Territorial cohesion under pressure? Welfare policy and planning responses in Austrian and Swedish Peripheries

Austria and Sweden were both relatively unaffected by the eco-
nomic crisis, challenges of the provision of welfare still exist, at least
in peripheries. Economic downturn and outmigration have limited
demands and increased the costs for services of general interest.
This paper aims to discuss welfare policy and planning strategies
for peripheries from a planning cultural sensitive perspective. It will
answer how much the value of territorial cohesion is under pressure
for peripheries in traditional welfare states, identifying a mismatch
between policy levels. The results indicate a stepwise mainstreaming
of competitiveness goals in favour of urban regions, leaving the
challenges of peripheries to policy responses of single municipalities.