The second home phenomenon and Norwegian rurality

Abstract

The article analyses how recent developments relating to the second homes phenomenon are intertwined with fundamental changes in the character of rurality in Norwegian society. Building on Halfacree's three-dimensional model of rural space published in 2006, the authors discuss how rural localities, rural lived lives, and formal representations of the rural are increasingly informed by and inform the second home phenomenon. In addition to public statistics, the discussion is informed by empirical data from the Centre for Rural Research's large-scale national and representative survey City, Countryside and Second Homes 2008. It is argued that there are three main dimensions and/or aspects that are central in the two-way relationship between rural space and second homes in Norway, namely extremely dispersed settlement and plenty of available land, rural-urban migration and mobility, and representations of the rural as idyll.