Margareta Dahlström

Young women in a male periphery — Experiences from the Scandinavian north

Abstract This paper deals with the migration of young women from rural areas in northern Scandinavia. The way from adolescence to adulthood is discussed and the notion of a male periphery is presented. An attempt is made to shift focus in studies of rural youth migration. The emphasis here is on the socially constructed space that the young women leave. Is one reason behind the rural migration pattern to be found in the male periphery? The periphery is dominated by male economic and leisure activities. Women in the rural areas are less visible, and their activities are not as valued as the male activities. Young men tend to follow in the footstep of their fathers, while young rural women break with the mothers on their life paths. There are few modern role models for the daughters in the periphery. A study of young women and men in Troms county in northern Norway is used to illustrate the womens paths from adolescence to adult life. Young women in rural Troms do, to a much larger extent than the young rural men, take higher education. They have ambitions of highly qualified jobs, either in towns or in their home localities. The young rural women break new ground by continuing in higher education. The young men run the risk of being left behind as losers.

Urban–rural interdependencies: Joining up policy in practice

Caffyn A. and Dahlström M. (2005) Urban–rural interdependencies: joining up policy in practice, Regional Studies 39 , 283–296. ‘Urban’ and ‘rural’ are commonly used in an oppositional fashion. Authorities and agencies have similarly developed policies for development and regeneration in Britain with little cross‐referencing. This paper argues that there are benefits to be gained by taking an integrated urban–rural approach to regional development and by focusing on interdependencies and commonalities rather than on differences. Policy documents at the European, national and regional levels are increasingly stressing interdependencies and the move towards regionalization adds to the shift in emphasis towards functional regions rather than to town and country. The paper reports primary research in England into the scale and scope of joint urban–rural collaboration in practice.

Regional Policies for Knowledge Anchoring in European Regions

The design of regional policy tools for supporting economic development in the knowledge economy requires an understanding of the links between extra- and intra-regional knowledge interactions. In this paper, we argue that policymakers must shift from focusing primarily on the development of regionalized relationships and institutions, in which knowledge is “embedded”, to a more outward looking approach. We develop the idea of knowledge anchoring which refers to the many ways in which firms (and other actors) incorporate new knowledge into regional economies through interactions and relations that include actors who are located close by as well as at a distance. In this way, knowledge may be “anchored” territorially because it has become part of the routines and activities of many firms in a particular region. Whilst individual firms are concerned to access extra-regional knowledge and secure it within their own organizations, policymakers are concerned with wider knowledge anchoring to tie knowledge into a regional economy. The paper explores the ways in which existing regional policy supports extra-regional knowledge interactions and the subsequent recirculation of knowledge. We suggest that the key features of knowledge anchoring as a policy concept are that it is flexible with regard to the nature and scale of knowledge interactions, and that it focuses on the linking of extra- and intra-regional relations via the combination and “stretching-out” of knowledge interactions across time and space.

Creative industries, spatiality and flexibility: The example of film production

At the beginning of the 1990s, film production in Sweden was heavily centralised in Stockholm. Today, film production in Sweden has decentralised to include three regional film production centres located far from the capital region. The article aims to understand this decentralised location pattern, focusing on the aspects of flexible film work and film workers. The implications of the regionalisation of film production in Sweden for film workers and for regions are explored. Labour and work practice flexibility create important conceptual lenses through which the investigation and analysis were developed. The major empirical source of data was a questionnaire survey of film workers. From the empirical data, different structures of the film industry in the main film regions are discussed. The results show that the geography of film workers diverges from that of film work, reflecting spatial mobility among film workers and willingness to be involved in projects some distance from their county of residence. Multiscalar relations in film work and film projects appear to be the organisational norm within film production. The results also show that it is difficult to generate sufficient income from film production, and most workers are dependent on incomes from sectors outside the film industry.

Knowledge Dynamics, Regions and Public Policy

The development of a so-called knowledge economy remains a widespread ambition for Europe. The Lisbon Strategy aimed to make EU “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world” (European Council, 2000), and the current “Europe 2020” strategy is even more ambitious because knowledge is seen as a prerequisite not only for economic growth but also for social cohesion (European Commission, 2010). At a regional scale, this ambition has been translated into economic development policies that draw heavily on concepts from Regional Studies and Economic Geography in aiming to support “clusters”, innovative “milieus” and “triple helix” relations (Amara, 2005; Lagendijk, 2006; Rutten & Boekema, 2007; Borras & Tsagdis, 2008).These policies reflect what have become almost axiomatic assumptions about the benefits of geographical proximity, institutional thickness and the development of close relationships/knowledge exchange between firms and other organizations in sectorally defined regional agglomerations of economic activity. To be successful, however, public policies must reflect and respond to current economic structures and processes, and the relationship between public policy and economic development remains intricate and ambiguous. At best, policy-makers will target perceived causes of, for example, slow growth or low levels of innovation in a particular region, but the effects of public initiatives may still be uncertain due to the complex interaction between local and global processes. Policy-making is not just a rationalistic exercise in problem-solving but a heterogeneous multi-tier political process prone to path dependency with regard to governance, strategies and implementation, and hence public initiatives may point to all sorts of directions.

Sustainability aspects of water regulation and flood risk reduction in Lake Vänern

A modern feature of flood risk management is to integrate ecological, economic and social aspects in risk prevention and mitigation. Risk-reducing measures can be in conflict with ecosystem functions and complicate upstream/downstream relations. Flood risks are also influenced by processes in the catchment, such as changes in climate and land-use, or increases of vulnerable urban areas. Lake Vänern in Sweden has high ecological and social values but is also flood-prone, which in this article has been analyzed from a perspective of sustainable development. Lake Vänern and the Göta älv River are used for drinking water supply, shipping, hydropower production, fishing, tourism, as a recipient for industries and wastewater plants, etc. The flood risks are connected to landslide and industrial risks. One interest at stake is the drinking water supply for 800,000 persons in the Gothenburg region. According to climate scenarios, flood risks will increase in the 21st century due to increased precipitation. Recent studies in the region were used to identify relevant interests and values connected to Lake Vänern. The study reveals differing interests in relation to water level regimes. From a flood protection perspective (risks around the lake and downstream to Gothenburg) a low and stable water level is beneficial. For shipping and hydropower, a stable medium-high water level is wanted, whereas from an ecosystem and landscape development perspective larger water level amplitudes are optimal. One out of a few reasons for this is the need to prevent a massive increase in vegetation in coastal areas. There are good reasons to have a broad decision-support, representing different values and interests, when the permanent water regulation scheme will be decided. This study also addresses the potential to reconcile the concept of flood risk management with that of a sustainable development.

Territorial Knowledge Dynamics and Knowledge Anchoring through Localized Networks: The Automotive Sector in Västra Götaland

James L., Vissers G., Larsson A. and Dahlström M. Territorial knowledge dynamics and knowledge anchoring through localized networks: the automotive sector in Västra Götaland, Regional Studies. Innovative firms often engage in knowledge interactions across regional boundaries, which is difficult to account for by territorial innovation models. The territorial knowledge dynamics perspective directs attention to the ways in which firms and other actors combine regional and extra-regional relations. It deals with the spatial aspects of innovation, emphasizing constantly evolving knowledge networks that are not confined to regional boundaries, which implies a new view on regional knowledge anchoring. The paper presents a case of innovation in the automotive sector in the Västra Götaland region of Sweden to show how a spatial pattern of knowledge interactions develops over time.

Motives and objectives for public financial support of feature film production

Film and regional development in Sweden : Motives and objectives for public financial support of feature film production

The Production of Child Care Services in Sweden: Uneven Development and Local Solutions

This article deals with the production and regional development of child care services in Sweden. The production of social services outside the home is discussed in relation to labour market needs and equal opportunities. Staffing, organisation and extension of child care services, as well as restructuring trends are dealt with. The services studied are characterised by local solutions. Reasons for local variations are discussed with special references to labour market factors, political tradition and level of urbanisation. No single factor can explain the variations. Explanations have to be found in the specific local mix of factors.