Abstract
The development of social capital is acknowledged as key for sustainable social development. Little is known about how social capital changes over time and how it correlates with sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. This study was conducted in 46 neighbourhoods in Umeå Municipality, northern Sweden. The aim was to examine neighbourhood-level characteristics associated with changes in neighbourhood social capital and to discuss implications for local policies for sustainable social development. We designed an ecological study linking survey data to registry data in 2006 and 2020. Over 14 years, social capital increased in 9 and decreased in 15 neighbourhoods. Higher levels of social capital were associated with specific sociodemographic factors, but these differed in urban and rural areas. Urban neighbourhoods with a higher proportion of older pensioners (OR = 1.49, CI: 1.16–1.92), children under 12 (OR= 2.13, CI: 1.31–3.47), or a lower proportion of foreign-born members (OR= 0.32, CI: 0.19–0.55) had higher odds for higher social capital levels. In rural neighbourhoods, a higher proportion of single-parent households was associated with higher levels of social capital (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.04–1.98). Neighbourhood socioeconomic factors such as income or educational level did not influence neighbourhood social capital. Using repeated measures of social capital, this study gives insights into how social capital changes over time in local areas and the factors influencing its development. Local policies to promote social capital for sustainable social development should strive to integrate diverse demographic groups within neighbourhoods and should increase opportunities for inter-ethnic interactions.
Highlights
Following the UN Sustainable Development Goals, set in Agenda 2030, social sustainability has increasingly become a goal for urban policy and planning and for local and regional developmental strategies
This study examined changes in social capital in 46 urban and rural neighbourhoods in Umeå, a fast-growing municipality in northern Sweden, as a proxy for social sustainain Umeå, a fast-growing municipality in northern Sweden, as a proxy for social sustainable ble development in the study setting
Contradicting other studies that argued that the COVID-19 pandemic erodes social capital [44], our results showed that neighbourhood social capital increased during the pandemic, in high-socialcapital neighbourhoods
Summary
Following the UN Sustainable Development Goals, set in Agenda 2030, social sustainability has increasingly become a goal for urban policy and planning and for local and regional developmental strategies. Social sustainability is the least-developed dimension of the sustainable development discourse [1], compared to environmental and economic sustainability. There is an agreement that social sustainability implies values such as e.g., social inclusion, social interaction and participation, safety, and a sense of cohesion in local areas [2,3]. Sustainable social development indicates a process of change towards specific social values. Assessment and measurement of social sustainability remains a challenge [1]. Social capital, defined as “social networks, the reciprocities that arise from them and the value of these
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