On the waterfront: Studying the development of residences and workplaces at Norra Älvstranden,Gothenburg,Sweden

Abstract

Following economic restructuring, waterfront redevelopment emerges as a post-industrial option for struggling cities and regions that will boost economic growth. If functioning according to plan, publicly initiated and privately executed waterfront redevelopment will attract educated and high-income earning residents as it simultaneously transforms derelict industrial grounds into residential areas and science parks. The recent financial crisis of 2008 has seen severe turbulence in the urban economy resulting in, for example, foreclosures and drops in real-estate value. Drawn on this background, the aim of this paper is to shed light on whether a specific place-based activity: the establishment of a redeveloped waterfront in Gothenburg, Sweden, facilitating residences and workplaces, has attracted human capital in the form of residents and workers often termed ‘talented’ and ‘creative’. This paper uses a unique longitudinal micro database (GILDA) containing information on residence, work, age, etc. covering the entire Swedish population between the years 1990 and 2008 and focuses on flows of in- and out-migration of two human capital subgroups: the arts-educated bohemians and the engineering-educated consultants. Results show that the waterfront attracts resident consultants and not bohemians, while the growth of workplaces stagnate and decline following the global economic recession of 2008. The paper contributes to knowledge on the complexity of redevelopment and how difficult it is to manage this process.

Keywords

economic restructuring human capital longitudinal micro database residence waterfront workplace

Introduction

Walking the streets of virtually any given European metropolis, one is struck by the spatial concentration of new residential areas and offices located in areas that were once sites of completely different economic activities. Until recently centres for mainly large-scale industries, it appears that the contemporary waterfront is becoming colonized by residents often termed ‘talented’ and ‘creative’. It may perhaps be put more bluntly; particular citizens are claiming the waterfront, challenging us to ask the question of where we locate various urban functions and for what reasons. This paper will address this issue.

Urban growth and renewal is certainly not a new phenomenon; however, there are a number of common characteristics in the recently redeveloped urban areas. One of these characteristics is the proximity to water, since these new areas are located near rivers, lakes or the ocean. It is beyond doubt on the waterfront we are supposed to live and work in the mind of planners, builders and policymakers. These areas often have a long history of shipyards, industries, bohemian quarters, slum, ports and trade. The massive industrial and trading complexes that once dominated urban waterfronts became landscapes of despair and brownfields (Davidson, 2009) before transforming into post-industrial urban areas sometimes hosting creative and knowledge-intense services and production (Hutton, 2009) but mostly serving the purpose of residential areas stimulating a constant shortage of housing. The urban transformation is often a slow process closely linked to the current state of the national and global economy. As the waterfront awaits its makeover, the general perception of the area tends to worsen and public opinion labels it a no-go zone. Despite this, cities like, for example, Hamburg, Toronto, Osaka, London, Gothenburg, Cape Town, Sydney, Tallinn and Baltimore have, through various partnerships with business interests, local government and regional/national planning authorities, made parts of the waterfront a new residential and workplace option as well as a tourist attraction. However, we need a better understanding of the outcome of waterfront redevelopment as a place-based economic development intervention by studying who lives and works in these new city districts and their migratory behaviour. Not least considering the competitive background of rising demand for downtown office and residential space, increased intra-urban spatial divisions of ‘talents’, the emergence of the post-industrial city and the expanding service industry (Beyers, 2002; Borggren, 2011; Daniels, 2012; Hansen and Winther, 2010).

Recent years have seen the emergence of a growing body of literature covering the importance of individuals with certain characteristics and preferences to the regional and local economy. These characteristics and preferences include, for example, creativity, skills, talents, amenities, local buzz and education although there is much debate on the importance of the various combinations (e.g. Bathelt et al., 2004; Clark et al., 2002; Currid and Williams, 2010; Glaeser et al., 1992; Hansen and Winther, 2010; Neffke and Henning, 2012; Scott, 2010). In the most extreme case, it is even argued that the residential locations chosen by a certain group of individuals labelled ‘creative’ will attract firms and investors and hence boost the local economy (Florida, 2002, 2005). Based on the above, it can be argued that there is a growing focus on how to attract individuals in possession of certain talents and skills due to their impact on national, regional and local economic growth. Put in this context, the redeveloped waterfront is a potential honey pot for planners, construction companies and local policymakers capable of attracting residents that will help expand the local tax base (Ponzini and Rossi, 2010). Hence, the aim of this paper is to shed light on whether the establishment of a redeveloped waterfront in Gothenburg, Sweden, offering new residences and workplaces, has attracted a particular segment of the human capital (Becker, 1964; Glaeser et al., 1992), here termed core. By studying the influence of the new waterfront, it is possible to address the present empirical gap between the creative economy and the rebirth of a waterfront that up until now has been reserved for work-related activities. Further, it will increase our understanding of the current trend of populating urban riversides and shores. Through the case of Norra Älvstranden, we will address waterfront redevelopment as a place-based development initiative (e.g. Celata and Coletti, forthcoming). Building on this, we also intend to analyse one approach to local development that may stimulate new thinking and that could offer socially plausible alternatives to local policies on growth. The specific case of this place-based redevelopment can also be followed through a time span of both boom and bust. Despite being affected by the economic downturn in Europe, the Swedish economy has shown remarkable resilience, and the redevelopment projects has continued to attract interest from the private sector and policymakers continuing these neo-liberal redevelopment projects.

One of the characteristics of the contemporary economy is the transformation from labour-intensive industry to knowledge- and service-based businesses (Alvstam, 1998; Beyers, 2002; Pinch and Henry, 1999; Rusten and Bryson, 2010; Saxenian, 1994; Ström and Wahlqvist, 2010). Due to a number of social and technological innovations, manufacturing has become less and less dependent on manual labour despite rising global demand for physical goods. The distinction between service and manufacturing was for a long time clear-cut; however, in recent years, a debate has taken place around the categorization of services and manufacturing, for example, through recent advancements in research on relatedness and firm performance (Eriksson, 2009; Neffke and Henning, 2012). Daniels (2012) discusses the importance of looking at the combination of manufacturing and service and the problem of trying to separate something that often only creates value in combination. Bryson et al. (2012) see a great need for service research to develop methods and conceptualizations that capture the connection between manufacturing and service. This also connects to the perspective of co-production of services. Today, service production is delivered in much more complex ways including clients, providers and agents that cooperate and interact on both local and global levels. On the local level, proximity is important since firms may benefit from spillovers originating from a diverse local economy (Jacobs, 1970). Consequently, spillovers and place-based development projects are related as they both rely on proximity. The development of new areas such as waterfronts for work and residence form an integral part of this development as it is a response to regional economic development and resilience. The importance of face-to-face meetings in the local service economy helps to understand the development of economic geographies at the macro- or micro-levels. Overall, Beyers (2012) states that service research needs to more closely study micro-considerations not only at the geographical level, but also how they are connected through regional and international trade on the macro-level. Understanding the formation of service work, trade and location will be highly important for the future.

There are other changes as well apart from modified social constitutions following structural economic change. One of those changes is the necessity among city centres to adapt to new types of businesses and spatial concentrations of firms and organizations (Hutton, 2009). A contemporary example is the public funding of new cultural downtowns, museums and exhibition centres aimed at attracting visitors and potential inhabitants, which has been pursued in Dublin, Ireland (Boyle, 2006), amongst numerous of other cities. Other examples include transforming abandoned industrial buildings to workplaces for young artists in the Netherlands (Marlet and Woerkens, 2005), moving TV-production facilities from the capital to the peripheral north in the UK (Christophers, 2008), the creation of a government-run Creative Industries Task Force in London (Pratt, 2004) or labelling an economically lagging capital Berlin, Germany ‘city of talents’ (Krätke, 2004). These examples all illustrate survival strategies originating amongst the urban policymakers that aim to place-market new cities, new lifestyles and new forms of work (Ek and Hultman, 2007; Hospers, 2011; Niedomysl, 2007). On-going post-industrial urban renewal trends, such as the construction of new residential areas or science parks, need to be discussed in the context of economic restructuring and conceptualized as specific place-based economic activities. In fact, urban renewal can be regarded as the city’s response to structural economic change and globalisation (Dicken, 2011; Gibson-Graham, 2006; Harvey, 2011; Sassen, 2001; Smith, 2001). In this context, it is important to also recognise the weakness of national government to fully grasp the local needs for redevelopment and to help drive this transformation (Hildreth and Bailey, forthcoming). Thus, waterfront redevelopment projects must be based on some form of local-national collaboration (McDonald, forthcoming). Historically, this has been problematic in Sweden due to the strong local influence on urban planning (Andersson, 1987; Borggren, 2011).

In addition, it has been argued and empirically demonstrated that the expansion of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) has created uneven geographies in city-regions which counters the statement ‘that the city regions are sometimes reduced to space-less, one-dimensional cauldrons of creativity and innovation’ (Hansen and Winther, 2010: 55 commenting Florida, 2002). Hence, this paper targets urban renewal and the arrival of ‘talents’ and ‘creatives’ on planning and policy agendas from a micro-level perspective using the waterfront of Norra Älvstranden as case within the urban landscape. The concept of the creative individuals and professionals used here is partially related to the highly influential and debated ideas of a ‘creative class’ (Florida, 2002). The creative class differs from that of human capital (Glaeser, 2000) in that higher education is not mandatory for the ‘creative class’. Thus, Florida’s thesis offers an explanation as to how work and lifestyle has changed since the emergence of the information age and argues that individuals lacking, for example, a college education may still belong to the creative class through, for example, tacit knowledge, on-the-job-training or other skills associated with creative work. Hence, firms (mostly high-tech) in pursuit of well-educated labour will have to follow the ‘creative class’ in order to recruit successfully. In this paper, we use a somewhat different and narrower definition of the writings of Florida that focuses on creative educations rather than on employment. We will expand on this further under the method and data section.

This paper examines the local development of former industrial grounds. Specifically, it seeks to study the residence and workplace of the human capital at Norra Älvstranden drawn on the background of long-term economic restructuring generating service industry growth and urban renewal projects (Borggren and Eriksson, 2014; Godfrey, 1997; Hoyle, 2000; Landry, 2000; Long, 2009; McGranahan and Wojan, 2007; Ponzini and Rossi, 2010), but also in light of recent economic turmoil. Behind the urban and economic changes lie ever more global patterns of consumption and production affecting business and the physical environment of daily lives and operation. This effect can be observed in the various outcomes of urban competition for desirable inhabitants, resulting not only in, for example, the construction of new housing designed to appeal to well-educated, urban and creative people (Borggren, 2011), but also in the increased willingness of national governments to implement place-based development strategies (be they actual or fictional) in peripheral parts of the country through local partnerships (Elcock, forthcoming; Hildreth and Bailey, forthcoming).

Method and data

This paper uses a unique longitudinal database (GILDA) consisting of several combined statistical registers covering the years 1990–2008. The focus of the paper is on two subgroups of the human capital labelled bohemians and consultants.¹ The database GILDA allows for longitudinal micro-level studies on any given number of individuals within areas such as housing, income, age, education, employment, social security, family and place of birth (Statistics Sweden, 2005). Swedish longitudinal databases have recently been successful in empirically describing, for example, housing, relatedness and migration due to their unparalleled level of detail and spatial precision (e.g. Andersson et al., 2009; Eriksson, 2009; Hedin et al., 2012). Through the use of coordinates assigned to the residence and place of work of each individual included in the study, it is possible to study residence and workplace. We define core as individuals with a completed creative education by use of educational statistics. It is also a proxy of the core of the human capital. The main argument for using education instead of occupation or similar individual skill proxies rests on previous studies (Hansen and Winther, 2010) showing that human capital (Becker, 1964) is a close proxy of creative capital (Florida, 2002) in the Scandinavian welfare context (e.g. Borggren and Eriksson, 2014). The studied time-period is described by Hedin et al. (2012) as a bust-boom-bust following the national recession of 1991–1995, the growth of services and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in 1996–2000 and the IT-collapse post-2000. As the time-period and the development of the waterfront mirrors recent global economic events, a strong case can be made for international comparison.

The term core (see Table 1) used and operationalized in this paper is a merger of a number of individuals with certain common characteristics. They are considered talented and creative individuals simultaneously in possession of a college degree earned before 1990 and labelled creative because they have an education within, for example, arts, design or technology which often leads to an occupation (Statistics Sweden, 2007) requiring innovative skills, responsibility, flexibility, etc. which simultaneously is important ingredients in, for example, creative occupations (Gill, 2007). It has been argued (Borggren, 2011) that, for example, job title and task tend to differ in creative occupations rendering occupation a somewhat problematic denominator and that micro-studies of subgroups in the service industries can be fruitful in order to more fully understand the underlying mechanisms behind occupation and education (Markusen, 2006). A report published by Statistics Sweden (2007) on the relationship between education and occupation in Sweden concludes that an individual’s education is an adequate proxy of future occupation. Exceptions to this conclusion are most frequent in the humanities, and the strongest relationship is found between individuals attending medical school and later becoming physicians.

Table 1.

Core, consultants, bohemians and comparison group ages 20–65 in Gothenburg in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2008 (GILDA, 2008).

	1990	1995	2000	2005	2008
Bohemians	1.6%	1.6%	2.7%	3.5%	4.0%
Consultants	9.5%	10.0%	8.3%	8.2%	7.9%
Other	10.8%	13.1%	15.4%	16.0%	16.3%
Total core	21.9%	24.7%	26.4%	27.7%	28.2%
Comparison	78.1%	75.3%	73.6%	72.3%	71.8%
	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Total pop age 20–65	259,187	277,514	295,345	313,252	324,944

The selected educations (degrees) include engineering, arts, journalism, architecture, computer science, medicine, social science and educations in media, design and marketing. Educations not included in core include administration, accounting, craft and also educations in service, transport, logistics and health care (labelled ‘other’ in Table 1). The comparison group includes individuals in the same age cohort not included in core. The 1990 and 1995 populations contained no data (2.4% in 1990 and 2.7% in 1995) and have been adjusted accordingly. The intention here is to use the above terms as a label on some of the actors in the creative economy in a similar way as Pratt (2004) uses the term ‘new media’ (121). The growth of the core as measured in proportion to the population of the age cohort and in relation to the comparison group can be observed in Table 1, from approximately 22% of the total cohort population in 1990 to 28% in 2008. Accordingly, the share of individuals belonging to the comparison group declines during the same time-period. The share of bohemians (individuals educated in journalism, design and art) doubles to more than 4% in 2008 while the share of consultants (individuals educated in engineering or computer science) drops to just under 8% in 2008. The growing total cohort population corresponds to the growth of the city during the studied time-period (Jörnmark, 2005). The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: the following two sections outlines the conceptual background describing Gothenburg and Norra Älvstranden and reflects on processes of urban transformation. Then follows the empirical section presenting the results with a subsection addressing creative professionals at Norra Älvstranden. The final section concludes.

Gothenburg and Norra Älvstranden

The last 20 years has seen an increase in employment in computer, research and business services globally (Dicken, 2011). Gothenburg is not an exception but presents some interesting deviations (Alvstam, 2003). Furåker (2010) concludes, for example, that the share of the labour force employed in material production in Gothenburg was halved between 1950 and 2006. In parallel, the most commercial industries of the tertiary sector (trade, transport, finance, real estate and insurance) show remarkable growth and make up 40% of total employment in 2006. The last years has seen a decline in the proportion of people employed in education, research, health and social care. These are sectors largely organized and funded by public authorities, and Furåker concludes that post-industrialism is predominantly a matter of market-oriented activities. Figure 1 displays population and employment growth in Gothenburg between 1990 and 2008.

Figure 1.

Population and employment growth in Gothenburg 1990–2008.

The city of Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden with a population of 530,000 and a positive net growth since 1982 (City of Gothenburg, 2008). The local labour market constitutes the surrounding 12 municipalities and employs approximately 700,000 people, including 20% of Sweden’s industry workforce. Gothenburg functions as a northern European shipping and logistics centre and houses the biggest port in Scandinavia that despite global economic turmoil shipped a record 887,000 containers (TEU)² in 2011 and an additional 1.7 million ferry passengers frequenting Denmark, the UK and Germany. The regional economy is dominated by an automotive industry cluster, with companies such as Volvo trucks and Volvo cars in Gothenburg. This cluster also includes several world leading suppliers within engineering products such as the ball bearing company SKF, the engineering consultancy and product development firm SEMCON and welding equipment manufacturer ESAB. In addition, the input from service providers has risen over the last 20 years.

Sweden is a peripheral country of some 9 million inhabitants with a technologically advanced industry capable of producing far more than the national demand which results in a highly export-dependent national economy. The welfare creation process has been dependent on the open economy and the liberalization of world trade. As the nation’s long running industrial engine with the highest share of foreign exports in 2011 (Swedish Trade Council, 2012), Gothenburg’s local labour market sits perfectly within a globalized context as international economic events have a significant impact on the local level in Gothenburg. Much like the case of Scotland and northeast England, Gothenburg faces the dual challenge of deindustrialisation and a peripheral location on the European continent (Houston et al., 2008; Shaw et al., forthcoming). However, it appears that these challenges have been handled as the Swedish economy has performed comparatively well from a European perspective post-2008 (Economist, 2011). The location of educated ‘talents’ has been given top priority as a local survival strategy, especially considering the continued down-sizing and flexibilisation of the labour force in most notably the automotive industry and its related spinoffs. The public sector remains a very large employer, in part due to a constant urbanization process paralleled with the growing responsibilities of the local municipalities and the comparatively high share of female labour participation in Sweden (Andersson, 1987; Brandén, 2013). There are also signs of a growing number of individuals employed within creative occupations, and a structural change of the Swedish economy over the last 20 years. KIBS and creative sectors have performed much better than hardware manufacturing (Tinagli et al, 2007; Wahlqvist, 2009). This development stems from an increased outsourcing of advanced service functions leading to the growth of highly competitive consulting firms. The growing importance of design has furthermore strengthened this subsector of the economy. Process development in-house in larger manufacturing firms in combination with service innovation and a constant international competitive pressure has also helped to shape the development. Meanwhile, Norra Älvstranden constitutes the forefront of urban renewal in Gothenburg and perhaps in the whole of Sweden as it is one of the largest and longest-running building projects in the country. The area is a former centre of shipyards, engineering workshops and manufacturing plants that saw the city become the biggest producer of ships in the world as measured in total tonnes in 1967. The area and its four major ship producers fell into decline following the drop in global demand on ships during the 1970s. Increased international competition and the oil crisis of 1973 caused demand to halt and production costs rose. Following structural economic change, the Gothenburg ship-building industry became increasingly dependent on substantial economic aid from the Swedish government, which in the end only helped to prolong the dying stage of Swedish ship making. This development ultimately led to substantial parts of the area becoming a brownfield. Hence, Norra Älvstranden can be argued the part of Gothenburg where economic restructuring and global change has had the most profound impact on the built and planned environment through place-based development. Few cities in Europe, with the exception of perhaps Hamburg and similar port cities, have the possibility to develop such vast lands of highly central and vacant property (e.g. Desfor et al., 2011; Hoyle, 2000).

Norra Älvstranden is located between 1 and 4 km west of the CBD which places the waterfront in close proximity to downtown Gothenburg (Figure 2). The industrial buildings are primarily located adjacent to water as they historically relied on the river as a means of transport. The industrial area to the west is dominated by port and storage facilities as well as oil refineries. It is evident from Figure 2 that substantial dock and industrial areas located in close proximity to the city centre stalls further expansion of waterfront residences. Given these various forms of urban barriers, Gothenburg has a small downtown that only connects west and south to the rest of the city. Plans are to further develop Norra Älvstranden eastwards towards the city centre in order to bridge the isolated downtown and to change the perception of the river as a barrier (Älvstranden Utveckling, 2009). A low bridge for bicyclist and pedestrians, similar to the Millennium Bridge in London, connecting directly to Norra Älvstranden from downtown Gothenburg, has been discussed, but the south shore of the river houses ferry terminals and blocks potential areas (Göteborgs-Posten, 2012).

Figure 2.

Downtown Gothenburg and the location of Norra Älvstranden, labelled waterfront.

Hahn (2009) studies the socioeconomic composition at Norra Älvstranden when addressing the question whether the redeveloped waterfront can be considered a city district accessible to all, thus making it a potential model of a socially sustainable city. Hahn finds that not only the residents at Norra Älvstranden are heterogeneous regarding household composition and age but also medium incomes and levels of education are remarkably higher than the city and the island of Hisingen equivalents (Hahn, 2009). Unemployment levels are simultaneously lower than the city/island of Hisingen average. Expensive housing in the area combined with rising demand for apartments should be considered factors behind the uneven socioeconomic composition, as compared to Gothenburg, at Norra Älvstranden. In addition, there are two dominant tenure forms at Norra Älvstranden: rental apartments and owner-occupied flats. Rental apartments include approximately 42% of the total housing stock (Borggren, 2011). Tenure forms play a key role in the socioeconomic composition of a neighbourhood (Jacobs, 1992; Hedin et al., 2012). The presence of older housing at Norra Älvstranden gives the area a mixed character (Appendix, Figure 4). It should be noted, however, that the houses are ordered on a block basis according to age, size and appearance. There are no significant differences among houses on, for example, the same street. The mixed character is limited as every area (bigger than block), rather than block, may vary. Thus, Norra Älvstranden is residentially zoned where waterfront redevelopment has taken place on designated ground while most of the older residential areas in a separate area where kept from demolition.

Socio-economic distribution in Gothenburg follows a core-periphery pattern with high-income residents living in the central parts and low-income residents in suburbs located mainly in the south, north and north-east (City of Gothenburg, 2008). The periphery of Gothenburg includes both exclusive residential zones with detached houses often on the waterfront, Norra Älvstranden being the prime example, and satellite suburbs dominated by immigrant populations (Andersson, 1998). Overcrowding remains a problem despite average annual construction of approximately 1500 new residential units since 1995 (City of Gothenburg, 2008). Studies show that overcrowding is a constant concern especially through the 1970s and 1980s indicating that this is a persistent urban issue (Borggren, 2011; Törnquist, 2001). Public or private rental apartments were in general considered easier to find in the 1970s and 1980s in part due to the fact that reconstruction had not begun. Further, the population of Gothenburg declined between 1970 and 1982, resulting in a growing supply of available housing. Construction of new residences in Gothenburg has two decisive factors related to the economic restructuring to take into consideration today: on the one hand, the building and concentration of residences in the central parts of the city in order to make full use of the infrastructure and to minimize commuting by car. On the other hand, construction of new residences also needs to take into consideration the growing demand for downtown office space following the expanding service industry. Taken together, these factors produce a problematic equation since recent growth of Scandinavian cities has been polycentric and resulted in larger metropolitan areas (Smidt-Jensen, 2007).

Urban transformation

The transformation from a labour- to a knowledge-based economy simultaneously alters the social profile of the city, meaning that the share of workers in manufacturing declines and/or regroups, while the service economy grows. The processes of urban transformation can take many forms; for example, it can happen through job creation and destruction and through a spatial division of labour that triggers socioeconomic effects on both a local and regional level (Hansen and Winther, 2010; Massey, 1984). Essletzbichler (2004) has showed that net employment growth in manufacturing hides vast numbers of job turnover resulting in, for example, migration. The recasting and spatial regrouping of the labour force in Gothenburg, and indeed elsewhere, takes place in parallel with the changing life-styles and residential preferences of, for example, the human and creative capital (Florida, 2002; Hutton, 2008; Markusen, 2006; Peck, 2005). As laid-off workers migrate in pursuit of work opportunities corresponding to their skills and experience, new labour needs to be attracted. This is clearly illustrated on the local level at Norra Älvstranden in Gothenburg, where blue-collar workers employed at the shipyards have been gradually replaced by white-collar workers at ICT research facilities and university campuses. It has been argued, following endogenous growth theory, that the most sought-after, educated and talented professionals, has the opportunity to choose between cities based on their respective individual preferences such as house, amenities, neighbourhood, diversity and tolerance (Florida, 2002; Glaeser et al., 1992). A demand for cities that can facilitate new residences, a multiplicity of amenities, educations and events emerges in what can be labelled a competitive knowledge economy with ever greater elements of culture, amenities and creativity functioning as bates (Clark et al., 2002). For example, arranging cultural events becomes an expanding business as new experiments of place-based growth projects develop continuously (Hall, 2000). Further, it has been noted that the rise of events occurs in synthesis with the preoccupation of urban governance with employment and financial growth rather than with facilitating local services in a turn away from ‘managerialism’ towards entrepreneurialism (Harvey, 1989). The expectations are high on the ‘new’ waterfront as local policymakers and planners hope that it will prove a vital part in creating a future resilience against global economic shifts in supply and demand. A new waterfront which is simultaneously a result of worldwide economic restructuring and globalization (Barca et al., 2012), transforming the city from a place of production to a place of consumption (Ek, 2007).

The core of the human capital needs to be understood and put in the context of urban competition for ‘talents’ and ‘creatives’ on a deregulated Swedish housing market. Due to the continuous growth of Gothenburg and its neighbouring municipalities, there is a constant pressure on local government to build more residences and to improve the heavily burdened infrastructure. Economic restructuring also leads to a physical transformation within the city as old industries disappear and new arrive, leaving downtown industrial sites vacant. Building on this, the demand for workplaces and residences located in the centre of the city increases and the educated urban middleclass are left with three basic types of residential locations: houses in expanding suburbia, sought-after downtown apartments or newly built flats on the waterfront. Jacobs (1970) highlights the importance of locating various types of firms and sectors in close proximity in order to achieve a competitive edge on other regions and cities. Following this logic, a diversified local economy, contrary to a specialized, needs to consist of a variety of different types of workplaces, workers and skills in order to grow. It is also likely that the urban transformation, based on the growing demand for housing, will spur processes of gentrification contrary to the diversification (Hammel, 2009; Karsten, 2003; Millard-Ball, 2002). Transformation from rental apartments to owner-occupied flats is a common characteristic of the Swedish housing market during this phase (Andersson et al., 2009). It is important to acknowledge that the on-going urban renewal trend in various parts of Gothenburg, most notably at Norra Älvstranden, is to some extent happening through gentrification and chains of migration (Magnusson Turner, 2008; Millard-Ball, 2002), as they offer new residential and workplace options under condition that certain income and education levels are met (Hahn, 2009).

Urban transformation can also be highly influenced by the process of containerization as demonstrated in Figure 5 (Appendix). In practice, containerization means that the use of containers in global shipping results in changed labour and logistic routines compared to the previous used shipping method of bulk break (Davidson, 2009). Costs, labour and time is significantly cut as logistics is improved with the use of trucks and rail. This process opened up new possibilities for municipalities to reuse vast areas of land. In Gothenburg, these areas also had the advantage of being closely located to the central business district. Hence, containerization was a vital component in igniting the rise of Norra Älvstranden which we will turn to in the next section.

The rise of Norra Älvstranden 1985–2012

Redevelopment at Norra Älvstranden begun in 1985 with the construction of new residences and can in this case be seen as a specific place-based development activity propelled by the local government. The project set out to spur urban growth through the construction of residences and workplaces by reusing abolished industrial areas. This new place-based development would help to increase employment in high-tech industries, advanced services and the creative and cultural occupations. The idea of Norra Älvstranden was heavily inspired by the redevelopment of London’s Docklands which had begun a few years earlier. A city-owned company, NUAB, was formed and assigned the task to develop Norra Älvstranden and to handle planning and acquisitions. A number of other events, including music concerts (Madonna, U2), the opening of a large hotel and a conference venue in a former machine shop and the establishment of a daily ferry operating between Norra Älvstranden and mainland Gothenburg, were also significant events in the rise of Norra Älvstranden. These events helped re-establish the reputation of Norra Älvstranden from a derelict no-go area to a new place of happenings and entertainment. The popular events also helped increase planners and politicians manoeuvrability regarding further developments in the area. However, it needs to be noted that the place-based development at Norra Älvstranden would not have been realized without a local political vision and the initial public purchase of large tracts of industrial wasteland in the 1980s. Construction of residences where slow at first and did not gain momentum until after the year 2000 with the establishment of a large research facility belonging to the telecommunications company Ericsson (Jörnmark, 2005). In 2006, SVT (Swedish Public Television) located at Norra Älvstranden in offices that was formerly the headquarters of camera manufacturer Hasselblad.

Figure 3 demonstrates that despite the economic turbulence of the IT-crash and the dot-com bubble in 2000, the establishment and growth of knowledge intensive business at Norra Älvstranden appears unaffected. Instead, the development at Norra Älvstranden post-1990 includes a growing resident and labour population primarily dominated by the IT-sector that houses employees in computer, research and business services. Figure 3 also demonstrates that workplaces clearly outnumber residences throughout the studied time-period. However, it should be noted that the growth of Norra Älvstranden coincides with a general citywide growth in Gothenburg affecting all sectors of the economy to some extent even though the biggest growth has been in the knowledge-intensive service sectors. Thus, rapidly growing numbers of professionals engaged in computer, research and business services; sectors of the economy which can be linked to both KIBS, the general service industry, and to the creative industries constitute the bulk of the labour force active at Norra Älvstranden.

Figure 3.

Number of residents and employed (ages 20–65) at Norra Älvstranden (NÄ) between 1990 and 2008.

Building on the findings above that showed a rapidly growing population at Norra Älvstranden, we will now describe the extent and time of in-migration to Norra Älvstranden. Elaborating on the origin of the resident population at Norra Älvstranden, Table 2 demonstrates migration events to Gothenburg and Norra Älvstranden in 1990, 2006 and 2008. Individuals residing in Gothenburg and/or at Norra Älvstranden on all three occasions, that is non-migrants, are here referred to as stayer. Late arrival refers to individuals residing in Gothenburg in 2006 and 2008 but not in 1990, thus in-migrating in the final phase of the studied time-period. Passing by describes individuals residing in Gothenburg in 2006 but not in 1990 or 2008. Arriving refers to individuals residing in Gothenburg in 2006 and 2008; hence, Leaving applies to individuals residing in Gothenburg in 1990 and not in 2006 and 2008. In-migration can occur from the rest of Sweden or from abroad. Returning means the individual resides in Gothenburg in 1990 and in 2008 but not in 2006. Total population has been adjusted for deceased during the period 1990–2007.

Table 2.

Migration event in percentage shares for total population (TP) and ages 20–65 in Gothenburg and Norra Älvstranden (NÄ) in 1990, 2006 and 2008 (GILDA, 2008).

Migration event	All ages	20–65 (1990)	20–65 (2006)	20–65 (2008)	NÄ (TP)
Late arrival	8.7%	2.2%	7.3%	8.1%	48.4%
Passing by	4.9%	1.9%	5.5%	5.5%	20.0%
Arriving	32.3%	17.8%	27.9%	27.8%	28.9%
Leaving	15.4%	23.4%	19.0%	18.8%	2.3%
Returning	0.8%	0.6%	1.0%	1.0%	0.0%
Late leave	2.9%	2.8%	2.3%	2.4%	0.1%
Stayer	35.1%	51.3%	37.0%	36.3%	0.3%
Sum	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Population sum	651,214	311,212	435,627	443,167	2386

As demonstrated in Table 2, Stayer is the most frequent migration event for all four categories (years and total population) in Table 2. However, it is by far most frequent in the age cohort 20–65 for the year 1990. A possible explanation could be that individuals 20 to 65 years old in 1990 had to a great extent established themselves on the labour market and where therefore the least likely to move away from Gothenburg in 2006 or 2008. Also, the 1990 age cohort 20–65 excludes children and youths from all three years in Table 2, whereas the same age cohort for the year 2006 includes all individuals from 4 years of age up to 49 in 1990. It can be assumed that the 2008 age cohort aged 20–65 years consequently includes all individuals from 2 years of age up to 37 in 1990. The effects of the 18-year timespan are important to bear in mind when studying Table 2. The population residing at Norra Älvstranden differs in migration compared to the population in Gothenburg. The year 1990 is practically irrelevant as the housing stock was limited at that time but helps to illustrate the growth period; hence, the last three categories in Table 3 (Returning, Late leave and Stayer) hold very few individuals. In Norra Älvstranden, 48.4% of the population were Late arrival which is explained by the growth of the area in recent years.

Table 3.

Migration event in percentage shares for Core ages 20–65 in Gothenburg (Gbg) and Norra Älvstranden (NÄ) in 1990, 2006 and 2008 (GILDA, 2008).

Migration event	Core 1990		Core 2006		Core 2008
Migration event	Gbg	NÄ	Gbg	NÄ	Gbg	NÄ
Late Arrival	1.7%	39.8%	5.7%	44.4%	7.2%	46.1%
Passing by	1.4%	15.0%	6.8%	26.0%	6.5%	25.1%
Arriving	14.2%	42.7%	32.0%	27.6%	32.3%	26.9%
Leaving	26.1%	1.6%	17.5%	1.6%	17.1%	1.6%
Returning	0.7%	0.0%	0.8%	0.0%	0.9%	0.0%
Late leave	2.3%	0.0%	2.1%	0.0%	1.9%	0.0%
Stayer	53.6%	0.8%	35.1%	0.4%	34.1%	0.3%
Sum	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Population sum	65,350	246	120,343	554	122,850	577

Table 3 expands on the categories residing at Norra Älvstranden and their migration behavior compared to the migration behavior of the core in Gothenburg. It is interesting to note that Passing by is a much more frequent migration event amongst core at Norra Älvstranden than it is in Gothenburg, indicating a comparatively more mobile core population at Norra Älvstranden.

Creative professionals at Norra Älvstranden 2006–2008

We have previously examined the extent of the growth of Norra Älvstranden and the forms of migration that took place. In this subsection, given these findings, we will now study the extent of individuals engaged in the creative industries in order to address the question of whether the waterfront has attracted a specific segment of the human capital here termed core. Table 4 shows resident and employed population in Gothenburg and at Norra Älvstranden together with relative change between 2006 and 2008 among individuals aged 20–65. Table 4 displays the night-time population (i.e. individuals residing in the area) and day-time population (i.e. individuals working in the area).

Table 4.

Change in resident and employed creative professionals ages 20-65 at Norra Älvstranden (NÄ) and Gothenburg (Gbg) between 2006 and 2008 (GILDA, 2008).

	Residence		Change	Workplace		Change
	2006	2008	%	2006	2008	%
Core
Gbg	91,594	91,518	−0.1	91,054	91,159	0.1
NÄ	299	424	41.8	5157	4900	−5.0
Consultants
Gbg	26,703	25,828	− 3.3	34,250	33,912	− 1.0
NÄ	119	173	45.3	3601	3280	− 8.9
Bohemians
Gbg	11,793	13,077	10.9	9850	10,872	10.4
NÄ	33	48	45.4	247	223	−9.8

It is evident from Table 4 that recent developments at Norra Älvstranden and for that matter also in Gothenburg do not reflect previous population growth. The time-period 2006–2008 is inconsistent and signals a slight change in the previous pattern of continuous growth. Looking specifically at the resident core population, Table 4 shows that the growth in Gothenburg has been halted while the core population at Norra Älvstranden increases by over 40%, however from small levels. The resident consultant population follows the same trend with a 45% increase at Norra Älvstranden and a 3% decrease in Gothenburg. These events are not in line with the population growth seen earlier (Figure 3) where the period 2006–2008, on the contrary, shows accelerated growth. The resident bohemian population differs from core and consultant in that it is not declining in Gothenburg during the time-period 2006–2008. Norra Älvstranden attracts more bohemians which means that the redeveloped waterfront has attracted individuals from core as well as from both of the subgroups. This has happened despite the fact that the subgroups are different regarding educational composition which may be interpreted as also being different in occupational and income characteristics. This is a finding in line with previous research on the ‘anti-suburbanism’, i.e. the unwillingness to migrate to the suburbs found amongst educated families in Europe (Karsten, 2003). Norra Älvstranden may in this respect emerge as an option for these urban families, potentially both bohemians and consultants, which appears more attractive than the suburbs while it simultaneously has a central location.

Turning to the labour force, Table 4 demonstrates that Norra Älvstranden has lost a share of the employed (i.e. core, consultants and bohemians) between 2006 and 2008. Earlier in this paper, we saw a drop in the total labour force at Norra Älvstranden beginning in 2006/2007 (Figure 3). Sensitivity to large single plant closures or relocations can cause sudden drops in employment and result in significant differences between two bordering years. Employment developments in Gothenburg between 2006 and 2008 concerning core and consultants can be described as stabilized and unchanged whereas bohemians display a 10% employment growth in Gothenburg. It can therefore be argued that Table 4 displays a somewhat inconsistent pattern of both growth and decline in residence and labour force between 2006 and 2008. Further, Table 4 demonstrates that the number of workplaces assigned to consultants declines during the time-period 2006–2008 at both Norra Älvstranden and for the city of Gothenburg as a whole. It has been theoretically discussed earlier in this paper that this group of individuals may prove vital in forming a future resilience towards economic threats such as downsizing, outmigration of human capital and transfer of investments by way of an urban variety of firms and residents (Florida, 2002; Glaeser et al., 1992; Jacobs, 1970). With this finding in mind, we make a closer examination of the most frequent branches employing consultants at Norra Älvstranden during the studied time-period. In addition, we observe whether the most frequent branches are affected by the decrease of employed consultants displayed in Table 4. Table 5 displays the number of consultants employed in the 10 most frequent branches at Norra Älvstranden in 2006 and 2008 using Swedish Industry code (e.g. Eriksson, 2009).

Table 5.

Number of consultants and total employed at the 10 biggest workplaces at Norra Älvstranden in 2006 and 2008 (GILDA, 2008).

Workplace specialized in:	2006	2008	Change	2006	2008	Change
Workplace specialized in:	Consult		%	Total		%
1. Telecommunications	997	966	−3.2	1433	1436	0.1
2. Technical consultancy	352	435	23.6	680	931	36.9
3. Engine manufacturing	142	133	−6.4	357	366	2.5
4. Finance	105	124	18.1	327	299	−8.6
5. Automotive industry	39	56	43.6	234	280	19.7
6. Automotive industry	35	55	57.1	218	269	23.4
7. Technical consultancy	107	135	26.2	238	252	5.9
8. Healthcare	21	20	−4.8	236	244	3.4
9. Wholesale Industrial equipment	60	55	−8.2	218	214	−1.9
10. Automotive industry	43	29	−32.6	177	164	−7.4

Approximate translations from Swedish Industry code index. The Swedish Industry code (SNI, 2002, 2007) was updated in 2007 resulting in minor regroupings which explains the change of telecommunications to communications. Branch duplicates in Table 5 indicate that the same branch occurs on several different workplace locations in the studied area.

Table 5 demonstrates that telecommunications constitute the largest branch among consultants at Norra Älvstranden in both 2006 and 2008. There is a decrease in number of consultants indicating that the total area decrease seen earlier in Table 4 also affects the most frequent branch in Table 5. Meanwhile, there is a substantial growth in technical consultancies at Norra Älvstranden. The number of consultants in automotive industry increases between 2006 and 2008 for two of the three workplaces observed in Table 5 indicating a mixed set of events affecting the labour force. Consultants, being as they are educated in engineering, can be found working in various positions ranging from design, wholesale, manufacturing, management to research and development. Thus, likelihood of finding a wide span of different positions and sections increases with the size of the employer. Table 5 also indicates the structure of the local economy in Gothenburg. Car and truck manufacturing, including its cluster of suppliers and consultancies (Alvstam, 2003; Ivarsson, 2002), constitutes a vital part of the economic output and of the local labour market. As services and manufacturing becomes more integrated through, for example, in-house sales and service units and through the increased supply of services offered by firms in manufacturing (Business Region Gothenburg, 2009; Ivarsson, 2002), it is important to understand that consultants working in manufacturing may also be part of the service industry.

Conclusion

This paper has been concerned with urban transformation and waterfront redevelopment in a postindustrial city and more specifically whether it has attracted resident or employed human capital. Through theoretical and empirical engagements, we have conceptualized waterfront redevelopment, seen here as a long-lasting place-based development activity occurring over several economic cycles, and demonstrated an example of the growth of a northern European waterfront intended to house both homes and workplaces. For comparative purposes, this paper has also studied the general population in Gothenburg, linking the events taking place at Norra Älvstranden with those of the larger metropolitan area.

The development in recent years (2006–2008) at Norra Älvstranden shows a somewhat inconsistent pattern. The number of consultants residing at Norra Älvstranden increases during the studied time-period, which is a noticeable finding based on the fact that the core continues to move out of Gothenburg throughout the period 1990–2008. Hence, it can be argued that waterfront redevelopment attracts a number of individuals belonging to the core, i.e. a substantial share of the human capital. Meanwhile, the development of Norra Älvstranden has also rendered a number of new job opportunities in high-tech industries and consultancies in close proximity to the new developments. Despite these new establishments, the number of consultants working at Norra Älvstranden declined between 2006 and 2008, a trend which also is in line with contemporary developments in the city. One suggestion is that the global financial crisis which primarily affected Sweden in the fall of 2008 resulted in early layoffs in the high-tech sector, ultimately also affected the core and the subgroup consultants. The automobile manufacturing sector in Gothenburg, as well as its foreign competitors in Europe, has a substantial amount of engineers and designers hired on short-term consultancy contracts designed to allow immediate termination in case of a drop in demand. Indeed, this is not an isolated phenomenon; the flexibilisation of the labour force through, for example, short-term contracts and consultancies is a vital part of the contemporary economy (Beyers, 2002; Harvey, 2011). This could serve to explain the sudden falls in employment at Norra Älvstranden. Further, it is also demonstrated here that it is problematic to categorize activities in services and manufacturing (e.g. Daniels, 2012; Neffke and Henning, 2012). A substantial part of the explanation lies in the difficulty of measuring where the value-adding activities takes place. Findings from the study area shows that proximity to larger manufacturing firms, research intensive plants and the university together with the possibility to meet face-to-face are vital. The combination of city proximity and development of housing and knowledge-intensive workplaces creates location strength that has a wider impact in economic terms. We also find it difficult to try and lump subsectors of the creative professionals together based on residential or workplace preferences. This shows the complexity within the larger service economy, where policymakers need to balance different perceptions of location advantages for individuals in the respective subsectors. There is no size that fits all, and the development takes time and will during this process be influenced by conflicting planning goals. The complexity is additionally visible through location of firms and the location of people. These developments might coincide in place-based redevelopment, but changes in business cycles, larger infrastructure investments and preferences of potential residents tend to change over time. Particularly, larger infrastructure projects with implications on the national scale, in combination with local transport initiatives clearly impacts the attractiveness of these place-based development projects. This is perhaps most clearly illustrated in the lack of bohemians residing at Norra Älvstranden. Thus, following Hansen and Winther (2010) further observations of the spatial divisions of talent on an intra-urban level would be desirable. The lack of bohemians at Norra Älvstranden runs contrary to the idea of the redeveloped waterfront being inclusive and socially sustainable; thus, it is inevitable to conclude that Norra Älvstranden, as an example of a place-based development project, appears to fail in meeting key sustainable development goals. Achieving a balanced local resident and/or professional population, for example, through a mix of individuals with various educations needs to be prioritized from a policy perspective if the ambition is to promote inclusive place-based development projects.

Norra Älvstranden symbolizes, through the economic restructuring taking place, global changes placed in a local context in Gothenburg. Results in this paper show that the studied group of human capital labelled consultants establish themselves at Norra Älvstranden while the same group migrates from Gothenburg. Hence, the local developments at Norra Älvstranden, run by a partnership of business interests and local government, attract while the city loses ‘talents’. It can then be argued that waterfront redevelopment in Gothenburg to a certain extent run contrary to the ruling suburban migration trend among core and consultants. Increased pressure on the housing market combined with access to land located downtown constitutes the chief mechanisms behind the rise of Norra Älvstranden. The new residences erected at Norra Älvstranden are characterized by a higher rate of resident turnover compared to the older and partly gentrified areas. High prices on new flats and houses combined with high monthly costs of living and a neoliberal competitive economy are important factors when explaining the mobile population of residents at Norra Älvstranden. A further possible explanation to this mobility could be that vacancy chains from low-status areas of the city to high-status (Millard-Ball, 2002) have come to include Norra Älvstranden. It is telling of economic restructuring that the parts of Gothenburg that earlier was home of the shipyards and factories now make way for various creative and talented professionals, which are part of the expanding private service industry. Future research would benefit from the involvement of international comparisons with micro data in order to further strengthen the debate and theoretical framework in relation to policy alongside a deepened analysis of the causal mechanisms triggering the educational divide, i.e. the bigger population of consultants vis-à-vis bohemians, at the waterfront in Gothenburg.

Footnotes

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes

Appendix

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