Attractiveness is no longer a branding question. It’s a governance challenge.
Across the Nordic Region, demographic change is reshaping local and regional futures. While cities continue to attract young people and skilled workers, many rural and remote areas experience population ageing, gender imbalances and labour shortages. Yet mobility is not a one-way story. People stay, return and relocate for a wide range of social, economic and cultural reasons.
This project examines local attractiveness through a territorial and governance lens. It explores how municipalities, regions and civil society actors across the Nordic countries can strengthen conditions for population stability, belonging and long-term vitality. Particularly in rural and remote areas, but also in intermediate and urban contexts facing demographic challenges.
Why this project matters
What sets this project apart is its focus not only on why people leave, but more importantly why they stay and why they return. Attractiveness is approached not as a marketing tool, but as a multidimensional policy field shaped by housing, labour markets, services, identity, infrastructure and community life.
The project reframes “attractiveness” as a question of governance capacity and place-based development. It asks how local and regional actors can design strategies that respond to diverse life-course needs and socio-demographic groups, including young adults, families, older residents and newcomers.
A particular focus is placed on factors that influence mobility decisions, such as:
• Access to meaningful work and education
• Housing and infrastructure
• Quality and availability of public and private services
• Social networks and sense of belonging
• Opportunities for participation and community engagement
By combining research evidence with practical case studies, the project seeks to move from insight to actionable knowledge for policymakers and practitioners.
What this project will deliver
We aim to support local and regional actors across the Nordic Region in strengthening their work on local attractiveness and demographic resilience. In particular, we seek to enhance their capacity to design place-based strategies that enable people to stay, return or relocate.
To achieve this, the project will:
• Build a knowledge base on why people move, stay or return, drawing on Nordic research, survey data and stakeholder perspectives
• Analyse how mobility drivers differ by gender, age, education, occupation and life-course stage
• Identify and document Nordic good practices that address key determinants of local attractiveness
• Develop practical recommendations, do’s and don’ts, for policymakers at local, regional and national level
• Facilitate cross-Nordic peer learning through workshops, webinars and potential match-making activities
• Develop a toolbox and/or story maps to showcase case studies and support knowledge transfer
The project combines quantitative and qualitative analysis, stakeholder engagement, case studies and cross-Nordic synthesis.
How we work
The project is structured in four main steps:
1. Building the knowledge base
The first phase examines why people move away from, stay in or return to their places of origin. It reviews Nordic research and builds on survey data and stakeholder input to identify key drivers of mobility across different socio-demographic groups.
The result will be a practical overview of the factors that matter most for different population groups and life stages.
2. Identifying solutions
Based on the identified key drivers, the project selects one or two priority determinants, for example work opportunities, sense of belonging or infrastructure, and examines Nordic initiatives that address them.
Through case studies, field visits and stakeholder interviews, the project identifies good practices and develops recommendations for how local and regional actors can strengthen local attractiveness. Results may be presented through a webinar, toolbox and/or digital story maps.
3. Moving from insight to impact
This phase focuses on dissemination and peer learning. Workshops, webinars, match-making activities or a roadshow may be organised to enable municipalities and regions to exchange experiences and adapt insights to their own contexts.
The aim is to ensure that project findings are translated into practical strategies and long-term collaboration.
4. Project management and communication
Throughout the project period, continuous stakeholder dialogue, communication activities and cross-Nordic exchange ensure relevance, visibility and impact.
This research project is part of the Nordic thematic group for local and regional resilience and attractiveness. The Nordic thematic groups contribute to the Nordic Co-operation Programme for Regional Development and Planning 2025–2030 under the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Committee of Senior Officials for Regional Policy (EK-R).
