Mobility Among Young Adults

Mobility among young adults

Mobility among young adults is the topic of this project.

With point of departure in two Danish semi-rural settings with less obvious flagship attractions and cultural assets. Those compared to high amenity settings, the doctoral dissertation contributes to the limited scientific knowledge. The knowledge of the perceptions of place attachment and place attractiveness among young adults who belong or soon potentially will belong to the professional category of knowledge workers. The doctoral work provides insight into place-related preferences and behaviours of knowledge workers. That offers an understanding of why they might move to and stay in peripheral places. Further, the study is a locality-specific qualitative research that is devoted to understanding the motivations. Also experiences and trajectories of these individuals, in order to understand the underlying factors. Those associated with the movements of knowledge workers to and from Danish peripheral areas.

Young adults and mobility

Hence, the dissertation seeks to examine place-based opportunities and constraints related to peripheral places. Also what makes these places more or less attractive than other places, when and for whom. In addition, the study investigates the role of place and place attachment in the lives of young people. Also how this contributes in shaping life trajectories. Because of the abstract and often emotionally and subjectively understood nature of place attachment. Also place attractiveness, issues of proximity, distance, hopes and aspirations. Also social relations, culture and economy is of particular interest in the dissertation.

Expected result of Mobility among young adults

Apart from the dissertation, a number of popular scientific papers will be produced during the project. The researcher will also participate in The Danish Science Festival. This  organised by The Ministry of Higher Education and Science. This will contribute to showcasing the research and also support the relationship between research and the general public.

Read another project.

The ability of places to attract knowledge workers, who arguably bring new innovations and skills, is regarded by policy makers and economists alike to be of fundamental importance to local and regional development (Junge & Skaksen 2010; Kabisch et al. 2006; Polèse & Shearmur 2006). This is due to pressures on Western situated companies to increase their competitiveness through innovation and knowledge creation, as these can no longer compete on traditional production due to relatively high production costs compared to Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In order for places to facilitate economic development and to ensure that existing companies do not move to other locations, the subject is receiving a high policy focus worldwide, and it has resulted in an intense inter-place competition, as it has made the mobility of a talented workforce central when approaching regional development (Hansen & Niedomysl 2009; Stockdale 2004; Hörnström et al. 2012; Artz & Artz 2003).

As in many Western countries, the subject of attracting human capital is currently high on the agenda in Denmark, since the future growth and sustainability of the peripheral areas of Denmark is reported to be a question of how to draw a highly educated workforce (Tanvig 2010). However, this is a major challenge, since the peripheral areas of Denmark have been affected the most by the financial crisis of the past years in terms of a declining influx of knowledge workers (Aner & Hansen 2014). In addition, young people often have a desire to reach out for education and to see the world and in line with this, there has been a steady increase in the outflow of young people from the peripheral regions of Denmark (Jørgensen 1994; Waara 1996).

• Literature studies to identify prior research within the field and to establish what is missing in the context of rural-to-urban migration among young adults.
• Desk research to identify national and international best and worst cases.
• Field research in Denmark in the form of qualitative in-depth interviews with 83 individuals, age range 18-40.
• Field research in Cleveland, Ohio and Carlsbad, California in the form of meetings and interviews with city officials, regional planners and branding managers about the ways in which they are trying to attract and retain citizens, as well as how they are working specifically with talent attraction.
• Dissemination of research results to project partners.

The dissertation is designed as an anthology consisting of four papers and an overarching framework that connects the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the papers. As an overarching ambition, the aim of the project is to provide an in-depth account of young people’s experiences with peripheral places through the following research question:

What are young people’s relationships to peripheral places based on and in which ways are place attachment practised and socially constructed?

Apart from the dissertation, a number of popular scientific papers will be produced during the project. The researcher will also participate in The Danish Science Festival, organised by The Ministry of Higher Education and Science. This will contribute to showcasing the research and also support the relationship between research and the general public.

The researcher is in close collaboration with the municipalities involved in the project, and through this partnership, it is expected that the municipalities will gain explicit knowledge and insight about how to deal with the challenges related to youth out-migration from the peripheral areas of Denmark. The municipalities will be able to use this knowledge specifically in their regional planning.