Lessons learned-Sustainable rural development in the Nordics
This storymap summarizes the work of the Nordic Thematic Group on Sustainable Rural Development 2017-2020 (TG1)
TG – Who are we and what do we do?
Each Nordic country is different, but also similar. The similarities make it possible to learn from one another, and differences bring uniqueness and lift the meaning of local solutions.
Nordic cooperation is generally considered to be an extremely important asset when working with rural development.
The Nordic Thematic Group on Sustainable Rural Development 2017-2020 was set to contribute to regional policy development by providing evidence-based research, recommendations and tools for decision-makers and practitioners. The group consists of members from all the Nordic countries and autonomous regions. Nordregio's researchers cooperate with national, regional and cross-border representatives in order to achieve a better understanding of Nordic rural areas and the people living there.
The members
Finding the local stories and visiting these places and conducting research the group was able to inform all member countries of the current national and regional developments.
The group decided together which are the major trends and interesting signals to study.
All the thematic groups study regional development. All the municipalities, regions and cross-border regions included in our studies 2017-2020 are marked in this map.
Major projects
Rural Attractiveness
The attractiveness project seeks to capture the reasons behind why people choose to leave sparsely populated / remote and urban adjacent rural areas, why they move there, and why they always have stayed there.
What did we find out?
14 local stories show a different narrative of vital regions and new entrepreneurship, community spirit and quality of life that are often hidden behind the generally known deserted images. Activities and opportunities to work and get education attract people, which bring life to the communities and keep them active.
Good migration policy and collaboration with neighboring municiaplities and regions are a big asset to many, but each story is different, and each region has its own drivers of success.
Youth dropping out “of the system”
Despite relatively high standards of living, several indicators show that large groups of young people in the Nordic countries are not thriving. More often young people in rural areas are being left behind compared with their urban peers. Young people become marginalized through dropping out of school or who do not have access to the labour market; so youth who are not employed, nor in education or training.
What did we find out?
Economically disadvantaged youth, boys and immigrants are at greater risk than their advantaged urban peers, girls and natives. The reasons are to be found in a combination of socioeconomic conditions, gender culture, unintended outcomes of school reforms and school closures, as well as mental health problems on the increase. For example, the reforms in educational systems prioritizing marketization as a management model have had segregation effects, even if unintended. The impact of school closures and longer distances to upper secondary education is felt in rural areas and has implications, e.g., for school completion rates.
Researchers identified numerous different responses to solve the problem of persistent unemployment, and drop-out trends and rehabilitate the marginalised youth around the Nordic countries. In light of Covid-19 impact with even more persistent unemployment trends emerging among youth there is need to even develop more measure to solve theses challenges and break the vicious cycle with the young.
Unbalanced housing markets
Each Nordic country is struggling with different types of market failures, but even so, what they have in common is that most rural areas face challenges regarding empty houses and, at the same time, a lack of suitable housing for defined needs. Good, well-functioning housing provision is essential for the continued prosperity and wellbeing of individuals and families, and it is therefore also essential for rural communities.
Various correlating trends strongly influence responses to the housing challenges faced in Nordic rural areas. Demographic trends such as urbanisation, an ageing population, migration and the creation of companies and jobs locally lead to a rural housing market where a general tendency to overcapacity is exacerbated and at the same time a lack of suitable housing in growth areas and in rural towns (where services tend to be localised).
What did we find out?
Despite the requirement for suitable housing in rural areas across the Nordics, conventional market mechanisms tend not to be able to meet the demand. The main challenge is low house prices – prices which are often well below the cost of construction or of refurbishing existing units.
This challenge of securing a loan for construction, refurbishing, or just buying existing houses, acts as a barrier to development in rural locations. It enforces the trends towards urbanisation and a declining rural population. This problem is well recognised by the Nordic governments, who have established a range of measures to mitigate the situation.
The lessons learned from this study reach three areas: public support to bridge the financial gap (lack of capital for construction), the specific role of municipalities, and finally how rental housing can be a tool to supplement the existing, dominant, privately-owned housing structure in rural areas.
Tourism – sustainable planning and value to regions
The past couple of decades Nordic region has experienced steady growth in the tourism sector, until Covid-19. But there have been bad with the good, so the group set to study the level of planning and challenges facing the development of a more sustainable rural tourism in the Nordic regions. Another study looked into the financial aspect of tourism – what is the economic impact to the region?
What did we find out?
Financially, ecologically, and socially sustainable tourism plan is not given everywhere in the Nordics. In some regions the tourism plans do not mention sustainability aspects at all. A successful plan includes many actors and is made in collaboration. In many growth areas the holistic approach is well integrated into the regional plans. Satellite accounts is generally used method to measure financial impacts of tourism and for the first time ever, regional measurements were made for all the Nordic regions – and these satellite accounts reveal growth, before Covid.
Access to services
The Nordic welfare states are world-renowned for providing high-quality public services for all. Indeed, regional and municipal authorities play a central role in the delivery of key public services within Nordic states in areas including social and elderly care and education. The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has also reinforced the important role of local actors in healthcare provision, where countries with decentralized systems of governance have proven more successful in implementing effective test, track and trace policies. A new Service Mapper tool will enable anyone to study the basic service structure: availability and proximity.
What did we find out?
Now, more than ever, is Nordic collaboration required across all levels of governance to help overcome the devastating socio-economic impacts of the pandemic and to solve the shared challenges posed by climate change and growing urban-rural divides. There are new and innovative models of Nordic collaboration constantly emerging thanks to rapid technological developments that are helping to bring stakeholders together to solve common societal challenges. The high levels of cooperation outlined indicate that collaborative governance is continually evolving within the Nordic context.
Welcome to the Nordic Service Mapper!
This interactive mapping tool visualises the proximity to different types of services, including grocery stores, pharmacies, libraries and schools, across the Nordic Region to demonstrate spatial disparities.
Silver Economy
Population ageing is generally perceived as a challenge that will result in greater economic and societal demands. It is a challenge especially from the perspective of a diminishing labour force. There is also a growing proportion of people who are approaching the final years of their lives, when health impairments and health-care needs increase, while there simultaneously is a decreasing share of people in younger age groups who could provide such care and support. However, policies on ageing are increasingly also focused on the opportunities that an older, but also healthier, population may bring.
What did we find out?
It may be necessary to increase the normal duration of paid work to deal with the shrinking labour force. However, this should not merely be pursued by raising official retirement ages, as this may simply redirect those who are not healthy enough to work productively to other forms of state support. One way of mobilising the potential of the silver economy could be to improve the transfer of experiences, skills and expertise between younger and older generations of workers.
The silver economy is also about acknowledging the role of older people as consumers. Promoting the idea of age-friendly businesses, where the needs of older consumers are reflected in the products and services that are offered, may be one way of tapping into this potential. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many grocery stores introduced different opening hours for older customers and people in risk groups.
A central aspect is also about creating demand, which requires that older people have the possibility to express their needs, for instance through public participation and user involvement. Here, it is crucial that businesses understand what the silver economy means and what opportunities a diverse group of older consumers may provide.
Big milestones during the 4-year period
Nordregio Forum 2018 “Changing Ruralities” was one of the highlights, held in Lund with several activities and events enabling us to reach out to national, regional and local stakeholders.
Nordregio Forum online sessions in November 2020 and February 2021 focusing on housing issues, sustainable tourism plans, and skills and education as well as inclusiveness projects in town and cities have been crowd magnets.
Presence in the media grew substantially. With a regional seminar in Närpes around rural attractiveness cases, and youth unemployment issue lifted up in Almedalen and brough to public by the media in Finland and Iceland, the group was well present in the media during the working period.
Next steps for Nordic collaboration
The upcoming work of the Nordic Thematic Group on Green and Inclusive Rural Development will continue working on issues identified by TG1 and thus contribute to the Nordic Vision 2030. In terms of social sustainability and keeping rural communities in the Nordic Region liveable and safe, access to services is fundamental as it affects people’s lives, feelings of security and trust. Collaboration between businesses, NGOs, research and civil society are of fundamental importance for a green and socially just transition.
Pictures: Jan-Erik Paadar, Sportshighschool - Vágur, Marie Bjørg Nordlund, Vaida Ražaitytė, Marija Zelenkauskė, Søren Q. Eliasen, Hjördis Rut Sigurjonsdottir, FGU Lolland Falster, Unsplash.com
