Special report: Urban Journey to the Centre of Sweden (2/2)

This is the second part of our initiatory journey to eight Swedish cities that are partners in URBACT projects. After Umeå, Gothenburg, Lidingö and Karlskrona here you will discover Södertalje, Herrljunga, Solna and Malmö and glimpse their personalities and the challenges they are facing, a fine way of getting a feel for Swedish urban culture before attending the URBACT annual conference in Stockholm (24 and 25 November). So follow our guides.

5th Stop: SödertäljeIn Sweden, Herrljunga is known, above all, for it cider, which is the most successful in the country. This little city, with a population of 9,300, developed around a railway hub at the beginning of the twentieth century and remains a important junction today. Elin Liljebäck, head of information and development for the municipality, says, "Here, we are an hour by train from Gothenburg, the second largest city in the country, and from five universities. Around 1.5 million people can come to Herrljunga in less than an hour!".

The city is participating in the URBACT Urban N.O.S.E. project, which aims to support the development of social enterprises. Two sectors dominate the economy in Herrljunga: agricultural production and transformation and the manufacturing industry. The not-for-profit sector is very dynamic, with a lot of volunteer and non-governmental organisations, but few businesses. "The challenge for us is to broaden the prospects for entrepreneurial activities to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the non-profit sector" Elin explains.

What does she criticise about her city? "We have not yet made the most of our assets, such as our good geographic location and our entrepreneurial environment. Perhaps it is linked to a lack of self-confidence among the inhabitants." What does Elin like most about Herrljunga? "The feeling of everything being close, not only geographically, but also thanks to the strength of our social networks. People look out for each other and are very involved in the development of their city."

7th Stop: Malmö

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