Toivo Muilu

Rural definitions and short-term dynamics in rural areas of Finland in 1989 - 97

In this paper the authors first examine the concept of the rural area and the related typologies and then analyse changes in the internal structure of rural areas in Finland by using georeferenced data. Rural areas seem to have been defined on the basis of land use and population density for as long as they have been a topic of research, but no unambiguous rural – urban dividing line has ever emerged. Statistical areal typologies based on administrative divisions, as employed by the OECD and Eurostat, together with the national classifications prevailing in various countries, are the most commonly used tools for comparisons of spatial structures, but sociocultural analyses can also be used for defining rural areas. The empirical part of this work demonstrates that georeferenced data can be used for studying matters internal to rural areas without recourse to administrative boundaries. The example presented concerns the serious economic recession of the early 1990s, which is studied using the coordinate-based georeferenced census data collected annually by Statistics Finland from population registers. The results indicate that major changes in demographic and occupation structure and in the formation of incomes took place in the rural areas of Finland over a short space of time (1989–97) and that these affected different areas in different ways. Short-term developments of this kind cannot be observed on the basis of traditional census data produced at ten-year intervals.

Finnish Socio-Economic Grid Data, GIS and the Hidden Geography of Unemployment

The use of georeferenced data in geographical research into unemployment reveals internal fluctuations and differences within localities. The observation unit in the present paper is a 1x1 km grid cell. The results obtained here indicate that the rate of unemployment in Finland during 1993-95 was highest in the most sparsely populated cells. The duration of unemployment in 1993 was longest in the centres and suburbs of major cities, and it was also very long in the most sparsely populated cells. In the largest ten cities, the areas with the highest unemployment rate mainly remained the same during 1989-96; more than 60% of the cells with the highest unemployment rates in 1989 also fell within the same quartile in 1996. Restricting the availability of grid-based information would have a contrasting impact on analysis. If data on cells containing five people or fewer had not been available, it would have meant a loss of 42.3% of the total inhabited cells and a 2.4% loss in population. Copyright Royal Dutch Geographical Society 2001.

Accessibility of Local Food Production to Regional Markets : Case of Berry Production in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland

Abstract Consumers and institutional kitchens, as well as traders, have shown increasing interest towards local food. This is particularly due to the transparency and traceability characteristic of a short supply chain and social aspects related to food origins. The trend has been increasingly common during the past decade in Europe and North America, and it is strongly evident in the case area of this study in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. In general, ease of access to food is highly important for consumers and crucial for institutional kitchens, in addition to quality aspects and price. However, regardless of proximity, poor accessibility is one of the key issues preventing the further growth of local food markets. Due to scale economics in food value chain, food transport is presently organised mainly by centralised, large-scale logistics companies directed via hubs serving millions of consumers. Accordingly, production volumes required to enter large-scale markets are often unattainable for disjointed small-scale local food producers. In this study, geographic information system (GIS)-based accessibility analyses are applied for analysing potential for integral networking of local food production and transport companies. Berry production was selected as a case study because it has a relatively strong role in Northern Ostrobothnia, while its logistics are notably underdeveloped. Spatial data of primary production volumes consists of register records of farm-specific cultivation areas and average yields in Northern Ostrobothnia and Finland. Accessibility computations are based on the digital model of the Finnish road network, Digiroad. Two surveys were also implemented to farmers and food processing companies to seek views on food processing, sales, logistics and procurements regarding local food. Data from the surveys was used in accessibility analysis, which enables exploration of opportunities for establishing ‘local food’ clusters integrating small producers into a more effective and competitive network. Information about favourable conditions for cooperative networks in the local food sector may help in establishing companies and their growth. Again, successful networking may increase scale economies in local production in transport, processing and marketing.