Reclaiming a home - lifestyle migration and rural dreams
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Kramfors kommun - Kramfors kommun Samhällsavdelningen |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 765 559 |
| Project duration | November 2021 - October 2023 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Future attractive habitats |
| Call | Future attractive habitats - lessons learned from pandemic |
Important results from the project
The project has achieved the aim of investigating how rural municipalities face the trend of lifestyle migration. In order to make more housing available and preserve the built cultural heritage, a model for housing inquiries was created. A new model for citizen dialogue showed how aesthetic, sustainable and inclusive living environments can be created in neglected rural communities. An analysis of the municipality´s policies yielded new recommendations for how the operational goals can respond to the demographic challenges.
Expected long term effects
The project has resulted in a development plan for Lugnvik, based on the citizen dialogue and the locations selected by the participants. The association in Lugnvik is currently working to realize and implement the plan. The housing inquiries resulted in a large number of house sales. Preliminary figures show that the population has increased in Lugnvik, compared to the start of the pandemic in 2020. This bodes well for the cultural heritage and for the community services. We see a strengthened social capital and increased pride in the village, as a result of the activities in the project.
Approach and implementation
The project group included Kramfors kommun (project owner), Umeå University and the association Lugnviks IF, who in different constellations carried out the project´s four work packages. The municipality and the university carried out the relocation study together, at the beginning of the project. The association´s and the municipality´s work with the housing inquiry model and the citizens´ dialogue ran partly in parallel. The development plan for Lugnvik is based on the citizens´ dialogue, and the policy analysis done by the university is based on the relocation study´s results.