HOW PERMANENT IS OUR CITY?: ‘KIRUNA FOREVER’
Chae Jeongwon (Chae): Could you tell me about the urban transformation project in Kiruna? Why do you think that this has become an important topic today?
Carlos Mínguez Carrasco (Mínguez Carrasco): Kiruna – a city in the northernmost part of Sweden – is undergoing one of the biggest urban transformation projects in recent history. The city is being relocated by 3km due to the expansion of the iron ore mine around which it was built. A third of the population must leave their homes; buildings are being demolished or moved, and a new city is taking shape.
First, this is important for the residents of Kiruna as their lives have been transformed over the past 15 years. It is important for Sweden as a whole as it’s a part of what defines and attests to the ways the nation has been constructed over the last century. This is also important for places and communities around the world, as the stories and questions raised by the relocation of Kiruna are related to other questions relevant to contemporary society. It makes us wonder: what is the extent of our natural resources? For how much longer will we continue
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