The relational construction of a modern suburban landscape : a dialectical understanding of Lomma municipality’s relation to Malmö and its surroundings

Abstract: This paper sets out to investigate the construction of the municipality of Lomma in southern Sweden, north of Malmö; Sweden’s third-largest and Skåne’s largest city. Based on a dialectical and relational understanding of the construction of landscapes, Lomma is analysed in relation to Malmö and to its own surroundings. Through a historical investigation, a gathering of statistical data, and a document analysis regarding identity in the municipality, Lomma is mapped culturally to reveal in what ways the landscape and its inhabitants have benefitted from and related to its surroundings. The findings show that over time, Lomma has transformed itself from an independent industrial working-class municipality into a wealthy, commuting middle-class society depending on Malmö in several ways. This transformation was dependent on the relation to Malmö but did also take place because of the short spatial distance between the cities. Lomma used the resources at hand (where the relation to Malmö and its labour market where one of them) which, in a capitalist landscape, has become an obligation. Lomma’s relation to Malmö is understood to become even more critical in the future and will probably play an even more significant part for the future construction of Lomma.