Big projects - small communities: The case of Finnafjörður, Iceland

The Finnafjörður harbour project rests on the idea that shipping routes in the Arctic will become navigable in the following decades. Located on the northeast corner of Iceland, the place is considered a suitable location for a trans-shipment harbour in the future to service Arctic marine traffic. The project would have considerable societal, natural, and economic consequences on the local community, which counts little more than 500 residents. The aim of this thesis is to explore residents’ attitudes towards the Finnafjörður harbour project in relation to sense of place and place based memories by asking how different views and attitudes of Langanesbyggð’s residents towards the Finnafjörður harbour project relate to changes in their sense of place, and how memories of a place form part of resident’s attitudes towards the project. The thesis employs a qualitative research strategy where semi-structured in-depth interviews are conducted with eleven residents of Langanesbyggð. The findings demonstrate different attitudes towards the project, which relate to changes in both the social and the physical environment. Furthermore, the role of memory is significant in shaping residents’ attitudes towards the project. The thesis addresses the voices of local communities, which have been largely neglected in Arctic studies to this day.