This study seeks to examine whether a relation can be found between the number of shoreline exemptions and the development of Umeå municipalities population, or not. The weight of this paper will be focusing on the importance of place attractiveness and social place identity for people’s desires and ambitions to live near a lake or the coast. The policies of planning will also be highlighted in order to receive greater understanding of why people apply for shoreline exemptions. Four semi- structured interviews with planners from Umeå municipality were therefor held with the ambition to complement the quantitative findings of the development of exemptions. The presenting results indicates that an increase of shoreline exemptions can be stated as well as the actions within the exemptions. The population has steadily increased trough out the studied years, 2014-2017. The relation between these findings can be argued have had a similar development, but we cannot be sure to say that they solely affect each other. Therefor the findings will be explained by earlier research regarding residential preferences, the desire to live with water view and planning policies that responds to these factors.