The future of Torvalla: a place for participation, engagement and chance

The project is an interactive evaluation study of the work being carried out to create meeting places for young people (16-24 year) in Torvalla, Östersund. The aim is to produce knowledge about social change work in locally grounded community work.

Four yougers hanging around on a square-bench

In August 2021, the Östersund Municipal Council adopted the Torvalla Development Strategy (see Strategi Utveckling Torvalla 2021–2030), which aims for the Municipality of Östersund, in collaboration with a range of actors from civil society (popular education organizations, associations, engaged adults) and the local business sector, to work towards stimulating long-term change and development in the Torvalla area of the Municipality of Östersund.

The objective of this change-oriented work is to strengthen both the physical and perceived connections between different areas of Torvalla and to ensure that the district is experienced as a safer and more attractive place to live and operate in. The strategy is built on three key concepts: collaboration, dialogue, and inclusion.

The present project, Torvalla’s Future: A Meeting Place for Participation, Engagement, and Safety, was initiated by the Municipality of Östersund/the Adminstration of Culture and Leisure in close collaboration with Save the Children.

The purpose of the project is therefore twofold:

to contribute, through accompanying research, to development-oriented learning based on the work being carried out regarding meeting places for young people and young adults in the Torvalla district.
to produce scientifically grounded knowledge about change processes generated through locally embedded community work.

The project is based on an ethnographic methodology, including participant observations, informal conversations, formalized individual and group interviews, as well as document analysis. The project can thus be described as a case study of local community work and mobilization processes.