Rotten Banana

{{Short description|Economically depressed area of rural Denmark}}

File:Kommuner grad.png

The Rotten Banana (Danish: Den rådne banan) is an informal area of rural Denmark facing significant economic disparities.{{Cite journal |last=Winther |first=Malene Brandt |last2=Svendsen |first2=Gunnar Lind Haase |date=2012-10-01 |title='The Rotten Banana' fires back: The story of a Danish discourse of inclusive rurality in the making |url=https://findresearcher.sdu.dk/ws/files/141829644/The_rotten_banana_last_text_version_PURE.pdf |journal=Journal of Rural Studies |series=Growing Old in Rural Places |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=466–477 |doi=10.1016/j.jrurstud.2012.05.003 |issn=0743-0167}} The term Rotten Banana traditionally includes an area of Danish municipalities the west coast of Jutland to Lolland-Falster islands in the southeast,{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |date=2023-05-02 |title=Tænketank: Den rådne banan er skrumpet til Syd- og Vestsjælland |url=https://www.berlingske.dk/content/item/1724508 |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=Berlingske |language=da}} forming a crescent shape reminiscent of a banana. This phenomenon has garnered media attention due to the stark economic disparities between these regions and more prosperous urban centers,{{Cite web |title=The Rotten banana: Rural challenges in Denmark {{!}} International & Executive Programs {{!}} UC Berkeley |url=https://iep.berkeley.edu/node/9777 |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=iep.berkeley.edu}} like Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense.

The term was coined by Hanne W. Tanvig in the 1990s to draw attention to a contrasting phenomenon to the Blue Banana.{{Cite web |last=Karkov |first=Rasmus |date=2019-05-28 |title=Den rådne banan skrællet |url=https://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/den-raadne-banan-skraellet/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=videnskab.dk |language=da-DK}} The term, which holds a negative connotation, has been falling out of fashion, and media use of the term has declined.{{Cite web |date=2014-01-20 |title=Den rådne banan er blevet mindre rådden |url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/regionale/midtvest/den-raadne-banan-er-blevet-mindre-raadden |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=DR |language=da-DK}} Tanvig regrets creating the term. In the time since the term was coined, studies have found that the area with highest unemployment has shrunken to primary west Zealand, Lolland, and Falster.{{Cite web |title=Den rådne banan er flyttet til Sjælland |url=https://www.tv2east.dk/sjaelland-og-oerne/den-radne-banan-er-flyttet-til-sjaelland |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=TV2 ØST |language=da}}