Sustainable Transitions through Arctic Redevelopment (STAR)

With the launch of the Decade on Ecological Restoration by the United Nations in 2021, momentum is growing towards visioning a sustainable future for aging industrial sites worldwide. In the Arctic, these aging sites, including mining operations, have experienced immense neglect in part due to the remoteness of the region. With climate warming leading to increased ice and permafrost melt and expanded access to the region, these sites are increasingly vulnerable to further deterioration but pose an opportunity to understand how these sites can be developed for the future. This project lays the groundwork for understanding these futures for diverse industrial sites across the Arctic, focusing on cooperation with local communities to understand and vision sustainable development goals for the Arctic.

This planning grant brings together a team of scholars with broad experience across the Arctic to develop a research agenda around sustainable redevelopment goals of postindustrial extractive sites. It includes five case study sites with varying physical and political geographies in the United States (Alaska), Canada (Northwest Territory), Finland (Lapland), Greenland (Southeast) and Sweden (Norrbotten). Post-industrial redevelopment themes will be investigated by conducting Participatory Spatial Analysis and Visioning Workshops and will include, a) new mineral extraction prospects in old tailings residues; b) tourism around mineral extraction co-existence; c) transformation of underground mines for novel energy storage infrastructure; d) diversifying regional economy and minimizing land use impacts; and e) ecological restoration for Indigenous livelihood generation. The study will contribute to understanding the multifaceted relationship between Arctic residents that live in post-mining communities and their natural and cultural landscapes. It will also contribute to expanding the definition of resilient infrastructure to include sustainable post-primary use and redevelopment. The project will strengthen partnerships among the three lead U.S. institutions and international partners, particularly the European Union.