Making the Arctic City: The History and Future of Urbanism in the Circumpolar North

(Paperback)

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Making the Arctic City explores the unwritten history of city-building in the Arctic over the last 100 years. Spanning northern regions of North America, through Greenland, Svalbard to Russia, this is the first book to provide a truly circumpolar account of historical and contemporary architecture and urbanism in the extremes of the Arctic. Featuring case studies and designs of both built and unbuilt Arctic urban futures, it explores the impact of 20th-century models of urban design and planning in Arctic cities, and shows how the Arctic offers valuable lessons for the post-colonial study of architectural and urban planning history elsewhere. Revealing how contemporary architectural approaches continue to this day to essentialize extreme climate conditions and to disregard the agency of Arctic city-dwellers this book provides an important critical perspective that is vital to the formulation of future design and planning practices throughout many regions of the globe.

Reviews

Hemmersam charts the unique motives and circumstances that have produced a distinct form of urbanism with comprehensive aplomb. The book provides urgent insight into the formation of Arctic cities and their trajectories from both a global polar view and from on the fragile ground in which they emerge. * Mason White, University of Toronto, Canada, founding partner, LATERAL OFFICE *
In an increasingly relevant and global North, Peter Hemmersam brings a perspective of urbanism. Russia, Canada and Greenland of the last century offer Hemmersam ideas of relationships, and the historical and political frameworks that drive the built form. Hemmersam recognizes Indigenous communities and knowledge that provide a blueprint for thriving within the landscapes, which has been both embraced and ignored by settlers. With a sense of utility and in a place of extremes, we consider a new architecture and a new plan for imagining urban futures in the Arctic. * Julie Decker, Museum Director/CEO, Anchorage Museum, USA *
Within a context of accelerated climate change, Hemmersams book brings much needed expertise to fill a void in scholarship that is long overdue for understanding the legacy and future of architecture and urban design in the incredibly important, complex, and rapidly changing Arctic region. * Matthew Jull, PhD, Arctic Design Group, School of Architecture, University of Virginia, USA *

Author Bio

Peter Hemmersam is Professor in Urban Design at the Institute of Urbanism and Landscape at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design and he directs the Oslo Centre for Urban and Landscape Studies, Norway.