Socio-economic differentiation and selective migration in rural and urban Sweden

1. Socio-economic differentiation and selective migration in rural and urban Sweden Susanne.Hjort@geography.umu.se Department of Social and Economic Geography, Umeå University, Sweden (2006)

2. Migration selectivity • Who are the migrants? Where do they move? • Segregation • Gentrification • Rural and urban contexts • Segregation • Gentrification • Attitudes

3. Background • 4 Studies • The attraction of the rural (who are the migrants?) • Socio-economic segregation in Stockholm metropolitan area • Rural gentrification • Rural or urban? Life values and attitudes toward living environment and housing • Time • (1970)1985-1994, 2002 • Type of studies • Aggregated area data • Micro level individual register data • Survey • Variables • Socio-economic and demographic • Survey questions concerning attitudes toward living environment and housing • Methods • Descriptive statistics • Logistic regression models

4. Map of Sweden

5. Flows of migration

6. Who is the urban migrant? • Young (19-25) • Single • University educated • High income

7. Who is the rural migrant • Older - net migration had an ageing effect on rural areas • Families with children • Married couples • Self employed • Comparing periurban to remote rural movers • Periurban migrants more likely to have high income and education • Remote migrants more likely to be self employed

8. Patterns of urban segregation • An apparent north south division of the city • High income in the north and low income in the south • Reinforced during the study period 1970-94 • Signs of increasing polarization

9. Patterns of rural gentrification • Areas fairly close to large cities • Areas connected with tourism • Raised more questions • How many areas? • Segmented rural gentrification? • Women driving rural gentrification?

10. Attitudes: Rural or urban? • Preliminary results show • Rural and urban people opposite attitudes • If rural positive then urban negative • Coupled with previous int. studies • Policy implications – economic development vs. preservation

11. Synthesis • Polarization - increasing? (segregation – gentrification) • Between urban and rural areas • Within urban areas • Between urban and rural people • Rural areas? • Migration • In-migrants and locals • Between rural areas

12. Rural and the nation:A new national anthem? • Words in the suggested anthem • Cottage • Log house • Birch • Lake • Wonderful nature • ‘falu’red and green • Nesting birds