Sweden’s Emerging Gentrification and Public Health Implications: A Viewpoint

Abstract

Gentrification has traditionally been understood as a phenomenon associated with Anglo-American cities, where speculative real estate markets and visible displacement reshape urban neighbourhoods. By contrast, Sweden, long recognized for its welfare state, universal housing policies and social equity commitments, has often been assumed to be insulated from such disruptive urban transformations. This viewpoint challenges this assumption, describing the emergence of a “quiet gentrification” in Swedish cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Unlike overt market-driven processes, the shift unfolds through state-led redevelopment, housing privatization, and renovation-induced rent increases, disproportionately affecting low-income and disadvantaged communities. This viewpoint argues that these subtle, yet profound changes have important implications for public and population health, given the established links between neighbourhood deprivation, housing insecurity, and adverse health outcomes. Moreover, the viewpoint contends that Sweden is facing a critical paradox: that institutions designed to promote equity are to some extent contributing to socio-spatial inequalities. At the same time, the transformation presents opportunities to reframe urban governance through equity-oriented planning, housing justice, and interdisciplinary collaboration between urban planners and public health researchers. By recognizing and addressing the health dimensions of gentrification, policy makers can safeguard social sustainability and ensure that urban renewal enhances, rather than undermining, population health and equity.