Local culture and change agency in old industrial places: spinning forward and digging deeper

Figures & data

Figure 1. How the agency and culture interact.

Figure 2. Location of the case studies. Source: Linda Stihl and © Lantmäteriet.

Figure 3. Active local actors during three phases. Grey fill = mainly reproductive agency. Grey hatching = change agency.

Table 1. Mapping of manifestations of culture (extended version with references in Appendix 2).

	Borås (entrepreneurial culture)	Kiruna (company town culture)
Heroes	FROM: Heroes modelling financial success and self-made men. TO: Heroes modelling financial success, but also support for Borås and networking.	FROM: First patron of core firm TO: Heroes challenging local culture, showing possible futures outside mining. BUT strong heroes (like core firms and core firms CEOs) remain, and some actors are mentioned as anti-heroes.
Symbols	Current symbols are all created after 2000 and many are linked to heroes. Symbols include: The transformed river area symbolizing start of public-private cooperation and pride in heritage. A sculpture of Pinocchio symbolizing the start of Borås as a city of sculptures. Textile Fashion Center, a Triple Helix. symbolizing a proud textile heritage and forward-looking melting pot. The new Football stadium and winning the national league in 2006. Technical development in smart textiles symbolizes being a leading TEKO region again.	Symbols have multiple meanings, showing the complexity of local culture. Less changes in symbols, compared to Borås. Symbols include: The core firm, symbolizing a foundation for Kiruna. The landscape, a resource and source of conflict Icehotel, symbolizing opportunities outside the mine. The move, symbolizing the core firms continued importance and control, as well as cropped local agency.
Values	FROM: a ‘Knalle spirit’, local independence and an understanding of the value of money. TO: an entrepreneurial spirit formed by cooperation and networking as well as a continued local independence, an understanding of the value of money and a local pride over the city and its heritage.	Local culture continues to be supportive of core firm and core firm’s boom and bust periods influence overall local mood. Signs of changes in values through More cooperations and networking More appreciation of entrepreneurship and alternative futures. More local agency perceived