16 September 2009

Commuting Labour

In the wake of the Öresundbridge opening in 2000 the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö have launched a plan of ”Integration of the Öresund region”.
The aim is to create a comprehension among the population that the region functions as one city (Handlingsplan 2004-2006).

In this context I find it interesting to look at commuting labour exchanged between Malmö and Copenhagen.
A study conducted in 2006 it concludes 1/5 of Danish employees consider taking labour in Malmö, as opposed to 1/3 of the Sweeds. Apart from being sweedish the characteristics of the typical commuter tends to be; more men than women, steady job, 25-44 years of age, medium or higher level of education, no children. Also they are engaged in IT, transport or commerce.
When it comes to migrating across Öresund the Danish focus on lower cost of housing as well as lower taxes, the Sweeds on the other hand go for more challenging and better paid jobs
(Pendling over Öresund – Undersøgelse af holdninger og adfærd i forhold til pendling over Øresund).

Looking at Malmö one can see that there has been some shift in commuting laboure since the opening of the Öresund bridge in 2000.




The table shows that the number of Malmö emplyees excommuting have increased from 19 778 in 2000 to 26 070 in 2007. However, the netto commuting labour force for Malmö city has increased by 2470 in the same period.

Let us look further into the educational level of the Malmö workforce:


Strategisk utveckling, Malmö stad

The big question is how big part of the educated labourforce of Malmö can, will and do commute to Copenhagen. Do we have a "brain drain"?

In a longer perspective it can be interesting to find out if there is a potential for the creation of Malmö as a "sleeping city" of Copenhagen. Or; will there be a matter of education, income and social status as to where people in the Öresund region live and employ themselves?

1 comment:

Dahl og Uhre arkitekter said...

The first part of this post is similar to the one we sent to Herman on Movable Impact
In the Mosaïc – Concept we discussed the impact of movement in this way:

“Den inneboende informationen om det som kan förbinda de två kusterna får ett nytt lyft med ‘det varslade logistiska sammanbrottet’. Begivenheten Metroringen påverkar nu tankarna redan innan den uppstår. Ringen förskjuter trafikbilden från bil till snabbtåg. Denna tillsamman med ett nytt, högt utvecklat nätverk av gång-, cykelbanor och annan kollektivtrafik är det normala år 2040. Nya stads- och landskapsformationer är utvecklade av den avancerade arkitekt- och planläggarmiljön i Øresund. Med världens ögon riktade mot København år 2009 i samband med COP-15 och ett ‘nytt Kyotoavtal’ underskrivet, blir Metroringen Øresunds bärkraftslogo på den ‘trovärdiga karta som återstår att uppritas’. Alla små och stora samhällen är stadsdelar i Landskapsmetropolen och Metroringen öppnar för urban korsprogrammering i stadnätet tvärsöver gränser, allt kan äga rum överallt. Metroringen är en egen upplevelsesvärld och blir i sig själv en företeelse med egna ritualer - ett eget språk. ‘Jag får inte mina kickar i København längre’ kan bli resultatet av nya diversiteter i stationslandskapet. Lätt förflyttning, och en dag på stranden, är goda hjälpare”
(not translated to english yet)

At BAS we discussed movement related to the researcher Oddvar Löfgrens three stages of the impact of the bridge. You ask the intriguing question of Sleeping city and Brain Drain as a consequence for Malmö. Our interpretation that “everything can take place everywhere” explores a possible diversity and equality in the region both related to new programs, education, research and lifeforms. But as Løfgren observes, there are obstacles on many levels that may not support this optimistic view.
KE+K