Who participates in the neighbourhood development?

The participation of the residents in neighbourhood development is one way of promoting public health and individual well-being. Some people participate and others do not. This partial study, which is part of Karin Fröding's thesis work, examines people who participate in neighbourhood development. The socio-demographic factors, opinions and behaviours, amongst 1,160 respondents, who have answered the questionnaire 2004 in Norrköping, Västerås and Örebro, are analysed in a cross-sectional study. The single most important factor for participation in neighbourhood development was previous experience of participation, such as influencing municipal policy by contacting politicians, submitting citizen proposals or the like. Discussing political issues with the neighbours was also a behaviour that influenced participation in neighbourhood development. Apart from these other factors it was only the country of birth that had a significant impact on the degree of participation. People born outside of the Nordic countries participated to a lesser degree.