Den nyliberala staden
-Ett Kalmarperspektiv
Abstract Contemporary cities find themselves today in a fierce competition against other cities over company establishment and in -migration. In this competition, the city?s main objective is to become an attractive site of capital accumulation. As this happens, the pressure on the vulnerable groups in society increases, leading to a social geographic polarization. I have examined how the shift towards neoliberalism has affected a city on the fringe as Kalmar. How is the postindustrial urban space constructed? I found this important to analyze since it put two important questions in the light: For whom, and for which purpose do we build the city today? My questions have been:v What are Kalmar municipality?s strategies to develop Kalmar?v What are the results of this strategy in the urban space?v What are the consequences of this strategy?The research has been a case study of the city of Kalmar with a qualitative deductive approach where David Harvey?s theories about the city in a capitalist system have been the underpinning structure. My theoretical start off point has been that the forcing logic of the capital accumulation and the liberation of neoliberal theories are two crucial elements in understanding the social geographic divisions within the city. Kalmar has a strong focus on attractivity and the social geographic division within the city is apparent and distinct. The leasehold flat numbers has decreased, but Kalmar has not sold out its public good leaseholds in any large extent. Kalmar tries to create integration and counter segregation through the concentration of the urban space. The creation of the so called mixed use city is one of Kalmar?s methods to achieve these goals. A decreased state support within the housing sector and a fierce competition with other cities implies a very difficult task for contemporary cities when building the sustainable city of the future. The postindustrial city of today primarily gets its shape and form from the evaluation done by building companies and the City Planning Offices. Building the attractive city under neoliberal theories has lead to socioeconomic polarization, the privatization of public space, and less insight in the planning process. Capitalism through the capital accumulation process creates these patterns in the urban space, and through them we reshape the city and in the process, ourselves.