Geographic imagination and urban-rural binary in online discourses related to the capital region of Finland

Abstract

The article focuses on digital discourses related to Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, the three biggest municipalities in Finland’s capital region. The data consist of texts from the discussion forum of Suomi24 that was analysed to find out how forum users produce socio-spatial distinctions by categorizing some groups as ‘others’ thus differentiating in-groups and out-groups. The analysis used methods of comprised corpus assisted discourse studies (CADS), including collocation analysis. The results show that discourses related both to native and non-native Helsinkians and to those living in the capital region in contrast to those living elsewhere in Finland are common and the juxtapositions between various groups are repeatedly constructed. This points to the distinctive role of the capital region and its inhabitants in people’s geographical imagination. The qualitative analysis reveals the contexts in which different groups of people are discussed. The findings shed light on some of the discursive practices through which the special role of Helsinki and the capital region in Finland are negotiated and perpetuated.