Rural Attractiveness Project Cases

This database contains cases from Nordic Thematic Group on Sustainable Rural Development 2017-2020 Rural Attractiveness Project. The selected areas in eight Nordic countries are all defined as attractive in the sense that their populations and employment have increased in recent years.

Interviews were conducted with public sector and business representatives, entrepreneurs, high school students, people from the education sector, and families. Stakeholders told about job creation, working and living conditions in these areas as well as attractiveness plans for the future.

Click on signs in the map or on posts to find short stories and case study reports of each municipality.

Read full report here
Alvdal in Norway: Building on an entrepreneurial spirit
Alvdal is a geographically large, but demographically small, municipality in the eastern part of ce...
Icelandic municipality Árborg: more jobs to attract people
Árborg is the biggest municipality in southern Iceland and continues to grow. Even though unemploy...
Avannaata municipality – a fishing-based society with tourism
Avannaata is a municipality which is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of democracy fol...
Bornholm: An island with growing potential
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, and a home to some 40,000 people. The main industria...
Fljótsdalshérað: Local organisation wants to attract young people
Fljótsdalshérað is the largest municipality in Iceland which has been threatened by urbanisation...
More attractive Hjørring in Denmark
Hjørring is a Danish municipality in northern Denmark. It is home to some 65,000 people. Its geogr...
Inari in Finland - attractiveness and Arctic advantage
Inari is the largest and one of the most prosperous municipalities in Finland sharing a border with...
Jomala in Åland: jobs, amenities and time
Jomala is a municipality in Åland, which is an autonomous, self-governing demilitarised, and Swedi...
Growing opportunities in Klaksvík
In 1990, the economic crisis hit Klaksvík hard. But miraculously just within couple of decades thi...
Meet Lebesby - challenging but attractive place to live
Lebesby is located in the north of Norway and is home to a varied natural environment, tough weathe...
Närpes attracts migrants and green growth
An attractive place to live thanks to healthy social spaces and the feeling of security - this is h...
Life in Oskarshamn: good environment, services and cultural life
Oskarshamn is a rural area in Sweden. The case of Oskarshamn illustrates that jobs alone are not en...
Piteå in Sweden: Competitive and proud
The municipality of Piteå is situated on the east side of Sweden, almost 700 km north of Stockholm...
Vágur: Improving attractiveness through a change of image
Vágur is the only place on the Faroes island where the population grew between 2013 in 2018 and wa...