing 鈥榯he Nordic way鈥�
The May 12 cover story, 鈥淭he Nordic way,鈥� reminded me of Sweden鈥檚 program to tackle its post-World War II housing shortages. In the 1930s, researchers found that vast numbers of Swedes were living in inadequately small dwellings, many with dirt floors and no shower or indoor bathroom. The situation was most severe in rural areas.
Seeing this as an urgent problem to be solved, Sweden put together a consortium of lenders, government officials, housing authorities, developers, and home builders at both national and local levels to work together. The result was an average of 100,000 new homes built every year between 1965 and 1974. Called the 鈥淢illion Homes Programme,鈥� it enabled Swedes to solve the housing shortage and gave birth to a revolutionary housing industry that used quality, factory-built housing.
Interestingly, Sweden tried to import this idea to the United States but, among other issues, such as the lack of uniform building codes, it was met with resistance from local labor unions. The approach merits a second look, as it could help alleviate the shortage of affordable single-family and even multi-family homes in the US. The homes built in Sweden reflected its penchant for quality workmanship and Nordic aesthetics. As your article points out, Nordic countries have the benefit of fairly homogenous populations that focus on working together to solve problems. Rather than see this as a Nordic trait, might we not see it as a model for us all?聽
Paul Sedan
San Francisco
US Constitution: the vision vs. the letter
In response to Walter L. Myers鈥檚 May 26 letter responding to Sally Kohn鈥檚 April 21 & 28 commentary, 鈥淲hat I learned as a liberal talking head on Fox News鈥�: Do you think that our political differences boil down to constitutionalists versus anarchists? I think that they boil down to those who understand and honor the promise and vision of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and those who can鈥檛 seem to see anything beyond a simplistic and often self-serving interpretation of their letter.
Chris Johnson聽
Oakton, Va.