Examination of the internal development of suburban cities

The population development of Finland’s 56 regional cities has been negative in the 2010s. However, it is possible to describe demographic development in more detail at the local level, ie to find out the internal development of suburban cities. A closer look at the statistics shows whether there is growth within the wider shrinking area, the so-called small urbanisation, for example in the central city or in other regional centers. We carry out a statistical review for the Association of Finnish Municipalities, which describes the trend of population development in regional cities. The statistical components describe the population development in the region and the factors that contributed to it, ie birth rates, mortality rates and migration. The aim is to form a diverse “big picture” of developments within regional cities, possible similarities and differences. In addition to the statistical sub-regional analysis, in order to describe the micro-locations of each city, a survey of the municipality’s population development is also carried out based on 1 x 1 km population squares, which reveal the growing and shrinking areas within each municipality.