Aki Koivula receives funding to study political inequality in cities

INVEST flagship Senior Researcher Aki Koivula has received funding for a study examining how social and spatial segregation affects urban residents’ voter turnout and their trust in local government. The Turku Urban Research Programme has awarded Koivula’s research group €150,000 in funding.

The starting point of the project Diverging Trust and Neighborhoods That Abstain from Voting: Intra-Urban Differences in Political Influence led by Koivula is the idea that the legitimacy of democracy and citizens’ willingness to participate are grounded in people’s experiences of how well decision-making responds to their needs and takes their voices into account.

Using a multi-method approach, the research group examines how social and spatial segregation in Turku and other major Finnish cities influences voter turnout and residents’ trust in local government. The study focuses in particular on how residential segregation is reflected in perceived opportunities for political influence.

Decisions on funding under the Turku Urban Research Programme are jointly made by the City of Turku, the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, and the Southwest Finland Housing Foundation. This year, the programme awarded grants totaling €600,000.

“An unprecedented 38 applications were submitted this year. In line with the objectives of the Urban Research Programme, the selected projects emphasise social and spatial change in cities and the city’s capacity to influence that change. The projects represent a wide range of perspectives on urban development,” says Hanna Mattila, Director of the Urban Research Programme.