Identities of a city in transformation

Abstract

In Kiruna there is an extensive city development process going on. To enable the important iron ore mining to continue, the original city center needs to be demolished and will be replaced with a new one a few kilometers to the east. The transformation process highlights questions about identity and sense of belonging in relation to a place. Also the power dynamics between different stakeholders, who is in charge of the narrative and who defines what Kiruna is and should be in the future. This results in a thesis question asking how architects can express and revive identities and heritage of a place through a critical perspective on a top-down development. The identities of a place is defined as the social interactions with a certain space, situated in a network of resources creating a meaningful whole. Since identity is central for issues of meaning, commitment and loyalty, it needs to be valued and handled with care in a city development process. The traditional perspective of Kiruna is questioned in this thesis and unseen or hidden narratives are brought to the light. Architecture is used to emphasize what challenges Kiruna faces today but also to bring new solutions into the discussion. The proposal in this thesis gives new perspectives of how to view architecture and the power dynamics in the area, such as giving space for bottom-up processes driven by the people. It discusses how old and new identities can contribute to each other, correlate in the physical environment and create a framework that is both adaptable and stable. In this process architects should be a catalysator and integrate bottom-up processes with top-down development. Processes of both kinds are needed but the bottom-up ones need to be given space to make sure all narratives are valued equally. Only then will they have its place in the identity network and create the important commitment and loyalty to this particular place.