Study title

The data are part of the EkoSuKaT research project studying the sustainability of community structures and physical environment in growing and declining regions of Northern Finland. The main aim was to study the needs of communities in order to ensure sustainable residential area development. Six growing and declining residential areas in the outskirts of Oulu and in the Kainuu region were chosen for the study. The areas chosen are typical of their region. This dataset covered the municipality of Ristijärvi. A number of questions gathered information on the respondent's current dwelling and its amenities, housing tenure, length of residence in the dwelling and in Ristijärvi. Access to and use of a car were charted. Further questions covered opinions on various aspects of the neighbourhood, its streets, buildings and open spaces, neighbourhood facilities and services, community safety, noise levels, neighbours, participation in local activities, child day care, school, and co-operation between parents, day care centres and schools. The respondents were asked about their social networks within and outside Ristijärvi. Open-ended questions charted what kind of places they regarded as their home and what kind of places they would never regard as home. Views were probed on various issues related to nature and environment (e.g. recycling, environmental problems, impact of constructing new buildings). The respondents' leisure time activities were studied by asking how many times they had been to/visited a library, a theatre, a restaurant, a sports facility, or a religious event during the past year, or had gone hunting or picking berries etc. Some questions explored opinions on increasing the number of inhabitants in Ristijärvi, where and what kind of new buildings to construct, planning objectives etc. Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, basic education, occupational status and economic activity, place of study or work, and household composition.