The vision for Göteborg for 2020: 20,000 new jobs in a labour market region with 50% growth.
Representatives from local government and industry have developed these plans together. A clear manifesto defines how the objectives will be met in three different parts:
• The Göteborg region will grow by 50% in order to become a big city region on a European scale with 1.5 million inhabitants. The labour market region will grow geographically by investing in public transport for over 500,000 inhabitants. The region will then be large enough to measure up to other leading city regions in Europe - both in terms of growth and attractiveness, and will be comparable in size to the Brussels region.
• The region’s core will be strengthened to the benefit of the whole region’s development.
Modern companies in the growing knowledge economy, i.e. those who will generate even more jobs alongside the still crucial manufacturing industry, require creative and dense environments in order to grow. Therefore, room will be made for 30,000 new housing units and a further 40,000 offices right at the core of the region in central Göteborg.
• Sustainable development will be prioritised to create a world class ‘green’ show-case.
Throughout the 2010 decade, more and more far-reaching requirements will be set to ensure sustainability - from a social, environmental and economic point of view. This will give West Sweden’s industry great potential for development, although it is already a trailblazer in terms of wind and wave energy and other high tech developments. The region is home to excellent research and a business sector which is prepared to take responsibility for marketing tomorrow’s environmentally friendly products and services.
-We believe in this and we can see the potential for a larger labour market thanks to increased commuting. In Göteborg, there is also a collaborative climate where everyone is working in the same direction, says Anneli Hulthén, social democrat, Mayor and Chairman of the Göteborg city executive board and one of the people behind the vision.
Behind the programme is also Jan Hallberg, conservative and leader of the opposition in Göteborg as well as chairman of the Göteborg Region Association of Local Authorities, Göran Johansson, former Mayor and Chairman of the Göteborg city executive board but still currently chairman of Business Region Göteborg and Göteborg & Co, the city’s development and marketing company, Finn Johnsson, chairman of West Sweden Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as chairman of the board of the leading vehicle manufacturer AB Volvo, based in Göteborg, as well as Gunilla Almgren, chairman of Swedish Federation of Business Owners of Göteborg.
Anneli Hulthén, who was an environment-focused EU Parliamentarian in Brussels from 1995 to 2002, knows how much hard work and governmental support is required to push this green vision forward.
-You need to be as open as possible, says Hulthén. We need to collaborate with businesses, the academic sphere and volunteer organisations such as churches and societies.
She also considers a change in the collaboration with the research and education sector as crucial:
-There should be much more collaboration and cross-sector cooperation between research and education institutions for the best possible societal development.
Once the vision for 2020 is met, then the result will mean 20,000 new jobs in a larger labour market region in Västra Götaland, gravitating around Göteborg. Improved public transport, aiming at a one hour maximum commute to work, will mean that an average resident of Borås, situated 60 km east of Göteborg, will have access to a labour market of 600,000 potential jobs, instead of 60,000.
-At the moment, we are going through an economic crisis. By creating new, but also more business within various sectors, Göteborg and the region will be stronger in the long run, says Anneli Hulthén.
The conservative leader of the opposition in Göteborg, Jan Hallberg, also sees the potential for the area to emerge from the crisis in a strong position:
-When the economic climate is good, smaller innovative companies have a harder time keeping their head above water. But now, with larger problems looming over us, promising opportunities are opening up.
Jan Hallberg also believes that improved infrastructure, both physically and in terms of training, and a shift in perspective in terms of company climate are important.
| Today | Year 2020 | |
| Number of municipalities: | 19 | 33 |
| Number of inhabitants | 1 000 000 | 1 500 000 |
| Largest municipality: | Göteborg | Göteborg |
| Number of inhabitants: | 501 429 (Sweden’s second largest city)
|
| Number of districts | 21 |
| Annual budget: | 35 billion kronor |
| Number of employees: | 45 000 |
| Municipal tax: | 21.3 percent (nationwide average 20.7) along with the regional tax of 31.75 percent. |
The East Indiaman Götheborg, a ship of over 40 meters long, was built in 1738. She was owned by the affluent East India Company based in Göteborg which imported exclusive goods from China.
On the 12th September 1745 she ran around and sunk outside the entrance to Göteborg’s harbour with a cargo which included porcelain and tea.
In the mid eighties, the wreck was rediscovered in the muddy depths of the city’s harbour and the china remains, though smashed but still preserved after over 200 years on the sea, could be saved.
At the same time, plans to rebuild the wrecked East Indiamen were being discussed. From the mid-nineties and for around the next years, a replica of the ship was built in the old Göteborg shipyard based on the original but with the significant difference that a motor was added.
On 6th June 2003, the Swedish national day, Götheborg III was launched in the presence of the Swedish royal family.The East Indiaman Götheborg sailed away on 2nd October 2005 from Göteborg heading for China and arrived in Canton in June 2006. She then went on to follow her old 18th century route, with the exception of a stop in Freemantle, Australia. She also called in at Shanghai, Göteborg’s Chinese twin city.
The East Indiaman returned on 9th June 2007 escorted by thousands of leisure boats and hundreds of thousands of people lined the docks and beaches of Göteborg to welcome her. The ship was welcomed back to Göteborg by the Swedish king and the Chinese president Hu Jintao who was on a stately visit to Sweden.
The East Indiaman Götheborg has played a key role in reinforcing West Swedish ties to China; 332 000 people visited the ship during its Chinese journey. Outside of Sweden, the journey resulted in 10,000 articles in the media, 1,300 TV segments and 200 company events. The total media value of the newspaper articles and TV segments is worth 3.5 billion SEK. The beautiful ship has linked Göteborg’s commercial history and business in an very interesting manner, with worldwide companies such as Volvo and SKF sponsoring the project. The East Indiaman has also become a symbol for a part of the growing tourism and events industry in Göteborg.
The Västra Götaland region with Göteborg leading the way is next best in the whole of Europe for trade and industry investment in research and development. Read more about the region’s proven ability to manage tough changes – and about ‘A city with an agenda’.
Greater Göteborg invests its way out of the crisis and creates 20,000 new jobs. Read more about how Göteborg will grow to a region the size of Brussels.
In Västra Götaland economic growth and the environmental are not contradictory agendas. Read more on how Europe looks to the region’s forward-thinking ideas.
Sweden and Norway have the world’s first cross-border marine national park.
Read more about the Kosterhavets National Park in Västra Götaland which has cost 150 million Swedish crowns to set up.
