Description
The sports movement has long been highlighted as a central force for public health and social cohesion, as well as part of the explanation for the strength of Swedish democracy. At the same time, engagement is unequally distributed: research shows that individuals in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas participate to a much lesser extent in organized sports. This pattern is also reflected in voter turnout, social trust, and belief in the future. Such differences threaten political equality, social cohesion, and public health, while also contributing to the segregation that characterizes parts of Sweden. Despite the urgency of the problem, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that can shed light on the long-term significance of residential areas for young people’s engagement in sports.The overarching aim of the project is therefore to study the role of residential duration and geographic mobility between areas with different socioeconomic conditions for young people’s sports engagement over time.