“How can we create a village feel when we build new residential neighborhoods?”
How do we put people at the center when the new Norrbotten is to be shaped? We may be able to get someone to move here for a job – but that is not what makes someone feel comfortable, take root and make a place their own. More and more municipalities in the county are grappling with the issue of social inclusion – and received new inspiration at our conference in Gunnarsbyn.
Social inclusion is necessary if we are to solve many of the challenges our county faces. It is a chain that must last all the way, from the first tentative contact to a new Norrbotten resident being fully included in social life.
– We must show up when someone comes and knocks on the door so that we can open it in a welcoming and inclusive way, said Ella Jonsson, Innovation Manager responsible for the Attraction work package within the North Sweden Green Deal project.
In Gunnarsbyn in the municipality of Boden, where around 80 actors from different parts of Norrbotten and Västerbotten gathered on November 8, we sawconcrete examples of a village community characterized by openness and tolerance and how it has attracted many villagers with roots near and far.
The first snow of the winter fell when North Sweden Green Deal held a conference in Gunnarsbyn, forty kilometers from Boden. Photo: Pär Bäckström.
– Interpersonal relationships are so important, that's what social sustainability is, said Monica Lejon, head of Business & Society at Region Norrbotten.
Retaining personnel and residents in the municipality is difficult. In Boden, the Armed Forces have known this for a long time. Skellefteå is now noticing it.
– Social integration is enormously important. H2 Green Steel does not want to change staff every two years, said Linnéa Byberg, coordinator for Leva & Bo at Boden Municipality, during the conference.
Small window
Thomas Fägerman, Boden Business Park, highlighted that the window in which social inclusion must happen is very small. You have one year, he says.
– If we don't get that inclusion in society, we won't have time to build stability. It won't be that you find a partner or start a company. We want to provide conditions for something other than just professional careers, we want to be so attractive that people choose to stay.
Linnéa Byberg highlighted the importance of social inclusion, but also the role of art and culture when people choose to stay. Photo: Pär Bäckström
It's about relationships that neither the municipalities nor the region can dictate. But it is possible to provide the conditions for them to grow.
“What we have seen here is about life between the houses,” said Linnéa Byberg.
– How can we take advantage of the good examples? How can we build a village feel when we build new residential areas? How can we be enablers?
Give love to residential areas
One such prerequisite is not to forget the existing Norrbotten residents. Those who are to welcome the new ones with curiosity and openness must also be well-off and feel a sense of belonging.
– If we are going to get the people of Boden involved in this, we have to give love that we haven't given in 50 years to our existing residential areas, together with the people of Boden. We will graze area by area so that those who actually live here feel that they are included, said Boden's municipal manager Mats Berg.
Mats Berg, mayor of Boden, wanted, among other things, government support for the investments in housing and infrastructure that are required. Photo: Pär Bäckström
But if the future residents of Norrbotten are to find their way here, we must find them, get in touch with them and help them take the step. In the Attraction work package, the Swedish Lapland Visitors Board and the municipalities in the county are working to create new methods and working methods to do just that.
– We are now opening up the whole of Norrbotten as a large innovation arena, the whole county is a co-lab. We are labs, making prototypes and learning how to work long-term with these issues. We won't solve everything in one year, but we can learn a lot. We meet the municipalities where they are, where are the needs?, said Ella Jonsson from the Swedish Lapland Visitors Board at the conference.
The Swedish Lapland Visitors Board has many years of experience in talking to people who like our part of the world. Those who interact on social media leave digital traces. These traces can be followed and AI can be used to send out new messages. For example, about moving to Norrbotten.
“We are innovating a new tomorrow,” says Ella Jonsson, Swedish Lapland Visitors Board, about the work with the municipalities. Photo: Pär Bäckström
One of the municipalities that will try this option is Arvidsjaur.
– Now we will work with your AI tool to attract Germans. We have many German tourists and many also move here, run businesses and the like, said Karin Jonsson, Arvidsjaur Municipality, who has worked on developing the website flyttatillarvidsjaur.se.
In Arvidsjaur they have recognized the need for internationalization and the site has information in Swedish, English, German and French.
Alexander Kult, special coordinator at Gällivare Municipality, spoke about the branding work the municipality has done, among other things. Photo: Pär Bäckström
Social transformation is nothing new for Gällivare Municipality. It has already been going on for ten years.
– We are building our new community as we close down Malmberget. The receiving capacity will be very important for the transition to green industry. We have hired a relocation pilot, but much more than that is needed to create an attractive community, said Alexander Kult at Gällivare Municipality.
“Digital runway”
Kalix Municipality is also struggling with reception capacity. The information unit receives calls daily from people who want to move there, often from other countries.
– We will clarify the digital runway for new residents. We have a page for new residents that is not very good, we will continue to work on it. Everything must be translated, we will lift the page from the municipal website. When it is available, we will work with receiving capacity in the form of new residents' pilots. We will get a unit to work concentratedly with this, said Åsa Jonsson at Kalix Municipality.
Piteå Municipality launched a move-in service this spring and started working with the Swedish Lapland Visitors Board already in June of this year. The insights into what is in demand have been valuable. The target group's questions are about everyday life, shops and preschool, weather and distance.
– 44 people who have been taken care of by the relocation service have moved to Piteå. They will now become ambassadors, said Niklas Larsson, head of business in Piteå Municipality.
Ella Jonsson led the panel discussion, which included Fredrik Broman, Jenny Engström and Mats Berg. Photo: Pär Bäckström
Fredrik Broman, an entrepreneur active in the Gunnarsbyn area, emphasized the importance of using the hospitality industry to reach potential lifestyle migrants.
– The small-scale tourism industry can create buzz in international media. There are huge opportunities to sneak in "living and staying", the difficulty is the reception capacity.
Part of the receiving capacity is, of course, the availability of housing. Gunnarsbyn is grappling with this issue to a very great extent.
– The future for us is housing and financing. That's what I spend almost all my time on now. Growing Together is the name of a deserted house project. There are 120 deserted houses in our area. Imagine if some of them could be sold, that would be fantastic, said Jenny Engström, operations manager at the economic association RÅEK in the Gunnarsby area.
Mia Ahlstrand emphasized the importance of good teamwork in the challenges facing Norrbotten. Photo: Pär Bäckström
Sustainable societal transformation is a complex issue that encompasses many dimensions. The solutions must also be complex. The North Sweden Green Deal is about collaboration on a whole new level.
– It is important that we work well together. Invite each other, ask for help, offer help, find new contacts, create new networks. We can meet the challenges, said NSGD's overall project manager Mia Ahlstrand.
She linked to what the conference participants experienced during the hike in Gunnarsbyn earlier in the day.
– There was commitment and openness at every station. It invites self-reflection, when was the last time someone was new in my kitchen? Apply openness and inclusion in both your work and private life, she said.
READ ALSO: “We are talking about interpersonal intimacy”
Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa
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The North Sweden Green Deal is an initiative to realize a sustainable societal transition, in the wake of the new industrial establishments.
The project is run by Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten together with a number of other actors. It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).