Along with the major cities and provincial centers, there are a number of cities in Finland, which serve as centers of their own area and at the same time as the locomotives of vitality throughout the region. These cities are called regional cities, which make up the regional network of districts co-ordinated by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.
MDI carried out a statistical analysis of the vitality and attractiveness of 55 Finnish regional cities on the basis of the regional network of districts and the SEUTU program. The number is called the T55 cities. The thread of the analysis is the position, role and importance of regional cities in the field of Finnish regional development and urban policy.
According to the analysis, the regional cities in Finland have more dividers than connecting factors. In particular, the differences in employment and business dynamics are considerable. In 12 districts the employment rate exceeded 70% already in 2016, while in the four districts the employment rate is even below 60%. The vitality of the regional cities is destroyed by two key factors: negative population and job development. Only four districts of the suburbs managed to grow in demographic growth in 2010-2017.
The report presents the results of vitality and attraction analysis based on statistical analysis and a series of suggestions for the development of regional cities
Download the analysis (in Finnish) here.