City of Gothenburg Annual Report 2017
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CITY OF GOTHENBURG ANNUAL REPORT 2017 www.goteborg.se Chairman of the City Executive Board, Ann-Sofie Hermansson, reflects on the past year. Photo: Lena Dahlström The Chairman of the City Executive Board reflects on the past year. Another good year. 2017 was a mostly positive year adopted in the late summer. It aims for Gothenburg. The already strong economy grew even to help match jobseekers’ skills with stronger. The city’s major development boom gathered employers’ needs more effectively. momentum. Over the next 10–15 years, new construction December saw the opening of the and transformation will make a clear impression on the last of the four skills centres that urban environment. Important strategic measures were have now been established across the taken in areas such as schools, safety and security, city. The idea is for these local, easily gender equality, and trade and industry. accessible meeting-places to focus on mapping, skills enhancements and matching, the aim being to support unemployed local citizens along the The good times continue of this, but also thanks to proactive entire path to a real, important job. The strong socio-economic devel- measures around the city, income opment continued. The trends from support costs fell for the fourth Development boom coming previous years grew stronger rather consecutive year. Many people of Several major construction processes than weaker. Growth was high. Gothenburg, and young people in began in 2017. The over-decking Many industries moved into very particular, moved from benefits to of the E45 and construction of the strong cyclical phases. More and self-sufficiency. Hising Bridge made particularly more people visited Gothenburg. deep impressions. Homebuilding There was a widespread fall in un- New job initiatives was at its highest level in 40 years. employment. In Gothenburg, youth To continue reducing unemploy- In total, more than 4,000 homes unemployment has more than halved ment, a solid structure for the active were in the process of being built since 2010. Unemployment in the labour market initiatives has been in the autumn. There are ambitious Gothenburg region is well below the built up. A new skills provision plan, plans for the future. Älvstaden and national average, and has now been headed by the Labour Market and the West Sweden Package will be the lowest in Sweden’s city regions Adult Education Committee and completed. Systematic new develop- for more than two years. As a result Business Region Göteborg, was ment is planned for the suburbs. 2 CITY OF GOTHENBURG | ANNUAL REPORT 2017 When everything is finished, in direction, there is a tremendous the Lindholmen district was one of around 2035, Gothenburg will have amount left to do. the year’s highlights. The new com- been lifted to a whole new level. In plex, which will house around 3,500 addition there is the city package of School reform for employees, will be a vital boost for the National Negotiation on Hous- greater equivalency the whole city. It was confirmed ing and Infrastructure – and what A far-reaching organisational and in September that the state and a a great benefit that this could all be reform process was begun in the number of leading companies are to brought agreed during the summer. school and pre-school system. establish a new test centre for electro One advantage of the package is that Responsibility will be moved from mobility. The majority of the opera- the investments will link the city the districts to a central Schools tions will take place in Lind holmen. together. It will be easier to get to Committee and a central Pre- This too will be a considerable, and from Biskopsgården and Backa Schools Committee on 1 July 2018. valuable investment. During the and over the river without passing The main aim is to improve equiva- autumn, RISE Research Institutes Brunnsparken. lency. The new system will make it of Sweden opened its new headquar- simpler to secure good basic quality ters in Lindholmen. Meanwhile, Successful across the city, while also giving all AB Volvo continued building up safety and security work children the same or similar oppor- resources at nearby Campus Lundby. Preventive safety and security work tunities. It will be easier to allocate Overall, Gothenburg is increasingly continues to escalate. Collabora- resources according to requirement, becoming “the place to be” for tech- tion in the Trygg i Göteborg/Safe and to implement localised measures nological development in the field in Gothenburg model saw positive where necessary. of mobility. developments in many city districts. A proposed trade and industry Specific safety and security ini- No to violent strategy programme was drawn up tiatives involving a wide range of extremism as part of a process that was open players were taken for Kanaltorget During the autumn in particular, and receptive to various opinions. If and Nordstan. “Purple Flag”, a City issues of democracy and rights the programme is adopted in early initiative alongside Fastighetsägar- came to the fore. In September 2018, this will increase the impact na and various other players in the the Neo-Nazi movement NMR and strategic strength of efforts to central city, was initiated. The aim is unsuccessfully attempted to hold a develop trade and industry. to build up a more dynamic evening large demonstration in Gothenburg. 2017 was yet another record year economy. Offering a varied range of Instead, the lasting impressions for the hospitality sector. Liseberg’s activities in the evenings brings life from the day came from the active, anniversary initiative, which was and movement to urban environ- far-reaching protests from the people given the go-ahead during the spring, ments and increases both the per- of Gothenburg. A large number of will bring a crucial boost. The EU ceived and the actual safety. There is people demonstrated and sent a clear Summit in Gothenburg in Novem- a lot to indicate that the city’s safety message in various ways: Nazism ber not only helped to highlight so- situation has improved. One sign is is not, nor will it ever be, welcome cial issues on the European agenda; that the number of shootings, which in Gothenburg. In mid-December it was also a friendly, problem-free has been declining since 2013, fell the synagogue was firebombed, event that put Gothenburg even even further in 2017. and there was a powerful response. more clearly on the international Gothenburg rallied round the Jewish map. For the hospitality sector too, More focused gender community. The synagogue was a proposed new strategic programme equality agenda “love-bombed”. Before Christmas, was drawn up in an inclusive pro- The major “An Equal Gothenburg” a political consensus was reached on cess. The proposal is both proactive project gained an even firmer foot- developing a package of measures to and engaging, and was adopted at ing in the city with strategies and strengthen the city’s efforts against the beginning of 2018. commitment alike becoming more anti-Semitism. It was also decided to established. An ambitious long-term extend initiatives to combat violent programme for gender equality work extremism. was developed – and was adopted at the beginning of 2018. In Decem- Trade and industry ber, a major gender equality report flourishing was presented. It showed that active The Mobility Cluster went from Ann-Sofie Hermansson efforts to promote gender equality strength to strength during the year. (Social Democrat) are genuinely needed. Even though Geely’s decision in June to locate its Chairman of the some aspects are moving in the right new European innovation centre in City Executive Board CITY OF GOTHENBURG | ANNUAL REPORT 2017 3 The City of Gothenburg Annual Report is the City Executive Board’s report to the City Council on overall operations and finances for the year. It is also intended for external stakeholders such as lenders, suppliers and other public authorities, as well as for residents of the city. The Annual Report is produced by the City Management Office for the City Executive Board. By way of introduction in the Annual Report the Chairman of the City Executive Board, Ann-Sofie Hermansson, gives a summary of the past year. This is followed by an outline of the City of Gothenburg’s organisation, assignments and future challenges. The City of Gothenburg Annual Report is then divided into five blocks: How to read the City of Gothenburg Annual Report ACTIVITIES OF THE CITY OF ADMINISTRATION REPORT GOTHENBURG pages 11–32 pages 33–62 The first block contains the Administration Report, which must be included This block reports some of the activi- in the Annual Report in line with the Accounting Act. It is a summary ties conducted by the City of Gothen- with a focus on essential parts of the City’s finances and activities. To begin burg’s 30 or so committees and its 20 1with it outlines important decisions and events during the year, along with an 2or so groups and companies during the assessment of the future for the City of Gothenburg based on a strategic year. The block is divided into different analysis. There is also a presentation of how well the City Council’s goals areas of activity, taken from the City are judged to have been accomplished, and a follow-up of the City Council’s Council budget. In each area, important assignments. There is also a description of the development work to better events and trends are described from capture citizens’ views in the democratic processes, and of efforts to clarify different perspectives. Each area con- the City’s management processes. This section also includes an outline of cludes with a look at key future issues.