InfraNorth: Building Arctic Futures

InfraNorth was an ERC Advanced Grant research project hosted by the University of Vienna from January 2021 to December 2025. It examined how Arctic residents interact with transport infrastructure and how existing and planned connections affect local communities. Against a backdrop of climate change, resource development, tourism and geopolitical activity, the project asked whether transport systems can support permanent habitation and sustainable northern communities, or instead encourage a greater reliance on temporary populations such as shift workers, tourists and military personnel.

The project brought together expertise in anthropology and geography, comparing study regions across the European, North American and Russian Arctic. Its research combined ethnographic fieldwork, mapping, future scenario workshops and archival research, alongside population data and a survey on transport infrastructure. This approach connected local experiences with regional and pan-Arctic perspectives. InfraNorth shared its findings through research outputs, events and public outreach, contributing locally informed evidence to discussions about Arctic development and possible futures.