Co-Creative Place Innovation in an Arctic Town [Elektronisk resurs]

• Purpose – The purpose of the study 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 employing 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 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 to harness Arctic and rural characteristics in the promotion of urban attractiveness and public wellbeing, especially when combined with co-creative identification and transformation of excluding norms and patterns. Originality/value – The results provide new insights into how co-creative approaches may facilitate innovative and inclusive renewal of towns and cities in the Arctic and beyond. 

Ämnesord

Social Sciences  (hsv)

Other Social Sciences  (hsv)

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary  (hsv)

Samhällsvetenskap  (hsv)

Annan samhällsvetenskap  (hsv)

Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap  (hsv)

Engineering and Technology  (hsv)

Other Engineering and Technologies  (hsv)

Other Engineering and Technologies not elsewhere specified  (hsv)

Teknik och teknologier  (hsv)

Annan teknik  (hsv)

Övrig annan teknik  (hsv)

Engineering and Technology  (hsv)

Civil Engineering  (hsv)

Architectural Engineering  (hsv)

Teknik och teknologier  (hsv)

Samhällsbyggnadsteknik  (hsv)

Arkitekturteknik  (hsv)

Industriell design  (ltu)

Industrial Design  (ltu)

Arkitektur  (ltu)

Architecture  (ltu)

Genre

government publication  (marcgt)

Indexterm och SAB-rubrik

Arctic

Place innovation

Urban transformation

Co-Creation

Norm-creative design