Abstract
This study deals with counterurbanisation in Sweden and how it can be understood and explained by a focus on both demography and housing market conditions at a low geographical level. A central concept is the hotspot. A hotspot is a place that appears side by side with other places considered to be degenerated or deprived, but where a certain process has taken place—a process which over time transforms the place into an attractive destination. The objective of the study is twofold. The first object focuses on whether hotspots have grown in Northern Sweden. The second objective draws attention to place characteristics and change, and whether demographic and socioeconomic features contribute to explaining the occurrence of hotspots. The data are derived from a longitudinal register-based database maintained by Statistic Sweden. The database allows a detailed analysis of the growth of hotspots, here identified through a Tobin’s q model of changes in house prices from 2000 to 2008 at the neighbourhood level. Next, the transformation into hotpots is tested by a logistic regression analysis where changes in demography and socioeconomic composition and Tobin’s q are analysed simultaneously. The results indicate that hotspots have emerged in Northern Sweden. An influx of a more affluent population contributes to a socioeconomic and demographic transformation of places into hotspots. However, hotspots do not grow in the most rural countryside, but in the countryside close to urban areas with commuting opportunities. This implies that both urban proximity and rural amenities are positively valued.
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Notes
The total number of municipalities in Sweden is 290 and in the Northern Sweden 54. A municipality in a Swedish context is a territorially defined area, an administrative unit of local government, a political organization with directly elected policymakers, legal entity with mandatory membership, which may enter into contracts and own real and personal property (www.ne.se). The municipalities are here divided into categories based on structural parameters such as population, population density, commuting pattern and economic structure. This functional classification of municipalities is made by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank a number of persons for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. These persons are: Terry Hartig, Viggo Nordvik, Bo Söderberg and Terje Wessel. Thanks finally to referees for useful comments. This research was supported by The Swedish Research Council Formas.
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Turner, L.M. Hunting for hotspots in the countryside of Northern Sweden. J Hous and the Built Environ 28, 237–255 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-012-9304-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-012-9304-7