Geographia Polonica (2003) vol. 76, iss. 1

Urban-rural relations in Finland: demographic development and the emerging discourse on urban-rural interaction

Satu Nivalainen, Kaisa Schmidt-Thome

Geographia Polonica (2003) vol. 76, iss. 1, pp. 127-146 | Full text

The population development in urban and rural areas in Finland indi-cates increasing regional disparities. An ageing population and strong migration flows to-wards the largest centres have the future in most of the rural areas looking bleak. Regional policy agendas show different reactions towards this tendency, among them a call for an urban-rural interaction policy.

Keywords: migration, ageing, urban-rural interaction, regional policies, Finland

Satu Nivalainen, Pellervo Economic Research Institute, Eerikinkatu 28 A, FIN-00180 Helsinki, Finland
Kaisa Schmidt-Thome, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Helsinki University of Technology, PO Box 9300, FIN-02015 HUT, Finland