Attractive Arctic Places - how we meet under the northern lights and midnight sun.

The project aims to explore how to create modern Arctic meeting places that thrive year-round in the two sparsely populated municipalities of Övertorneå and Pajala.

These sustainable and health-promoting spaces are designed to encourage outdoor activities, daily exercise, safety, and community.

By taking a circular approach, both resource efficiency and site-specificity are promoted by repurposing existing buildings and functions.

The places should be so unique and attractive that they become local destinations.Challenges include establishing vibrant meeting places throughout the year in the Arctic, low population density, and accessibility and health in car-dependent rural communities with large distances.

The conditions are favorable with engaged local communities and a historically unique green industrial development in northern Sweden.

These municipalities are located in Tornedalen near the Arctic Circle, known for their magnificent nature and unique Finnish-Swedish culture.Academics, municipality, international and Swedish specialists collaborate.

Using methods and tools from placemaking, the project works closely with the local community in an iterative process where the places evolve and improve throughout the project.

Key aspects involve engaging and mobilizing the community, working resource-efficiently, and continually evaluating and enhancing.

The project´s experiences will be compiled into a guide that can be used by similar municipalities in Sweden and the world.