| Summary
| | The idea of creating a cohesive region of the area around the Sound is not new. The first concrete bridge plans appeared during the industrialization of the 19th century. More proposals were to follow, but it was not until the last decades of the 20th century that the decision makers on both sides of the Sound became serious about the proposals. |
In the post-war period there are many parallels between the developments on both sides of the Sound. Both countries undergo a second industrialization phase with increasing wealth, and it picks up speed in the 1960´s. The population in the towns along the coast increases considerably, municipalities are planned and merged, larger regional units are created and houses are built like never before.
But the market conditions are not in sync on both sides of the Sound. The improved transportation, and means of communication, and the European regional policy, does, however, further a development, where the citizens of the Sound region are able to raise their standard of living by going where the need for labour is highest and where housing prices are lowest.
The large shipyard industries of the Sound region had a hard time trying to cope on the world market, which meant the closing down of the shipyards in Elsinore, Landskrona and Malmø.
Elsinore municipality made it through this crisis by becoming and attractive newcomer area. Well-educated and highly paid citizens from the metropolitan area came to the area because of the forest, beach and fast transportation to their work places in Copenhagen.
In Scania Landskrona and Malmø, were the first to become affected by the crisis. In Malmø the population dropped in spite of a large number of newcomer immigrants. A comprehensive aiming at education and the need for labour in connection with the land layout of the Sound Bridge and the building of the bridge itself, contributed to the fact that the city overcame the consequences of the many lost jobs.
With the opening of the Sound Bridge between Copenhagen and Malmo in the summer of 2000 this development picked up speed. |