Co-creative place innovation in an arctic town

• Published in: Journal of Place Management and Development
• Main Authors: Lindberg, Malin, Wikberg Nilsson, Åsa, Segerstedt, Eugenia, Hidman, Erik, Nilsson, Kristina L., Karlberg, Helena, Balogh, Johanna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald 2020
• Subjects: Arctic; Kiruna; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jpmd-02-2019-0009; https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPMD-02-2019-0009/full/xml; https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPMD-02-2019-0009/full/html

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on co-creative approaches for place innovation in an Arctic town, based on the relocation of Kiruna’s city center in northern Sweden. Three cases of co-creative innovation processes in Kiruna are investigated and compared: an R&D project about local perceptions and visions of attractive urban environments; an R&D project about norm-creative design principles for inclusive and attractive urban design; and an R&D project about cross-industrial synergies for city center attractiveness. Design/methodology/approach The study’s research design encompasses a comparative and participatory approach. The comparative approach implies investigation and comparison of three cases of co-creative innovation processes in Kiruna. The participatory approach implies joint development of new knowledge by researchers and local actors. The data consists of participatory observations of workshops and qualitative interviews with local actors. Findings The study reveals that the studied processes have harnessed the city center relocation as an opportunity to make Kiruna more attractive to residents and visitors, by using the co-creative approaches of Living Lab, Now-Wow-How and Norm-creative design. These approaches have enabled experts and local actors to jointly identify excluding patterns and norms in the relocation process and to envision inclusive and attractive (re-)configurations and (re-)conceptualizations of the future Kiruna. Research limitations/implications The results add to the academic strand of inclusive urban transformation, by providing insights into co-creative approaches for re-imagining an Arctic town in times of industrial and social change. New insights are provided regarding how the geographical, industrial and cultural identity of an Arctic town can be harnessed to envision new configuration, content and communication that is attractive and accessible for a diversity of residents and visitors. Practical implications The results highlight the potential ...