Unlocking the potential of silver economy in the Nordic Region

This report focuses on the concept of the silver economy, which has emerged as a response to population ageing in Europe in recent years. The silver economy refers to all economic activities linked to older age groups. The concept is based on the notion that many older people continue to make valuable economic and societal contributions after retirement, and that older citizens can provide significant economic and societal benefits, particularly if they are healthy and active. This report examines policies and initiatives to promote the silver economy and the closely related concepts of healthy ageing, active ageing and age-friendliness. The report seeks to uncover what are the preconditions for expanding the Nordic silver economy, and how cross-border collaboration can help enhance the potential of the silver economy in border regions

Tackling city-regional dynamics in a survey using grid sampling

"The paper considers a Finnish human survey that takes advantage of explicit stratification. Stratification is not ordinary, since there are two types of stratification. In one, the strata are municipality based that are much used earlier. But in the second, these take advantage of the grid data base in which the grid size is 250 metres times 250 metres. Using the grid data base the two explicit strata are constructed, one consisting of such grids where the median tax income of the adults is low (called 'poor' grids), whereas the median income is high in the second explicit stratum of such grids ('rich' grids). In order to correctly handle these both stratified data, it is required first to merge them together, next to create the single sampling weights, and finally, due to 60 per cent non-response to adjust for these weights. This helps in reducing the bias of the estimates. The adjustment is strengthened with good auxiliary data both from the grid data base and other administrative sources." (author's abstract

Open Access in Swedish Private Sector R&D

Open Access (OA) is defined as the free, online, immediate, permanent access to scientific and scholarly material in full-text. Open Access practices have reached the universities and now nearly all university researchers report knowledge of OA. Statistics Sweden (SCB) has estimated that 75% of all money invested in research activities in Sweden is done by private companies. In spite of this, the private sector has been relatively absent from the Open Access discussion and development, in contrast to the universities. The goal of this project was to study the advance of OA practices in the private sector. The method was to visit a number of Swedish companies and present the OA concept. After the presentations web-based surveys were distributed to measure previous knowledge of OA, publishing and readership practices, and views of the matter. Knowledge and awareness of Open Access is less within companies than at universities, although it seems to increase with publishing practices and higher educational degree. The publishing practices, and to lesser extent the reading practices, of scientific articles is less within companies, which could lead to a skewed funding situation for a future Open Access-economy based on an “author-pays” model. In discussions regarding how companies might pay for Open Access we therefore suggest that the flow of information needs to be guarded so that the benefit of access to scientific data does not become limited for companies and industry in a new way, as is already seen by some Open Access journals. The researchers’ access to information should be the same irrespective of whether they work at a company or at the university

Service-poor suburban housing estates? : Accessibility to local services in the Helsinki metropolitan area, 1996–2018

Peer reviewe

Open Access in Swedish Private Sector R&D

Open Access (OA) is defined as the free, online, immediate, permanent access to scientific and scholarly material in full-text. Open Access practices have reached the universities and now nearly all university researchers report knowledge of OA. Statistics Sweden (SCB) has estimated that 75% of all money invested in research activities in Sweden is done by private companies. In spite of this, the private sector has been relatively absent from the Open Access discussion and development, in contrast to the universities. The goal of this project was to study the advance of OA practices in the private sector. The method was to visit a number of Swedish companies and present the OA concept. After the presentations web-based surveys were distributed to measure previous knowledge of OA, publishing and readership practices, and views of the matter. Knowledge and awareness of Open Access is less within companies than at universities, although it seems to increase with publishing practices and higher educational degree. The publishing practices, and to lesser extent the reading practices, of scientific articles is less within companies, which could lead to a skewed funding situation for a future Open Access-economy based on an “author-pays” model. In discussions regarding how companies might pay for Open Access we therefore suggest that the flow of information needs to be guarded so that the benefit of access to scientific data does not become limited for companies and industry in a new way, as is already seen by some Open Access journals. The researchers’ access to information should be the same irrespective of whether they work at a company or at the university

Re:Urbia : Lähiöiden segregaatiohaaste ja tulevaisuus

Verkkoversio: Helsingin yliopiston kirjasto, Helsingin yliopisto, 2023Re:Urbia on tutkimus lähiöiden tilasta ja kehityksestä 2020-luvun Suomessa. Hankkeessa analysoidaan lähiöiden moniulotteista segregaatioprosessia muun muassa muuttoliikkeen, koulujen ja lähiöiden veto- ja pitovoiman näkökulmasta ja konseptoidaan uudelleen lähiöiden suunnitteluratkaisuja ja palveluita. Re:Urbia on osa Ympäristöministeriön rahoittamaa lähiöohjelmaa vuosille 2020–2022.nonPeerReviewe

Re:Urbia : Segregation Challenge and the Future of High-Rise Concrete Suburbs in Finland

Re:Urbia on tutkimus lähiöiden tilasta ja kehityksestä 2020-luvun Suomessa. Hankkeessa analysoidaan lähiöiden moniulotteista segregaatioprosessia muun muassa muuttoliikkeen, koulujen ja lähiöiden veto- ja pitovoiman näkökulmasta ja konseptoidaan uudelleen lähiöiden suunnitteluratkaisuja ja palveluita. Re:Urbia on osa Ympäristöministeriön rahoittamaa lähiöohjelmaa vuosille 2020–2022.Towards the end of the 1970s Finland – as a result of a longlasting and strong welfare devel- opment - – was by international standards one of the most egalitarian countries in the world as regards distribution of income. Evening out had been very sudden, within the space of a few decades. Evening out of differences was not con- fined to incomes: the ethos of all national policy – including social, healthcare and housing policy - was to even out differences in the population strata, above all by promoting an improvement in the conditions of the disadvantged. The building of the suburbs was a project inextricably linked to this national project, the upshot of which was a significant rise in people’s standard of housing. The shift from the rural areas and cramped ur- ban dwellings to stone buildings according to the Arava norms, in which there was central heating, an indoor lavatory and bathing facilities in warm interior spaces was a great change for the better. If we now contemplate from this perspective the structural change occurring in the last dec- ades, the general trend is rather the opposite. The demand for workforce with minimal qualifica- tions has diminished in a way which, in its mag- nitude and speed, can only be compared to the shrinking of the rural population at the time of the so-called great migration. Now not only has a great change come about because in the con- ditions of the new structural change there is no increase in demand anywhere. The result is that unemployment, inability to work and other dep- rivation are increasing more markedly where this section of the population originally settled, that is, in the suburbs. It would be reasonable to assume that the connection now observed, differing from the former, with the respondents’ real financial straits and perceived dissatisfaction, is based on the simple fact that in the present conditions the differences between respondents are greater. The connection between life conditions and perceived satisfaction now appears more marked because it is more marked. Differences in the population structure and the service structure are producing differences particularly for those residents who are living more locally. The strong proof emerged earlier of how dep- rivation in the mainstream population and ethnic minorities have since the early 1990s increasingly intensified in some of the suburbs (Kortteinen & Vaattovaara 2000, Vilkama et al., 2015). Less at- tention has been paid to how much the share of single dwellers in the suburbs has increased and the implications of this for life in the suburbs. When the share of various single dwellers has ris- en to well over half of all households (61%), the finding manifests as a decline in social life and a weakening of the internal networks of the neigh- bourhood. According to our questionnaire survey, about 60 per cent of the people resident in the suburbs examined had at least one acquaintance with whom they could stop to chat. Turning the finding the other way around shows that of the repondents 40 per cent had no such acquaintance in the area. The narrowing of the range of local services also hits pensioners, other disadvantaged people, and ethnic minorities hard. In this respect the situation of the working middle class is easier: if the residential area does not have an adequate range of services, these can be hand on the way to work (Ratvio 2012). These people are also signif- icantly happier in the area. 209 2023 The change in the population of the suburbs and the change in the service structure fit poorly together, at least if the change is assessed from the perspective of the traditional ethos of the welfare state: the differences in the well-being of residents in different positions would appear to be increasing. There is a risk that over time we shall be facing an emerging new set of class differences within Finnish society and within different res- idential areas. In order to halt this development we present in our work as a point of departure for planning five forgotten, neglected or misin- terpreted planning perspectives to improve local living environments. In addition to this, we need national help and the local residents’ opportunity, ability and commitment to the planning of the area and the directing of development.Non peer reviewe

State of the Nordic Region 2020

State of the Nordic Region 2020 gives you a unique look behind the scenes of the world’s most integrated region, comprised of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, along with the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. The report presents a series of facts and figures showing the current state of play within core socioeconomic sectors, including demography, labour market and economy. In addition, you can read about wellbeing and energy pathways towards a carbon neutral Nordic Region. State of the Nordic Region 2020 is published by the Nordic Council of Ministers and produced by Nordregio, an international research center for regional development and planning established by the Nordic Council of Ministers