The future of northern Sweden: What will it take to put our cities on the map?
Northern Sweden’s main strengths today are that we have raw materials, energy and, according to the EU’s Social Progress Index (SPI), we offer a world-class quality of life. We should be able to refine these qualities to a greater extent and create growth in our part of the world, because we need growth in the form of more people.
30 years ago, my family and I moved from Stockholm back to Hudiksvall. Here were our roots, the social network and above all – simplicity. The simplicity of avoiding congestion and traffic jams, the proximity to childcare and the simplicity of being able to choose a range of leisure activities.
Three decades later, life looks different. Children have left home, leisure interests have changed and careers have taken new paths. With a daily life full of business trips, I appreciate even more the simplicity and proximity to the sea, the forest and the mountains – but also the city’s offerings, good food and good concerts.
Simplicity and proximity contribute to quality of life – and that’s what we need to highlight to attract more people to our cities in northern Sweden. We also need to dare to stand out through stronger hospitality where we welcome and take care of new citizens. Not everyone is a returnee, as I once was, so we need to show more clearly what our region has to offer.
When I tell people I’m from Hudiksvall, I’m often met with the words “Glada Hudik”. Originally it was a brand to strengthen the tourism industry, but today it is the people who have filled it with meaning.
If you search for “Glada Hudik”, it’s not the municipality’s website that comes up, but the Glada Hudik Theater – an organization that has been fulfilling dreams, challenging norms and shattering prejudices since 1996. Through courage and determination, they have given people opportunities to grow, and in the process they have also strengthened the attractiveness of the place. Today, the Glada Hudik Theatre is a stronger brand than Glada Hudik itself.
As CEO of HSB Södra Norrland, how do I link the growth journey we have ahead of us to the company I am responsible for? Over the past five years, the housing industry has gone from a reasonably high production rate to a sharp slowdown as a result of recession and sharp price increases. But with 30 years of experience in the construction and real estate industry, I have seen cycles come and go. The question is not if, but when we will once again put the shovel in the ground and start building again.
But what should we build and what is the need? HSB, via HSB Living Lab and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, is conducting interesting research on the housing of the future based on the scenarios we see before us. In order to reduce emissions from the housing sector, we must not only choose sustainable building materials, but also rethink how we use our living spaces.
And at a time when security is becoming more important, the share of single-person households and the need for emergency preparedness are increasing, we need to adapt our homes in a very different way than before.
We also like to remind people that HSB doesn’t just build homes, we help build communities. Because the challenges we face will not be met by any single actor, we need to link arms and do the job together. Business, the public sector, education and politics. We from HSB were involved in building the People’s Home and we expanded the Million Program. If there is one thing I can say with certainty, it is that HSB will still be around in 2030 and we will be a confident player in the community building of the future.
Anders Wallner, CEO HSB Södra Norrland