Appendix: Summaries of previous project reports
Remote work: Effects on Nordic people, places, and planning
This report is the first outcome of the project Remote work: Effects on Nordic people, places and planning 2021-2024. Its primary aim is to provide a broad understanding of the current situation (May 2022) regarding remote work in the Nordic countries, particularly with relation to potential urban and regional development effects. It provides insight into emerging trends in the countries based on Nordic research, statistical data, and stakeholder interviews. Further, it considers the national level policy frameworks that “set the stage” for the development of remote work practices in the Nordic countries.
Our findings suggest that higher levels of remote work are likely to be maintained in the long-term in all Nordic countries, at least to some degree. Importantly however, there is little evidence to support a large-scale shift towards a “remote first” mindset among Nordic workers or workplaces. This means that, for the majority of workers and workplaces, the most likely scenario will be some form of hybrid arrangement. The effectiveness of these arrangements in promoting wellbeing and quality of life for workers, as well as the extent to which collaboration and innovation thrive under hybrid conditions, will both be key factors in determining whether remote work remains more common in the long term.
Our findings suggest that higher levels of remote work are likely to be maintained in the long-term in all Nordic countries, at least to some degree. Importantly however, there is little evidence to support a large-scale shift towards a “remote first” mindset among Nordic workers or workplaces. This means that, for the majority of workers and workplaces, the most likely scenario will be some form of hybrid arrangement. The effectiveness of these arrangements in promoting wellbeing and quality of life for workers, as well as the extent to which collaboration and innovation thrive under hybrid conditions, will both be key factors in determining whether remote work remains more common in the long term.
From a spatial perspective, the patterns of migration, mobility and multilocality observed in the Nordic countries during the pandemic support the idea that increased remote work will have implications for planners in Nordic cities, regions, and rural areas. Daily commuting became less common and internal migration patterns suggest that this has been accompanied by a willingness to travel further. Some rural municipalities also appear to have become more desirable. This is evidenced by the slowing, or even reversal, of trends towards population decline and also by increased demand for and use of second homes. If these trends continue, they could present substantial opportunities for positive development in some rural areas as well as for smaller cities in proximity to larger urban centres.
Although the experience of remote work during the pandemic has been relatively similar in all Nordic countries, the future direction varies somewhat in light of the pre-existing policy context in each country. In Iceland, the pandemic has given momentum to the existing regional policy priority of encouraging state jobs without specified placement. Similarly, in Finland, increased remote work fits well with the pre-pandemic focus on combating depopulation and ageing in rural municipalities through increased multilocality. In Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, the links between regional policy and remote work are less clear. At the same time, the preconditions for increased remote work are evident in all countries and the potential regional development benefits align well with broader regional policy goals.
Increased remote work in the Nordic Region should be considered in the context of the Nordic Prime Ministers vision to make the Nordic Region the most sustainable and integrated in the world by 2030 (Norden, n.d.). From a social sustainability perspective, it is important to acknowledge that most workers do not have the possibility to work remotely and, even for those who do, the advantages and disadvantages will differ between groups. From a spatial perspective, getting the most out of the opportunities increased remote work offers for smaller cities and rural areas will require careful planning that balances the needs of newcomers, temporary residents, and the existing population. Economic sustainability is an important consideration here, particularly in the case where a person’s life and work are split between two or more municipalities. From an environmental sustainability perspective, it is important not to assume that remote work is inherently coupled with favourable environmental outcomes. While it may reduce the need for travel, the lifestyle choices remote work enables may be accompanied by negative environmental impacts such as increased resource use and travelling longer distances through less environmentally friendly means.
Overall, it appears that the experiences of remote work during the pandemic have been fairly similar in the five Nordic countries. Similar trends are also evident, though to differing degrees, with respect to the effects on different places throughout the region. The most notable differences between the countries relate to the regional policy responses, and it is perhaps here that the greatest potential for Nordic added value emerges. The next stages of the project will dig deeper into the ways in which these similarities and differences play out at the local and regional levels as we continue to explore the effect of remote work on Nordic people, places, and planning.
The report was written by Linda Randall, Louise Ormstrup Vestergård, Lisa Rohrer, Diana Huynh, Johannes Lidmo, Mats Stjernberg, Ryan Weber, Hjördis Rut Sigurjonsdottir, Hjördis Guðmundsdóttir and Linda Kivi in 2022. The full report can be accessed at: Remote work: Effects on Nordic people, places and planning 2021-2024 | Nordregio
Local and regional experiences of remote work and multilocality
This report is the second outcome of the project Remote work: Effects on Nordic people, places and planning 2021-2024. Its primary aim is to provide a deeper understanding of how the spatial trends associated with increased remote work are affecting Nordic municipalities and regions. It explores the usefulness and reliability of available statistical data for understanding the effects of increased remote work at the regional and local level. Further, it draws directly on the experiences of regional and local stakeholders to understand the effects, challenges and opportunities, and planning responses associated with increased remote work.
Our findings point to substantial challenges when it comes to understanding the effects of increased remote work on regions and municipalities using statistical data alone. For example, internal migration data shows that people were more likely to move from the capital areas during the pandemic. Unfortunately, however, this data sheds little light on the motivation for these moves and there is no way of identifying the degree to which opportunities for increased remote work was a driver.
When it comes to understanding changes to the temporary population, so-called activity data can provide useful insights. Our analysis of Google Mobility Data from two sub-regions in the popular second home region of Etelä-Savo, Finland, clearly highlights the seasonal changes in activity level. When combined with other types of data and local knowledge, this could have great potential as a way of understanding fluctuations in activity levels in a region. One major limitation in our case, however, was the lack of a seasonally representative pre-pandemic baseline. As a result, it is difficult to draw any conclusions regarding potential longer-term effects of the pandemic on the temporary population in the region based on this data alone.
Surveying regional and local actors about their experiences is one way of gaining a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the implications of remote work for local development and planning. Overall, survey participants were more likely to report positive changes in their permanent or temporary populations (i.e., more people moving in or spending time in the municipality / region). This was generally seen in a positive light, generating opportunities for long-term economic growth, maintaining public services, and revitalising the community. Participants also reported challenges, particularly related to increased housing demand and pressure on public services and infrastructure. Though increased remote work was clearly seen as playing a role in the changes observed, it was not the only factor at play and there was a degree of uncertainty evident about what the future holds. Despite this, many respondents reported proactive planning responses to supporting or promoting increased remote work in their municipalities and regions.
This report is the second outcome of the project Remote work: Effects on Nordic people, places and planning 2021-2024. Its primary aim is to provide a deeper understanding of how the spatial trends associated with increased remote work are affecting Nordic municipalities and regions. It explores the usefulness and reliability of available statistical data for understanding the effects of increased remote work at the regional and local level. Further, it draws directly on the experiences of regional and local stakeholders to understand the effects, challenges and opportunities, and planning responses associated with increased remote work.
Our findings point to substantial challenges when it comes to understanding the effects of increased remote work on regions and municipalities using statistical data alone. For example, internal migration data shows that people were more likely to move from the capital areas during the pandemic. Unfortunately, however, this data sheds little light on the motivation for these moves and there is no way of identifying the degree to which opportunities for increased remote work was a driver.
Overall, this second report supports the central finding of the first – that there is great potential for Nordic cooperation in developing strategies to address the challenges and make the most of the opportunities associated with increased remote work for Nordic regions and municipalities. For national policy makers, understanding the nature of the changes that have occurred since the pandemic, and the degree to which these changes relate to increased remote work, is a real challenge. At the local and regional level, the nature of the challenges and opportunities experienced appears to be fairly similar between the countries. Collaboration at both levels could be incredibly valuable in strengthening both national and local efforts to make the most of the opportunities increased remote work offers for Nordic people, places, and planning in the long term.
The project Remote work: Effects on Nordic people, places and planning 2021-2024 was commissioned by stakeholders from the Nordic Co-operation Programme for Regional Development and Planning 2021-2024. This report received additional support from the Finnish Chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers under the direction of the Nordic Ministers for Regional Development.
The report was written by Linda Randall, Thomas Jensen and Anna Vasilevskaya in 2022. The full report can be accessed at: Local and regional experiences of remote work and multilocality | Nordregio
Remote work in smaller towns: Possibilities and uncertainties
This study set out to investigate if remote work opportunities post-pandemic has enlarged the area around the Nordic capitals that profit from their labour markets. However, case studies on five smaller towns located an hour and a half away from the capitals found little proof that remote work opportunities have made these towns more attractive. Although remote work is perceived as the new normal, municipalities reported that there are no formal strategies related to remote work and that they are uncertain as to what remote work opportunities will bring long term. A better understanding of who remote workers are and what specific needs they may have would help shape local strategies and policies. All in all, more time is needed to capture which remote work patterns will prevail long term and how these patterns might affect smaller towns near capital cities.
The study points to the centrality of urban attractiveness. Although municipalities did not have specific strategies for remote workers, remote workers were seen as part of a larger population of potential inhabitants. Interestingly, all the five towns seem to apply the same recipe to improve urban attractiveness although they have different points of departure. It is noted that features deemed to be central to attractivity do not differ dramatically between remote workers and other types of inhabitants. However, physical and digital infrastructure and housing potentially bear more weight in remote workers’ relocation decisions. Co-working spaces were, however, not deemed to have greater importance to remote workers in the five towns. This might be related to the wide-spread practice of hybrid work and preferences for working from home. The potential dominance of hybrid work, rather than pure remote work, also indicates that the zone around larger towns that has the potential to attract hybrid workers will have its limits and be strongly linked to time and ease of travel.
One potentially important result of the study is that in these five towns, remote or hybrid work is seen as a two-way exchange: it can attract new permanent or seasonal populations, but it can also be an opportunity to recruit highly qualified personnel not living in the town. Although, such arrangements do not lead to population increase, they assist in maintaining important functions and services that benefit the permanent population and hence make towns more attractive.
Research on remote work and its effects after the pandemic has only recently started and is very much a work in progress. It would be useful to follow the development in different locations over time in order to better understand its potential and limitations. More knowledge on the extent and characteristics of remote work in the local context can give input to what policy and planning measures are important to attract new populations and visitors. The report ends with some suggestions of future research.
The report was written by Anna Granath Hansson and Hjördís Guðmundsdóttir in 2024. The full report can be accessed at: Remote Work in Smaller Towns: Possibilities and uncertainties | Nordregio
Remote work in rural areas: Possibilities and uncertainties
This study delves into the increasing relevance of remote work in fostering resilient municipalities and regions in rural and remote areas of the Nordic countries. By conducting policy reviews and interviews with planners and practitioners, the study examines ongoing efforts to harness remote work as a catalyst for rural development.
Emerging from the research is that hybrid work, mainly where employees split their time between home and office, is becoming the new norm in the Nordic regions. The hybrid work format’s acceptance and implementation may vary and is in fact largely influenced by individual employers and employees perceptions. Notably, most public authorities do not have a formal remote work policy, relying instead on frameworks that were already in place before or developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. These arrangements often reflect the needs and wishes of individual employers and employees, emphasising a commitment to work-life balance and employee satisfaction.
Municipalities are however acknowledging remote work’s potential in retaining and attracting people, particularly those with deep roots in the community, and in recruiting skilled workers needed for economic vitality. Politically, there is a drive across the Nordic region to amplify these opportunities and utilise for regional and rural development.
In some ways, regional and rural areas maintain more traditional, and a larger share of employment is still considered on-site jobs. However, various initiatives, including the creation of co-working spaces, spearheaded by private enterprises and public authorities alike, are bringing remote work to the forefront of rural development. Critical to this movement is the improvement of digital infrastructure without which the progress of remote work would be significantly hindered.
The study shows that this modern working trend of remote and hybrid working formats seems to be more than a mere solution to the crisis during the pandemic; it's a shift towards long-term regional development, with municipalities in rural areas engaging in providing the infrastructure and an environment conducive to such a transformation. Interestingly, it was found that there are few official remote work policies in place. Rather remote work has further been integrated into existing policies and procedures. Therefore, municipalities and regions are mainly focusing on their overall attractiveness in their pursuit of attracting remote workers, e.g., quality of life, affordable housing, infrastructure, environmental sustainability, social inclusivity, cultural and recreational amenities, public safety as well as physical and natural environment. There are however also some challenges to be faced such as legislative bottlenecks, ensuring adequate public services, and negotiating issues around taxation related to remote working.
In essence, the research concludes that remote work can act as a strategy for sustainable regional development, potentially enriching communities with new skill sets, innovating business environments, and improving public services. This is something that is shared across the case study areas in the research. For municipalities in the Nordic regions, there is a general agreement that this new development entails a significant opportunity to use remote work to combat out-migration and enhance the overall quality of life. To leverage the full potential of this trend, there is a need for investment in digital infrastructure, the creation of more supportive work environments, and fostering regional attractiveness for both locals and potential newcomers. When integrated into broader strategies, remote work promises a more vibrant and sustainable future for these regions.
The report was written by Ágúst Bogason, Maja Brynteson and Hilma Salonen in 2024. The full report can be accessed at: Remote Work in Rural Areas: Possibilities and uncertainties | Nordregio
Towards a grid-based Nordic territorial typology
This report presents the grid-based Nordic urban–rural typology, which was developed as a new analytical tool for studying different types of spatial phenomena across Nordic territories. In this study this meant developing a typology that classifies all Nordic territories into seven different typology classes based on different degrees of urbanity and rurality. A key starting point for this work was the need for a territorial typology that would help enrich and provide new understanding of different types of urban and rural areas across the Nordic countries and shed light on how they are developing.
This report first presents how the typology was created, including the rationale behind the typology, key considerations at different stages of the work, and the main operational steps taken. The main purpose was to create a new territorial typology, to which different types of data could be combined, thus helping to provide a more nuanced and fine-grained understanding of territorial differences across the Nordic countries. Several key principles were specified early in the work. These include that the typology should be created at grid-level (1 x 1 km) as this allows identifying the characteristics of different types of areas at a very detailed territorial level. Another key decision was to create the typology mainly using open-source data and following a replicable method, to make any possible future updates to the typology easier and less costly. For the development of the Nordic typology, the Finnish grid-based urban–rural classification (Kaupunki-maaseutuluokitus) was the main source of inspiration.
This Nordic typology and population data at grid level (linked to the typology) is then used as an analytical lens for studying territorial differences, settlement pattens and demographic change dynamics in the five Nordic countries. According to the typology, the Nordic countries are predominantly rural when considering how their land areas are classified. However, an examination of settlement patterns according to the Nordic typology shows that the settlements are rather unevenly distributed in all the Nordic countries, and the majority of the population live relatively concentrated in areas that are classified as urban. In general, the population is largely concentrated in coastal areas and along waterways, where the major urban regions are found, reflecting historical patterns and features of physical geography. The Nordic typology is also used to examine what types of population change dynamics occurred in the Nordic countries during the period 2008–2022. The analysis shows that urbanisation has been a general trend during the past couple of decades, with the largest population growth occurring in the typology classes inner urban and outer urban. A relatively noticeable increase in population is also evident in peri-urban areas, suggesting suburbanisation and that intermediate areas located on the urban fringes have increasingly attracted new residents. In rural areas, the general trend shows that depopulation has occurred in many rural localities, but different types of rural areas have developed quite differently. Based on the analysis, rural areas that are in the vicinity of cities and towns appear to have become more attractive places for people to settle, while sparsely populated rural areas seem to be less favourably placed and have generally witnessed population decrease.
This report shows how this typology and more fine-grained data can help reveal territorial differences that cannot be observed with more general statistics and data. The grid-based Nordic typology shows that many municipalities are at the same time both urban, intermediate, and rural, and in many cases these different categories seem to be undergoing quite different types of development. While the Nordic urban–rural typology is used in this study to examine settlement patterns and population change dynamics, it should be stressed that the typology is also well-suited to be used in combination with other types of data and as an analytical framework for studying also other types of spatial phenomena across the urban–rural continuum.
The Nordic urban-rural typology
The report was written by Mats Stjernberg, Anna Vasilevskaya and Oskar Penje in 2024. Data, maps, graphs and figures by Anna Vasilevskaya, Jouko Järnefelt and Esa Östring. The full report can be accessed at: Towards a grid-based Nordic territorial typology | Nordregio