Sustainable Rural Futures: A Qualitative longitudinal study of rural young people in the 21st century (SURF)

The SURF project examines changes that have taken place in rural Finland from the perspective of young people and social sustainability. We study the everyday lives, future expectations, and relationship to rural areas of young people living in different rural areas and their families.

The project combines two qualitative follow-up research data sets and the perspectives of two generations of young people on rural areas: 1) a study launched in 2015 on young people from sparsely populated rural areas who are now young adults, and 2) a new follow-up study on today's young people and their families.

In the 2000s, the Finnish countryside has undergone many changes, but changes have also taken place in the lives of young people. Long-term economic uncertainty, the centralization of rural services, the extension of compulsory education, and the consequences of the pandemic, among other things, have changed the lives of young people and their families. Through longitudinal research, we aim to shed new light on the changes and continuities in rural areas. This multidisciplinary project combines sociological and historical youth research.

The SURF study will begin in early 2026. The research is coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä and led by University Lecturer Kaisa Vehkalahti. The University of Eastern Finland's sub-study is led by Research Director Päivi Armila, with Postdoctoral Researcher Ville Pöysä as the principal investigator.