City Move

Gällivare Municipality is situated 100 km North of the Arctic Circle in Norrbotten County. It includes the former towns of Gällivare, Malmberget and Koskullskulle. Together they have a population of roughly 16,000 people. Over the past 40 years, Gällivare has been undergoing significant changes. LKAB, the iron ore mining company in the area, has been expanding its activities. The iron ore bodies that they would like to mine underly portions of Malmberget. However, in order to do so safely, the inhabited areas above the ore bodies must be vacated as well as those located within a certain distance of the activities. As a result people and businesses in the mine expansion zone have either relocated to other parts of the municipality and others have simply left the region. While the issue of moving is an important one, we have identified several others that are affecting the municipality. Based on our analysis, those of most significance are: • Malmberget is shrinking • A lack of a clearly defined vision for the future of the community • The housing situation is varying dramatically • Public apathy and a feeling among the public that they have little influence over the current situation • A need for a greater sense of place, especially in public spaces in the center of Gallivare • A narrow range of experiences and employment industries • A need to develop entrepreneurship, collaboration and innovation All of these seem to be culminating in the continued long-term vulnerability of the municipality. Despite these challenges, Gallivare municipality is rich in resources. Among these is Dundret, which we consider to hold the potential to draw development away from a sole focus on the mine. It will become the new sun in a system of ideas that utilizes resources in nature, society and industry. The vision that we present here is one that proposes the use of multiple injections or initiatives. Carried out in conjunction with one another, these actions are designed to build on synergies to regenerate Gallivare municipality. These actions must be initiated by the local community through partnerships between people, institutions, government and industry. We propose a series of actions that are practical and value-creating as well as inspiring and motivating.

• Create an exciting entrance to the city by moving the railway station to the river and connecting it to Dundret with a cable car.

• Expanding Gallivare outside of the mining interest zone to decrease vulnerability and future change while building on existing infrastructure.

• Diversify employment options and foster innovative industries.

• Embrace the Sami culture as both an identity and a business opportunity.

• Establish an electric snowmobile test center.

• Enhance the year-round festival schedule including, outdoor landscape, snowmobile festivals and competitions

• Recognize and utilize value of underused and discarded resources such as heritage buildings, waste rock and transferable skills and technology from the mine. Resources municipality has a number of unique resources. Both mines generate large volumes of waste rock. Specialized mine related technologies include concrete manufacturing and a variety of heavy machinery. Gällivare is well connected by rail which transports people and ore to the East Coast of Sweden and northwest to Norway. Passenger rail also connects to the South. Dundret is but one of the surrounding wilderness and recreation areas in the direct vicinity of the municipality. A disused underground war hospital descends seven stories into Dundret and has entrances at the top and bottom of the developed area on the mountain. The LKAB mining museum is a cultural centre that will need to move at sometime. There exist several kilometers of sealed off mine tunnels with stable temperatures in the LKAB mine. The cold and snow are ideal for a variety of outdoor activities in winter. Two separate Saami reindeer herds overwinter in the area while another grazes in nearby forests year-round. Jokkmokk hosts the Saami heritage museum, Kiruna the Saami parliament and Gällivare is planning to be the Saami craft centre. Snowmobiling is a popular winter activity and snowmobile trails link the municipality to the rest of the region all the way down to the coast. There are many underused buildings as well as buildings of architectural interest in Malmberget. People in Gällivare are one of the greatest resources in the area as they hold a great deal of expertise and tacit knowledge. Stakeholders Citizens Malmberget Gallivare Koskullskulle Perminent residents Non-permanent residents workers, refugees Potential newcomers Tourists Municipality Politicians Planners Public service employees Health care Schools Public Infrastructure Mining Industry LKAB F AB management public owner AITIK management private owner Saami Reindeer herders Tourism industry Local business

Once upon a time in the future…

… there was a town called Malmberget that grew out of a mine.
Thanks to the wealth from the mine and the beauty of the natural surroundings, the town became
prosperous.
The mine gives, it also takes. A century of vitality was followed by slow decline as the “pit”
consumed homes, schools, shops and restaurants and people moved to neightbouring cities.
The townspeople found themselves at a crossroads.
…they did nothing
The townspeople had depended on the mining company for so long, but the town was no longer
the mine’s first priority. It was also clear that the municipality lacked initiative.
People lost hope. An “every man for himself” mentality followed. Local businesses competed for
the remaining customers. Gradually, the most entrepreneurial people moved their businesses to
other places.
Owing to a recession and the loss of skilled workers, the mining company shut down operations.
The last of the shops, services and airport also closed. Left was a ghost town and the remains of
the nature.
If only the people had started to do things together.
…they did something together
The townspeople had depended on the mining company for so long, but in 2009 things changed.
Realizing that they couldn’t expect the mining company, the government or someone else to
save them, they started working together.
They saw that the landscape and people were about more than just a mine. Together they
created a region of creativity, culture and diversity.
This project is the story of what they did.

Dundret calling

It is not just Malmberget that falls in the minining interest area, but parts of Gällivare as well. The development is therefore focused southeast toward Repisvaara. The area has beautiful slopes and a southwest exposure. This extension of the town builds on existing infrastructures related to heating, water, roads and electricity.
It is not only new development that shifts toward the southeast. The town center also creeps in this direction toward the river. The transformed center includes a prominent entrance to the town. The train station is now the center piece of this gateway and is connected to Dundret by cable car. It too is located to the southeast of its previous location on what was previously the site of a slaughterhouse.
The new center bridges the two sides of the river while creating a ”place” character, rather than the current ”flow” character.