Making home in a mono-industrial urban region

Urbanisation processes drastically shape both metropolises and peripheral spaces, but urban theory and politics tend to focus on the former. Small urban regions are particularly overlooked. This project studies how home is made in urban regions reliant on a single industry, where the key industry's divestments and investments cause locally significant disruptions. Studying questions of housing and home-making from the dwellers’ perspective allows to illustrate the social consequences of urbanisation processes unfolding in these “mono-industrial” urban regions. The project focuses on a small urban region in Northern Finland (Kemi) where forestry companies are significant economic actors. The project adopts a case study design. The findings of the project can help spark a broader debate on the wellbeing and justice of contemporary urbanisation processes, beyond the issues concerning the dominant cities.