Nuancing Counterurbanisation: A Grid-Level Exploration of Post-Pandemic Migration and Remote Work in Sweden

Linda Randall , Stockholm University

An emerging literature suggests that the relationship between remote work and counterurbanisation has strengthened since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The precise nature of this relationship, however, remains somewhat unclear. To date, studies have focused on outmigration from only the largest cities and relied upon urban-rural classifications made at the municipal level. This makes it difficult to identify more subtle moves down the urban hierarchy, such as those which may occur when the need for presence in the workplace is reduced, rather than eliminated (e.g., hybrid work). It also means that we know relatively little about the effects of remote work on migration patterns in more peripheral regions. The present study seeks to overcome these limitations, combining spatial perspectives from within the counterurbanisation literature with a grid-level urban-rural typology to develop four spatially-derived categories of counterurbanisation: suburbanising; urban expansion; escape to the countryside; and rural to rural. These categories are applied to internal migration data from Sweden between 2015 and 2023, with a distinction made between those employed in occupations with and without remote-work potential and between the pre- and post-pandemic periods. The results are expected to present a more nuanced picture regarding the potential implications of increased remote work for the urban-rural structure, as well as making a contribution to long-standing discussions about the nature and extent of counterurbanisation in the Global North.

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 Presented in Session 37. Internal Migration and Urbanization