Lessons from Finland: clean air and zero homelessness
We don’t hear much about Finland in England, do we? Yet this Nordic country is often lauded as ‘the one that gets everything right’. One writer said he would be happy if ‘Finns ran the world!’
Although the language is notoriously difficult:
Lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas
is the longest word in Finnish with 61 letters and means ‘airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student’.
Finland is often associated with quiet forests, pristine lakes, saunas, and long winter nights. But beyond its natural beauty, the country offers important lessons about how public policy can improve everyday life. Two areas stand out in particular: environmental quality and homelessness.
Finland has consistently ranked among countries with relatively clean air, while its approach to homelessness has attracted international attention for a different reason: it’s not quite yet there yet, but may well become the first country to achieve ‘zero homelessness’.
These achievements did not happen by accident. They are the result of decades of public investment, political commitment, strong institutions, and a willingness to treat problems such as pollution and homelessness as matters of public policy rather than simply individual failure.
Finland has the world’s cleanest air (official)
Clean air is one of those things that people often take for granted until it is polluted. We breathe thousands of times every day, yet air quality can be invisible and difficult to notice. Pollution from traffic, industry, heating and agriculture can contribute to respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
Finland benefits from several natural advantages. Its population density is relatively low, it has extensive forests, and its energy and transport systems have developed differently from those of many densely populated countries. But natural advantages alone do not guarantee clean air.
Environmental regulation has played an important role.
It has established strict limits for major pollutants and regularly monitors air quality and industrial emissions (which also help to reduce cancer risk, likely as much as giving up smoking).
We keep hearing about the right-wing parties wanting to keep using fossil fuels, the arguments always being for and against climate science. But of course burning oil from exhaust pipes to air conditioning units also causes pollution to our bodies.
It’s not just about energy efficiency. It’s about clearing our homes and streets of noxious fumes.
Clean air is therefore not simply an environmental issue. It is a public-health issue.
When governments reduce air pollution, they can potentially reduce the burden of diseases associated with poor air quality. This not only makes cities more pleasant to live, but reduces public health costs.
Finns look after their pine forests
75% of Finland is covered in pine forests. The talk is always of grey squirrels causing issues for red squirrels due to the Squirrelpox virus. But the main reason why red squirrels have poor immunity is due to lack of their natural homes of pine forests (they thrive in Northumberland/Scotland where pine trees are abundant).
Helsinki has both red squirrels and grey squirrels. Read more on how to help both red & grey squirrels.
How Finland approaches homelessness
Homelessness is often treated as an unavoidable feature of large cities. Thankfully one good thing that Andy Burnham plans to do is end rough sleeping.
In many countries (including the UK), people experiencing homelessness move between emergency shelters, temporary accommodation, hostels, friends’ homes, and the streets.
Finland has taken a different approach.
Its housing policy has increasingly been based on the principle of Housing First. The basic idea is simple: a person does not have to solve every other problem in their life before receiving a permanent home.
Instead, housing is treated as the foundation from which other problems can be addressed. If you don’t have a home, it’s very hard to find a job or open a bank account. Or get help for mental health issues or overcome addiction. All of these are much easier to solve, if you have a stable home.
Housing First reverses this order.
A person receives a home first, and then receives support with the challenges that may have contributed to their homelessness.
This does not mean that housing is provided without conditions or that other problems are ignored. Rather, stable housing creates a secure environment in which people can work on those problems.
A national non-profit landlord
In Finland (on course for zero homelessness), non-profit landlord Y-Säätiö owns 20,000 M2-Kodit homes which are fully-furnished, affordable and safe with access to green space, public transport and laundry.
Affordable rent is classed as no more than a third of your monthly income.
Other good things about Finland
- Children have shorter school days and little homework, yet better education.
- Finns spend summer in log cabins with no TV (all homes have saunas). Although not for pregnancy or some medical conditions, saunas offer less risk of stroke and dementia.
- Finns don’t do small talk, nor screaming or awkward silences. It’s said that a shy Finn will look at their shoes when talking to you. But an extrovert Finn will look at your shoes!
- Finns are honest. In a lost wallet experiment, 192 wallets were dropped in 16 cities. In Helsinki, most were returned to owners. Yet the ones dropped at The Vatican were never seen again.
- There is no celebrity culture. One of Finland’s richest men strolls the tram station and no-one cares. Finns don’t read ‘Hello’ magazine!
- Finns are in tune with nature. There are thousands of islands and hiking trails. If asked for directions, most people use the points of a compass!
- Road repairs are state-funded and speeding fines based on income – one millionaire was recently fined over £100,000. Finns use snow ploughs (not toxic rock salt) to clear roads.
