Gentrifiering av den gotländska landsbygden : En fallstudie om deltidsboendens inverkan på Fårö, Östergarnslandet & Storsudret

The purpose of this study is to examine the second-home owners of three peripheral parts of Gotland; Fårö, Östergarnslandet and Storsudret. Who they are, what consequences their presence give the local society and if they have contributed to a process of gentrification. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used to answer the research questions. There have been five semi-structured interviews and the quantitative research was a sample- study intended to show the age, income, and primary residence of the second-home owners. The results showed that the second-home tourism of peripheral Gotland has led to a set of consequences; the creation of a seasonal society, a decrease in local taxes and loss of municipal services. There is however uncertainty that the houses would be inhabited by year-round residents if the second-home owners were not living there. The second-home owners are elderly people, many in retirement age. They have high incomes and most of them have their primary residence in metropolitan Stockholm. Many of them are willing to help with local projects and use their knowledge from their professions and are seen as a resource by the interviewees. There are indications that gentrification have indeed happened in the areas when looking at income-levels, but more research variables need studying, such as levels of education and housing prices.