ABSTRACT
Stockholm represents a prime example of an internationally successful and competitive city, structured around a high-cost, innovation-driven economy. But it is also a socially, economically, and ethnically highly segregated city with severe problems of exclusion, rule of law, and poverty in a number of neighbourhoods. As in many capital regions in Europe and beyond, segregation is deepening, but the process is especially rapid in Stockholm. In 2014, after eight years of liberal-conservative rule, a left-leaning majority took control of Stockholm City Council and spearheaded initiatives against inequality and segregation. As one important measure to achieve this goal, the city initiated a ‘Commission for a Socially Sustainable Stockholm’. The work of the Commission, which in a direct policy development sense addresses inequalities and spatial differences in life conditions within the city, is the focus of this case study. The key issues addressed relate to the overall RELOCAL project hypothesis on the role of locally produced public policy and their role in spatial justice and democratic empowerment. Empirically based on interviews and document analyses, the chapter describes the work of the Commission and analyses the processes in place that promote and inhibit the Commission and the city to mitigate segregation, with a focus on the role of local power.
