The Future of Rural Settlement Structure in Finland
Abstract
The structure of rural settlement in Finland is examined in the light of the structural and spatial processes of concentration and dispersal that have taken place in society, employing coordinate-based population and occupation variables supplied by the Central Statistical Office. Future prospects for the spatial structure are seen to include a concentration of growth around a small number of provincial centers and the thoroughfares connecting them and in the region of the capital, Helsinki, while the traditional hierarchy of centers is expected to break down at the lower levels, i.e., where the small towns and centers of local administrative districts are concerned. The more remote country districts are in turn seen to be separating out into those struggling against the forces of depopulation, accounting for the majority of the traditional rural areas, and those deriving new growth potential from leisuretime activities.
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