Malmö Creativity Research

Until 1995 Malmö was an industrial city with its major occupations within industrial production. However, as in most western cities, production sites closed down. 27.000 jobs were lost between 1990 and 1995. In 1995 Malmö experienced the highest number of unemployment in Sweden. This development created a financial crisis for Malmö, since no new workplaces replaced the closed down industry. Between 1996 and 1999 different initiatives helped Malmö in overcoming the financial fall. Among these were the construction of Öresundsbron (bridge connecting Copenhagen and Malmö), Malmö University and the City Tunnel.

Malmö is becoming a knowledge city. By 2005 the major economical sectors in Malmö had changed to “Cultural services” (i.e. Restaurants) 8,0 %, “Education and Research” 9,3 %, “Finance and Consultancy” 19,0 %  and “Commerce and Communication” 23,8 %.  This development has ment a change in the demographics of Malmö and especially of the area called Möllevång or "Möllan" as the locals call it.

“Möllan” a site of Neo-Bohemia?

Möllevångstorget (Möllevång Square) has turned into a staging ground for young students and artists. Today it is an area of Malmö with a large group of Swedes not originally from Malmö. In stead many living in Möllan are from other parts of Sweden or other countries. Students are no longer migrating to Lund, Göteborg or Stockholm to go to university, instead Malmö is becoming a university city attracting students from different parts of Sweden.  

Möllavången (an area of the southern innercity) is an example of the post-industrial city with its decay, empty industrial buildings and deterioration of the neighbourhood. Möllan has a history of being one of Swedens most dangerous places to live. Previously, Möllan was best known for its immigrants and high crime rate, poverty and social exclusion. Until five years ago, not many ethnic Swedes moved to Möllan to live, keeping rents low and affordable to the expanding number of students moving to Malmö to study at Malmö University (opened in 1998) and looking for cheap housing in the city center.

With Malmö’s new patterns of production - culture and technology, new entertainment venues has opened with themes in accordance with the local ethos of funky, hip, and creative culture. All around Möllan you still find yourself immersed into Arabic, Asian and African culture since most restaurants and grocery shops are owned by foreigners. The demographics of Möllan quickly became multi-ethnic, a place where students would go to eat kebab in the evening.

At Möllan you can finde anything from galleries and performance venues to bars, restaurants and coffee shops. The coffee shop ‘Simpan’ opened and little by little more and more restaurants and clubs opened within a radius of about 1 km. Today, Möllan has turned into a place of vibrant nightlife attracting not only the middle class Swedes who used to go out mainly around Lilla Torget (a square in the city center), but also the media such as the paper- and internet based Dygnet Runt[1]. This has made the educated Swedes and young professionals (the average resident in Möllan is between 20 and 25 years old) attracted to the newly hip neighbourhood. Now it is even common for taxies to be transporting the middle class Swedes for a night out in Möllan, something that was unthinkable just ten years ago.

This development is leading to an escalation of home values and rents. New investments in renovating the apartments are among the current developments in Möllan. However, it should be unemployment and social exclusion is still a reality next to the neo-bohemic development.