Governing ‘places that don’t matter’: agonistic spatial planning practices in Finnish peripheral regions

Subnational and Dynamic Conceptualisations of Planning Culture: The Culture of Regional Planning and Regional Planning Cultures in Finland

“…Many planning actors in Finland share the understanding that tackling challenges resulting from the growth of metropolitan areas is a key task for planning at the regional scale. This is a significant deviation from earlier attitudes about regional planning, which emphasised balanced development and safeguarding services and economic livelihoods throughout the country (Mattila et al, 2020). The task of regional planning in this context was often to address planning issues and regulate land uses in rural and peripheral areas for which no detailed master plan existed.…”

“…But people know each other. (Interviewee 8,Lapland Regional Council) While actors in Lapland often feel alienated from the central government and the Helsinki capital region in the South of Finland, they consider themselves as part of the European Union and see an ally in the EU (Mattila et al, 2020). The support from the EU level includes both financial resources distributed to the region in the context of EU Cohesion Policy and conceptual and discursive influences related to urban and regional planning.…”

“…regarding cross-border cooperation), and align objectives and strategies with EU policy documents (e.g. the Territorial Agenda) (Mattila et al, 2020 ).

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“…Following the ideals of the welfare state, Finnish regional policy traditionally emphasised balanced development throughout the country. Following EU priorities, regional policy is currently more concerned with juggling the objectives of competitiveness and cohesion, often favouring urban regions over peripheries (Mattila et al, 2020 ). Due to these structural changes at the societal and administrative level, regional planning cultures in regions as well as the culture of regional planning were forced to adapt and follow the direction provided.…”

Ageing, therefore marginal: demographic trends and institutional capacity in marginal Chilean municipalities

“…Second, these revengeful and antagonistic attitudes can affect the administration of marginal places even when electoral results do not reflect a populist shift. For example, marginal places can adopt an antagonistic attitude also in relation to the definition of their local identity and its consequences for planning decisions and processes (Mattila et al 2020).…”