ORCID Profile
0000-0002-8439-2640
Current Organisation
Christian Medical College & Hospital
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Publisher: Medknow
Date: 2019
Publisher: Fennia - International Journal of Geography
Date: 24-01-2023
Abstract: The paradoxical situation of planning for growth while managing decline has long been a reality for politicians and planners in Nordic peripheries. In recent years, however, attempts to plan for demographic adaptation, smart shrinkage, and ‘right-sizing’ public services have become commonplace. While it has taken decades for this to become an accepted part of municipal planning, new opportunities are now arising in the Swedish North due to several unforeseen giga-investments. These are expected to trigger rapid socio-economic growth along the urbanized coast and in a few select inland locations. Yet the likely effects on shrinking rural and sparsely populated municipalities geographically adjacent to these investment hotspots are much less understood. Previous research suggests that such investment projects might cause pressure for rural labour and housing markets but may also offer a range of positive spillover effects and development opportunities for rural areas. We draw on structural level narratives and interviews with key informants, including local and regional political stakeholders, to identify how the prospects of the giga-investments are viewed in places that are not directly affected, and what opportunities and threats are discussed. An overarching theme identified in the empirical material concerns the a-spatiality of discourses of growth, which we ide into two concrete dilemmas: infrastructure and mobility. Our findings show that, while the investments are seen as ringing in a new ‘golden age’ for the northern region, such a-spatial understandings of regional characteristics might stand in the way of acting fast and being able to make the most of the potential spillover effects.
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 03-01-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-05-2021
Abstract: This article examines the migration flows of university‐qualified labour (UQL) between cities and hinterland regions in the sparsely populated north of both Australia and Sweden. These peripheries have become increasingly urbanised in recent decades and have received substantial investment in urban higher education hubs that are expected to generate skills for their regions. Whether these skills remain within the few urban centres or are redistributed internally to benefit rural and remote locations is not known. The article identifies the extent to which there have been urban–rural ‘spillover’ or ‘sponge’ effects in UQL migration flows within the north and establishes whether there has been a ‘disconnect’ in the regional exchange of UQL. Drawing on recent Australian census and Swedish register data, the results suggest that ‘spillover’ and ‘sponging’ of UQL have been limited, particularly in Northern Australia where cities appeared quite disconnected from their hinterlands. Spillover was more common in Northern Sweden, but cities with universities targeting regional skill needs did not necessarily generate more net‐migration gains for their hinterland. The discussion illustrates why urban–rural human capital relationships in northern peripheries may be more erse and complex than assumed and flags what policy lessons can be drawn from comparing different northern peripheries.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Date: 20-04-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-10-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-03-2023
Publisher: Fennia - International Journal of Geography
Date: 24-01-2023
Abstract: Small villages in northern Sweden have seen a continuing removal of key services, such as schools, shops and public transport, since the 1970s. Disinvestment in public services has not been strategically planned but has happened in response to population loss and increased costs on a case-by-case basis. More recently, there has been a shift in policy thinking to what might be termed a ‘de-growth’ approach where digitalisation and increased personal mobility are used to provide new ways of delivering services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the existence of ‘resource deserts’ in Southern Lapland and the emergence (or consolidation) of village hierarchies in allocating public services. We map out the distribution of neighbourhood services (grocery stores, pre-/schools and petrol pumps) among villages, and explore the lived experiences in accessing these resources in different villages. Our results show that resource deserts clearly exist in the south and east of the region, while villages in the more sparsely populated western mountain areas were generally in a better position to retain resources. We identify a lack of consistent and transparent service planning at the village level as a key shortcoming in municipal and regional service strategies. There appear to be unofficial settlement hierarchies in the differential treatment of villages that are otherwise similar in population size, population change and distance to central places. We find that political decisions on service allocations are likely influenced by several factors. These include legacy effects relating to historic settlement status, the location of villages in relation to key transport or mobility corridors, as well as ideological factors favouring villages with more ‘exotic’ features and development potential in line with the municipalities’ economic, social and political priorities. We finally argue that a shift to de-growth needs to be more strategically planned if it is to eliminate resource deserts and promote equity of service access across all villages.
No related grants have been discovered for Doris Carson.