In its Vision 2030, the Nordic Council of Ministers set out the goal of developing the Nordic Region into the most sustainable and integrated region by 2030 (The Nordic Prime Ministers, 2019; The Nordic Council of Ministers, 2023). Facilitating collaboration between regions and municipalities across borders is pivotal to attaining that goal. This study focuses on the needs of border towns and municipalities in the Nordic Region to increase their cooperation, and how national support can support their development. This report is part of the project: Comparative review of national support initiatives for local urban project development. The project was funded by the Nordic Thematic Group for Green and Inclusive Urban Development 2021–2024 (TGA) under the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Throughout the Nordic Region, national support initiatives bolster sustainable urban development efforts through mechanisms from national stakeholders to local stakeholders (Lidmo, Brynteson and Bogason, 2024). Such initiatives are one means by which national authorities can influence planning strategies at the regional or municipality level depending on the country. National authorities can use funding to encourage multilevel collaboration and partnership networks, as well as target national sustainable urban development goals (Lidmo, Brynteson and Bogason, 2024).
In this report, our research focuses on the following key questions:
What national support for urban-urban development across borders is needed by border towns and cities?
What coordination efforts (horizontal and vertical) are needed to achieve sustainable and green urban development in Nordic cross-border towns and cities?
What policy recommendations can be made based on the existing needs in border municipalities?
Our main focus in this study is on green urban development in cross-border regions with the three selected case studies being located in the Swedish-Finnish, Swedish-Norwegian, and Swedish-Danish border regions.