Dynamic Port-City Scapes: From Liminal "Non-Places" to Imaginative and Synergistic Adaptive Ecosystems

This research investigates the case of Kirkenes, Norway. The region with its 10.000 inhabitants is located around 400 km above the Arctic Circle within the municipality of Sør-Varanger, Finmark, and is known as the capital of the Barents Region and the gateway to the east. Located around 15km away from the Norwegian-Russian border, Kirkenes has...

Confronting the Norwegian Paradox: Decomposing socio-territorial conflicts through modern and indigenous worldviews on time and space in Finnmark, Norway

The thesis describes the development of the oil and gas industry in Arctic Norway. This sudden increase in wealth is causing urban developments and strong inequalities across different scales. Furthermore, it is causing friction between indigenous Sámi and non-indigenous worldviews, sustained within the culturally fragile county of Finnmark. The...

Perforated and Fractured Territories: Socio-territorial identity building as response to growing interest in metalogenic mining in Finnmark, Northern Norway

The thesis explores the socio-territorial orientation of Finnmark, northern Norway, in relation to the growing international interest for the development of the mineral industry. This interest is met locally with directly opposing views, favouring on the one hand the cultural development related to land-based practices, and on the other hand...