Swedish social mix policy: a general policy without an explicit ethnic focus

Neighbourhood social mix is currently a pressing issue for both researchers and policy makers in the Western world. In an international perspective, Sweden offers an interesting case as both the structure of the housing market and the focus of the social mix policy differs from other countries’ policies. The introduction of a policy for social mixing in Sweden in 1974 was a reaction to the increasing socioeconomic segregation in the housing market. Swedish city planning and the conditions in the housing market have however changed dramatically since the policy was first introduced. This article is based on official housing policy documents and interviews with public actors. It seeks to analyse the policy makers’ understanding of Swedish social mix policy and how the policy is translated into practical planning. The overall aim is to analyse the Swedish policy in relation to similar policies in other countries, this to point at some of the existing differences, especially the different perspective on ethnic segregation. On the basis of document analysis and interviews with public actors, we come to the conclusion that the understanding and practice of the social mix policy in Sweden have been rather consistent over time. Even though Sweden has experienced increasing immigration, which has added an ethnic dimension to housing segregation, the Swedish social mix policy has remained a general policy for counteracting socioeconomic segregation, rather than ethnic segregation. This is an important difference compared to other mixing strategies in Europe and North America where ethnic mix has been, and still is, at the top of the agenda.