Urban development

In 2008, the Swedish Government presented a comprehensive national strategy for integration for 2008-2010. One of the seven strategic areas identified in the strategy is "city districts with widespread exclusion". The principle is to reduce the number of such city districts and to improve the living conditions in them. The Government's work towards combating exclusion in these city districts is mainstreamed in general policies and coordinated by a policy for urban development.

In some city districts there is a large proportion of inhabitants experiencing exclusion due to unemployment, long-term dependency on social welfare allowances, feelings of insecurity or bad health. In these districts there are grounds for central government to cooperate with the municipalities concerned in order to find more effective methods and to more effectively use public recourses to combat exclusion. The policy for urban development focuses on employment, education, security and growth. To strengthen a positive development both for individuals and for areas, development work must be carried out both locally and within a municipal and regional context.

In order to strengthen the coordination of the urban development an ordinance for urban development entered into force on July 1, 2008 for the period 2008-2010. The ordinance serves as a starting point and guidelines for national agencies on how the urban development work should be put in action on the local level.

Local development agreements

21 urban municipalities have signed local development agreements with the Government for the period 2008-2010. By signing an agreement these municipalities also commit to the guidelines as written in the ordinance for urban development policy. The agreements open possibilities for local partnerships to be formed between government agencies, municipalities, private actors and civil society for the implementation of local development work.

The Swedish Public Employment Service, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and the National Police Board have been given the task by the Government for the period 2008-2010 to get involved in local partnerships in the 21 municipalities.

Monitoring, evaluation and analysis

Statistics Sweden has the Government's assignment to annually publish relevant register data on the development in city districts. Statistics Sweden will on their website publish about 40 variables on city district level for those city districts covered by local development agreements. These variables will also be presented on municipal, county and national level in order to compare development between the different geographic levels.

In 2010, the Government will, in consultation with the municipalities concerned, reconcile how the urban development work will continue after this period. For this purpose the Government has commissioned two evaluations that will focus on the role of the central government within the policy for urban development and on local processes within the urban development work.

Dialogue and exchange of experience

Dialogue and exchange of knowledge and experience between different actors involved in urban development has become more important for Swedish cities due to the fact that the urban development work in city districts is knowledge based. Sweden became a member in the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) in 2008. The Multicultural Centre in Botkyrka is Sweden's national focal point for the EUKN network. In April 2009 the national EUKN website was launched for this purpose.