Sted, Makt og Mobilitet

‘Place, power and mobility’ focuses on how places are created and recreated in a continuous interplay between material, social and cultural relations. Our research highlights the complexity of place and processes of transformation in the north in comparative global and local perspectives. A special emphasis is placed on the transformative powers of climate change and increased mobility for local and regional development. Norway’s High North is in a unique position when it comes to leading the way for envisaging and mapping new paths into future sustainable developments and viable communities. The research group addresses how communities can develop capabilities for dynamic resilience and responsible development, through studies of a number of issues; planning processes, policies and participation, coastal governance, industry innovations, urbanization, tourism and destination development, cultural heritage, gender relations, indigeneity and mobile practices such as commuting, national and international migration. Place transformations, power relations and mobilities are key dimensions to sustainable development in the High North. As places become more diverse and multicultural, they also become more complex. Increased mobility changes how people relate to place in nonlinear and often unexpected ways. Place, power and mobility aims at developing theories, methodologies and empirical analyses enabling the understanding of places as complex, dynamic, relational and situated. Through developing collaborative research designs, we also aim to contribute to responsible community development.