NORDREGIO POLICY BRIEF 2015:6 • PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2015 PHOTO: MITCHELL REARDON

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Supporting Inclusion Steps to Resolve Poverty and Social Exclusion in one of ’s Most Diverse Municipalities

Europe is currently dealing with a major influx of migrants This Nordregio policy brief presents a new way of measuring and refugees. Every week, thousands of people are risking segregation – the diversity index – and outlines key steps their lives for the opportunity to create a better future in Euro- that Botkyrka, a highly diverse municipality in the Stockholm pe, notably in and . Immigration is only the County, has taken to alleviate Poverty and Social Exclusion, first challenge however. Once basic needs have been add- which could be instructive to municipalities across , ressed, the arguably greater challenge of integration begins. as they work to integrate new residents.

A 2006 OECD report1 recognized region’s competitiveness in the long run”, More broadly, the OECD reiterated this Stockholm as “one of the most success- including the difficulty of integrating new challenge in 2012, noting that overall em- ful metropolitan regions in the OECD.” residents to Sweden. ployment rates among high-educated for- The report emphasized the region’s high Foreign born university graduates eign born residents were 15% lower than quality of life, strong public health per- from countries outside of the EU were Swedish born, a number that dropped to formance, high education levels and its found to be much less likely to have a 25% for low-educated foreign born resi- low poverty rate. However, the OECD qualified job, with only 40% working such dents.³ report also identified the most significant positions, compared with 90% of Swedes Compounding this, Stockholm’s ur- weaknesses that could “undermine the with corresponding academic degrees.² ban structure is undergoing a transfor- www.nordregio.se ISSN 2001-3876 NORDREGIO 1 Box 1: Differentiating Income Poverty, Social Exclusion and Deprivation mation where, “the upper levels of society County, has taken to counter its serious one of the most diverse. This finding holds are taking over the central parts of the poverty and social exclusion challenges. true for a number of other areas with similar city”. These tensions came to the fore- To create the index, the share of foreign- characteristics as well. As such, it appears that front in May 2013, when riots broke out born population by parish11 was multiplied more “excluded” areas like north Botkyrka are in a number of suburbs in Stockholm. A by the number of countries of birth present in fact quite diverse, but the missing piece in range of elements have been identified as in each parish in . 1² 1³ the diversity puzzle is ethnic Swedes. How- contributing to the unrest; however there Results were tabulated for all parishes within ever, areas with few ethnic Swedes also often is little doubt that Poverty and Social Ex- the County and the subsequent parish aver- have lower education, employment and in- clusion factors played a role (see Box 1). age was set to an index of 100. The Diversity come in a regional context. As such, this is not Urban poverty and social exclusion are Index found that inner city Stockholm was a critique of the locational choices of residents, rarely the outcome of a single phenom- among the most segregated areas in Stock- but to confront notions of segregation that are enon. They result from a diversity of fac- holm County and that north Botkyrka was often portrayed in the media. tors, including socioeconomic patterns, discrimination, access to housing, the built form, transportation, social net- Box 2. The Diversity Index works and urban segregation. Rather than dwelling on the challeng- Discussions concerning Poverty and Social Exclusion in Stockholm County typi- es however; this Nordregio policy brief cally focus on segregation and are often centered around the outlying suburbs focuses on two Poverty and Social Exclu- and municipalities. However, research shows that “The ethnic variety increases sion approaches that are heading in the when the fraction of the comparatively large Swedish group decreases.” � To il- right direction: lustrate this mix and to highlight the rich variation and backgrounds a “Diversity • A Diversity Index that inverts tra- Index” for Stockholm County was developed at Nordregio. Far from being solely ditional narratives of segregation by em- applicable in Stockholm County, the Diversity Index could have broad applica- tion for cities across Europe and around the world. In recreating the index in phasizing the range of backgrounds and other cities, social planners and politicians have the opportunity to inverse typi- experiences among residents of areas cal portrayals of areas with large concentrations of residents with foreign back- typically characterized as excluded. grounds as “segregated”, when in fact they are often more diverse than affluent, • Policy Implications based on steps centrally located, districts. that Botkyrka Municipality, in Stockholm

www.nordregio.se ISSN 2001-3876 NORDREGIO 2 Map: Stockholm Diversity Index by Linus Rispling, Nordregio.

www.nordregio.se ISSN 2001-3876 NORDREGIO 3 Botkyrka is the first municipality in Sweden to promote interculturalism, an approach that respects different cultures and seeks to harness the strengths that these many different backgrounds offer.

Botkyrka Residents Enjoying Spring Weather. Photo: Mitchell Reardon

www.nordregio.se ISSN 2001-3876 NORDREGIO 4 Nordregio Research in Botkyrka: Positive Policy Implications n By focusing on number of related Poverty effectively, while actively engaging with indivi- prove the delivery of services and support for and Social Exclusion issues, including em- duals at risk. hard-to-reach individuals and groups. ployment, education, health, built form and mobility, and segregation at the same time n In addition to standard institutional ap- n Positive events that celebrate a diversity through the lens of wellbeing, multiple chal- proaches, a variety of avenues can be used to of cultures while acknowledging tensions that lenges can be addressed simultaneously. engage with residents, including a space for may have roots in another part of the world community meetings, library outreach, drop- can foster community cohesion and encou- n By focusing on individuals as opposed to in sports and a women’s resource centre. rage understanding among individuals and groups, challenges can be addressed ba- groups who may have few opportunities to sed on local and individual contexts. This in- n Continuous cooperation with local stake- engage. creases the potential for resources to be used holders and community organizations can im-

Botkyrka municipality’s Efforts to Al- of the people who live in Botkyrka and on the environment. Through these ap- leviate Poverty and Social Exclusion celebrates their differences. Botkyrka is proaches, the wide range of prospects the first municipality in Sweden to pro- for, and needs of, Botkyrka’s residents are Of the 26 municipalities in Stockholm mote interculturalism, an approach that considered to a greater extent than is le- County, Botkyrka had the lowest median respects different cultures and seeks to gally mandated. income in 2010 and among the high- harness the strengths that these many dif- By simultaneously considering vari- est municipal concentrations of persons ferent backgrounds offer. Botkyrka’s ap- ous elements that influence poverty and with a foreign background, in a county proach to interculturalism focuses on the social exclusion, including social issues, with one of the highest concentrations of exchanges and interactions between peo- the environment, labour market access, persons with a foreign background in the ple with different origins. It can be dis- built form and mobility, and segrega- country. Further, despite solid economic tinguished from the more familiar term tion, Botkyrka is using its finite financial growth in the County, unemployment in ‘multiculturalism’, which implies a more resources to respond to the challenges Botkyrka remains higher than the county passive strategy.⁷ at hand. By focusing on the wellbeing of average. This manifests that Stockholm is These cross-sector, people-first strat- individuals, Botkyrka is trying to meet becoming increasingly divided. I.e. long- egies are reflected in the work of the better the needs of its diverse population, standing geographic residential patterns municipality’s societal and spatial de- which is underlined by its wide range of along ethnic and socioeconomic lines are velopment unit, which integrates socio- community outreach initiatives. Botkyr- becoming more pronounced in Stock- economics, culture, physical planning, ka’s focus on the wellbeing of its residents holm County.⁶ the environment, youth and community is further demonstrated by its strong Recognizing the socioeconomic chal- outreach, segregation and education. This co-operation with grassroots and com- lenges that it faced, Botkyrka embarked also means that when a development pro- munity groups, which facilitates targeted on a wide-reaching and cross-sector ject is proposed, its impact on the com- responses to specific challenges in finan- strategy that centres on the wellbeing munity is evaluated, as well as its impact cially effective ways.

11Parishes are sub districts to municipalities and are based on traditional settlements, where a church was at the centre, rather than being built on today’s administrative borders or demarcated around today’s developing nuclei. The reason why parishes are still used for demographic data is mainly because the state church until the 1990’s was responsible for keeping track on births, marriages, etc. This implies that the geographic boundaries of parishes are still used. In this case, data availability was the central reason that the parish scale was used, as opposed to sub- district boundaries.

1² For reasons of personal privacy Statistics Sweden has excluded data that fulfills one of the following two criteria. (1) The number of persons with a specific country of birth that is less than 20 in the whole county (2) The number of foreign born are less than 20 in the parish

1³ The data was captured on December 31st, 2013 www.nordregio.se ISSN 2001-3876 NORDREGIO 5 A Housing Area in North Botkyrka. Photo: Mitchell Reardon

Fewer children in poverty and new sis coupled with a significant increase in things they had written and make it look houses by the lake as efforts pay off newly arrived refugee and migrant resi- nice here again.”10 This degree of attach- dents, it becomes apparent that Botkyrka ment, along with the poverty reductions There are a number of prominent indica- has become a socially resilient municipal- and stable employment figures, indicates tions that these efforts are having positive ity. that Botkyrka has established the mecha- impacts on residents and fostering great- Further, for the first time since the nisms to cope with the challenges of pov- er attachment to the area. Of the 30 mu- Million Homes Program, new dwell- erty and social exclusion. Given the con- nicipalities with the highest rates of child ings are being built in North Botkyrka, tinued influx of refugees to Sweden and poverty in Sweden, Botkyrka was one of and as illustrated by ’s Sjöterrassen Europe more broadly, this is an important only two where the trend was reversed development (which sold out in record accomplishment, and one that other mu- and the rate declined between 2005 and time), they are in high demand. Finally, nicipalities in the Nordic countries and 2010, and has continued on this down- during the second night of riots in May beyond should consider following. ward trajectory. Between 2000 and 2012, 2013, the subway station in Fittja was child poverty in Botkyrka dropped from heavily vandalized. In a striking exam- 29.6% to 15.5%. 8 ple of commitment to their community, Unemployment among Botkyrka resi- and in an effort to dispel the myth that dents under the age of 25 has declined many local youth were involved in the slightly from 6.0% to 5.3% between 2004 unrest, 60 14- and 15-year-old students and 2014, while unemployment among from Fittja (and their teachers) cleaned 25 to 54 year olds during the same period up the area. As one student, Dilnaza, said, has only increased marginally, from 5.5% “I felt angry and sad that people had de- to 6.2%. 9 These figures in themselves are stroyed and trashed things where I live. not astounding, but when considered But it felt great that everyone was helping in the context of a global economic cri- out to clean up all the glass, erase the ugly

1OECD (2006) Territorial Reviews: Stockholm (OECD Observer). Paris: Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. ²OECD Factbook 2014 ⁴Stahre U (2004) City in Change: Globalization, Local Politics and Urban Movements in Contemporary Stockholm. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 28(1): 68-85. � Hårsman B (2006) Ethnic diversity and spatial segregation in the Stockholm region. Urban Studies, 43(8): 1341-1364. ⁶Stahre U (2004) City in Change: Globalization, Local Politics and Urban Movements in Contemporary Stockholm. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 28(1): 68-85. ⁷Botkyrka municipality (2010) Strategy for an intercultural Botkyrka. 8Rädda Barnen (Save the Children) (2014) Barnfattigdom Årsrapport 2014 (Child Poverty Annual Report 2014). Sweden: Rädda Barnen. 9Botkyrka kommun (2015). Botkyrka i siffror: Statistik detaljerad. 10Chaaban, S. (2013, May 22) Students clean up Fittja. Metro.

www.nordregio.se ISSN 2001-3876 NORDREGIO 6 Box 3 – Initiatives to Promote Social Inclusion in Botkyrka Improving individual wellbeing is a complex issue, particularly in a diverse community. To enhance its capacity to reach a wide range of individuals, Botkyrka Municipality co-operates broadly with community groups. Over the course of Nordregio research, numerous initiatives were identified to support social inclusion and/or combat poverty. Here are some of them:

Bocenter – A Space for Respect and Discussion: A Library Beyond Its Walls: Botkyrka Public Library A space for residents and grassroots organizations who in Hallunda is heavily involved in outreach efforts and want to hold meetings. They can use the premises to continues to extend its efforts into the community. No- hold discussions, workshops and other activities, or tably, they recognize that learning takes place in many otherwise enable or coordinate activities among resi- ways, and in recognizing the range of backgrounds dents. It is free of charge to use, with the costs covered among local residents, place equal emphasis on the by a housing corporation and the municipality. As of spoken and written word. The library is also engaged now 10-12 NGOs have regular meetings within these with numerous local organizations, including KVRC, premises. and will host an EU event to combat illiteracy for librar- ies that are working to reach out to residents in areas Positive Support and Risk-Reduction – Summer with significant concentrations of people with foreign Jobs for Young People: Botkyrka Municipality offers a backgrounds. It also organizes events like the Botkyrka number of summer jobs for young people. In doing so, International Book Fair, an intercultural celebration. the aim is to provide valuable work experience and an The library and its employees have received significant income, to help young people find the right track for acclaim for their work in actively engaging the commu- a future in the job market. In concert with a number nity. of grassroots organizations, the municipality seeks to expand summer employment possibilities for young Risk-Reduction through Drop-In Sports: Botkyrka people. A website run by the municipality offers a range Municipality pays to staff and maintain sports facili- services to assist young people in finding summer jobs, ties for young people. Rather than organizing through including how to write a resume and tips for job inter- registration, with the associated administrative burden views. that discourages some young people, the facilities are open for drop-in. The intention is to provide positive The Women’s Resource Centre (KVRC): KVRC is a activities with role models who have some oversight as non-political organization that helps to integrate women a way to divert young people from spending time on (both newcomers and long term residents) in Botkyrka the street or risk becoming involved with gangs. More into the workforce, with a particular focus on those who widely, youth clubs are seen as an important factor in have been out of the labour market for extended periods crime prevention and harm reduction. of time. They offer training for attractive employment skills and guidance on starting a small business, as well Using School to Bridge Cultures: There are significant as Swedish language training that is more accessible for efforts in Botkyrka to engage with both students and women in Hallunda & . Further, they seek to parents that have foreign backgrounds. Teachers are promote women’s rights among local residents through offered basic language training in some of the mother education. KVRC works closely with the public library tongues of pupils and parents. There is a strong empha- in Hallunda to encourage literacy and to find the most sis on engaging with the parents of students to identify effective ways to promote education among residents successful learning methods in various cultures and to with a diversity of backgrounds. help establish good study habits.

www.nordregio.se ISSN 2001-3876 NORDREGIO 7 Botkyrka. Photo: Mitchell Reardon Kids playing. Photo by Åsa Ström Hildestrand

Acknowledgements Contact

This publication is partly based on results of the ESPON project ‘The Mitchell Reardon, Research Fellow Territorial Dimension of Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe (TiP- [email protected] SE)’. © ESPON 2013, TiPSE, Nordregio. Christian Dymén, Senior Research Fellow Further Reading [email protected]

Reardon, M., Dymén, C. (2015) Towards the just city: Addressing po- verty and social exclusion in the Stockholm Region. Local Economy, Nordregio is a Nordic research institute within the fields of urban planning and regio- 30:7, 838–856 nal development. We provide policy relevant knowledge with a Nordic and European Dymén, C., & Reardon, M. (2014). Ethnic and social segregation comparative perspective. in Botkyrka, Sweden (Appendix 7 of Annex 4 of the ESPON TiPSE Final Report). Luxembourg: ESPON

Reardon, M., & Dymén, C. (2014) Towards Inclusion: Botkyrka’s Ap- proach to Urban Social Issues. In Nordregio News No 3 2014. Stock- holm: Nordregio

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