Little by little the working population is getting older, retires, and cannot be completely replaced by a new generation in the working age due to a fertility rate, which is below the level of replacement (Thalberg 2003: 3). This phenomenon of demographic change which together with a lack of well educated people among the population leads to the so-called ‘scarcity of skilled labour’, has a great influence on the country’s and city’s ability to sustain a working economic and social system.
Local authorities decide more and more often to participate in the competition for ‘the best minds’ and therefore try to increase the attractiveness of their cities. The question for these city officials is what is the right approach in order to increase the attractiveness for the group of highly skilled professionals?
This Master thesis provides the reader with information gathered from both theory and practice, on the topic. Apart from a review of theory on migration and location, within this thesis the case studies of Vienna and Hamburg are analysed. Thus, one can find information about different factors local authorities should focus on in the development of a city, as well as information on strategies and tools used in practice in order to increase the attractiveness of a city.