Svitlana Lavrenchuk

Given how between 30 and 99 percent of the Arctic’s near-surface permafrost is predicted to thaw by 2100, modes of living and production will necessarily have to adapt. But it is not only temperature that is at stake: Arctic permafrost is the largest repository of mercury on Earth.

I propose that present context of changing environmental conditions in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, provides us with unique design opportunities. Specifically, the project is exploring the potential for social-spatial transformation of several existing autonomous and semi-autonomous regions in Canada, United States and Norway: Kimmirut (Nunavut, Canada), Rankin Inlet (Nunavut, Canada), Barrow (Alaska, US) and Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway).

As these regions are facing the same challenges, I argue that climate change presents an opportunity to imagine what could be a network of shared economy and knowledge amongst these regions.

Focusing on Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the project proposes to explore the design of a new type of agricultural system that expands as the permafrost layer progressively melts away. This implies a re-imagination of agricultural, but more importantly, of social and environmental relations. It is an opportunity for a practice of soil care to emerge on the land, drawing on a key feature, which is the shared ownership of the land and of the produce.