Beyond the city life. Post-migration experiences of the everyday life for families with young children moving out from a metropolitan area
The objective of this research project is to analyse counter-urban migration as a relocation strategy in order to improve the social sustainability of everyday life (i.e. better work-life-balance and quality of life) among families with young children in Sweden.
Previous research in Sweden on counter-urban migration consists mainly of register based studies failing to address the complexity of factors in everyday life. In international counterurbanisation studies, lifestyle is often either overlooked or treated in a simplified manner emphasising “the rural idyll” rather than embracing the complexity of daily lives. The project will deploy a qualitative method approach collecting interview data from families moving out of the metropolitan areas of Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö. In order to provide a more nuanced analysis of counter-urban migration, the focus will not be on the traditional destination of rural areas but on moves out from the metropolitan areas to smaller urban settlements (20 000-50 000 inhabitants). Thereby this research will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of recent counter-urban migration behaviour among families with young children. Our research will also recognize how families’ organisation of their everyday life before and after the counter-urban move is associated with their decision to move, and their experience of the move.
Project owner: CRS, Karlstad University
Financed by: Formas
Project time: 2019-2021
Researchers in the Project include: Senior Lecturer Ulrika Åkerlund, Karlstad University (project leader), Senior Lecturer Emma Lundholm and Senior Lecturer Erika Sandow, Umeå University.