Sweden's city "Kiruna" who decided to relocate the city and people with "Mine Priority"

Scandinavian countries Northern Sweden, a city located in the Arctic CircleKirunaIs a city that has prospered in mining since ancient times. In Kiruna like this, a big project is being advanced to move part of the city area to another place as it is.

BBC - Travel - Why Sweden is relocating an entire town
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20171102-why-sweden-is-relocating-an-entire-town

The official YouTube channel by the Swedish government, its name also "Sweden", a movie depicting a project to be advanced in Kiruna is released.

This is Kiruna: How to Move a City - YouTube


Kiruna located at 68 degrees north is a city with a population of 23,000 located in the Arctic Circle. Once the title of "the largest area of ​​the world in the world" was acquired, but since the area was reduced during the reform of the administrative district in 1970, it became the second largest in the world after Mount Isa in Australia And it fell down.


Speaking of the Arctic Circle, the sun does not sink at night, "White night" and vice versa, "Sunshine" where the sun does not rise in the daytime. It is this dark even in lunch time at lunch in winter.


Furthermore, it will be covered with snow even in the spring.


In this town, the landscape that has remained old is inherited. This shop "Centrum" standing by the people gathering plaza ... ...


I have been working in this place casually over my 4 sons.


The source of the prosperity of Kiruna, it is a mine that is close to the city. The Kiruna mine where purity is high and iron ore "Sweden rope" with the top quality in the world is produced is operated by Swedish state enterprise "LKAB". When the mine was opened in the early 1900s, "open pit" was conducted to dig the surface of the ground, but in the modern era, it turned into a method to dig deep into the underground. By the time it enters the 2000s, its depth reaches 1000 meters underground.


However, as drilling progressed, there was an adverse effect that the ground subsided little by little in the city. People's lives will not be established as it is, but we can not give up on one of the world's best quality mines. So the Swedish government made a decision to relocate part of the city based on the ample funds provided by the mine.


The plan is as follows. I will transfer the urban area spreading over the part where the arrow is written away to the place away from the mine and make the center of the new town.


In the beginning that the life that exists now is lost, the overwhelming opposition voice came from the residents at the beginning. However, the resident who is forced to evacuate that the plan is accepted as LKAB has purchased the house he / she currently lives with a 25% increase in market price, and the condition that the living level never drops even after relocation has been indicated It seems to have become.

Once the relocation is decided, the building which no longer lives is destroyed, the next house is built in a new place. But it is an interesting thing about this plan not only that.

Some residents also put the house they live on as they are on a trailer and bring them to a new place of residence.


Buildings such as important cultural assets will be relocated intact in Japan, but it is very unusual for Sweden to move general homes as they are.


Of course, LKAB will bear the cost of relocation as well. It is worthy of evaluation that the direction of putting in abundant funds and meeting the desires of as many residents as possible is worthy of evaluation.


Among the buildings to be relocated are precious churches "Kiruna Church" all built with trees. Of course, this building is to be relocated as it is.


It seems that the authorities are planning to carry out relocation of the city seriously around 2020. I am intrigued about how the plans to move the whole city that I have not heard much go forward.