Skellefteås stadsomvandling : En kvalitativ studie om unga utflyttade skelleftebors framtidsplaner

• Main Author: Holmgren Lundström, Gustaf
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för geografi 2022
• Subjects: Urban transformation; migration motives; push- pull factors; place attachment; Human Geography; Kulturgeografi; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-195669

We are all aware of the environmental challenges we are facing. To achieve the environmental goals, we must adjust the way we plan cities for the future. Northern Sweden is a region with potential for sustainable development projects with a good supply of natural resources and the basis for sustainable power sources. The interest in northern Sweden has exploded in recent years and the region is one of the forefronts for the movement towards sustainable urban transformation. One of the towns that are undergoing this process as we speak is Skellefteå. Skellefteå is anindustrial town with strong connections to older types of industry such as the mining and lumber industry. The development of the town was stagnant for a long time with little development projects and a frozen population growth. The shift towards a greener industry and new type of innovation will affect the town significantly. To achieve the goal of a sustainable urban transformation the municipality have set multiple population growth goals and are keen to attract a new innovative and educated workforce suitable for the new types of industry that are establishing in the area. Skellefteå has for a long time had a problem of young emigration to other cities. The population today is rather old and that’s something they want to work towards changing. This study explores the migration motives of young people from the Skellefteå area that have moved to other locations to pursue a higher education. The study focuses on the reasons why they left Skellefteå, if they want to return after their graduation and how they perceive the urban transformation of their hometown. The study explores what factors are seen as attractive, pull factors and what factors are considered less attractive, push factors when it came to their decision to move from and potentially back to Skellefteå.