Participation of second-home users in local planning and decision-making – a study of three cottage-rich locations in Finland

Second homes form an integral part of peoples' mobility and living patterns in today's society. Despite the noteworthy scale of the second-home phenomenon, the political rights of second-home tourists have been studied relatively little. This paper sheds light on the governance of second homes from the viewpoint of public participation. The issue is explored based on three facilitated, future-oriented focus group interviews focusing on three Finnish cottage-rich locations. The case study areas represent very different but very typical contexts for participation of second-home users in Finland. We present three key dimensions that condition the involvement of second-home users in local planning and decision-making: (i) their personal preferences, (ii) formal statuses as residents and (iii) their informal positions in the communities. We discuss how these dimensions vary between different types of second-home user groups. We conclude that the stereotype of the traditional cottage owner is increasingly accompanied, reconstructed and challenged by heterogenic and diverse second-home users. Their influence on local planning and decision-making is channelled through – and calls for – a combination of formal and informal means of participation.