Biocultural Heritage in Arctic Cities: Resource for Climate Adaptation – ARCA

The project combines climate science, remote sensing, human geography, social anthropology, and artistic research through an interdisciplinary and participatory methodology. It integrates scientific data with Indigenous long-term observations and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), using fieldwork, mapping, interviews, environmental monitoring, and artistic explorations. Collaborative workshops with local communities support the co-production of biocultural heritage maps and place-based climate adaptation tools.

Despite growing awareness of colonial urban development in the Arctic, understanding of Indigenous perspectives on the right to the city remains limited. Likewise, the impacts of climate change on urban residents and infrastructures are not yet fully integrated into debates on urban justice.

The results of our recent activities highlight several key advances:

1. Kirkenes (Norway), February 2025 – Workshops and field experiments
We introduced the concept of the “right to the cold city,” integrating Indigenous voices and addressing environmental transformations in cold urban environments, based on case studies in Fairbanks (Alaska) and Tromsø (Norway). The methodology combines interviews, mental mapping, and participatory observation with diverse Indigenous groups (elders, youth, women, men, LGBT individuals, and people experiencing homelessness).
This approach shifts the right to the city toward a situated, decolonial, and biocultural perspective, opening urban imaginaries grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems.

2. University of Coimbra (Portugal), May 2026 – Biocultural Heritage Conference
We analyzed divergences between Indigenous and municipal perspectives on justice in Arctic public spaces. Indigenous communities prioritize ecological restoration, land stewardship, relations with more-than-human entities, subsistence, and cultural continuity. Municipal authorities focus on public awareness, infrastructure resilience, cultural events, and budget constraints.
While some convergence exists around climate and spatial justice, major gaps persist in governance and resource distribution, highlighting the need for more inclusive planning processes.

3. Ars Electronica (Austria), September 2025 – International research dissemination
Indigenous peoples remain marginalized in urban climate debates despite being among the most affected by climate impacts. Inequalities in access to resources, healthcare, and traditional food systems further increase vulnerability.
In a context where the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average, our research shows that Indigenous well-being in urban settings is deeply rooted in multigenerational human–nature relations that constitute biocultural heritage.
We call for ethical, co-produced research with Indigenous communities to generate more just and nuanced knowledge and to address systemic inequalities.

La prochaine phase du projet développera des formats d’ateliers et d’expositions in situ dans plusieurs villes arctiques et subarctiques, afin de renforcer une approche comparative et située des savoirs urbains autochtones.

À Anchorage (Alaska) et Fairbanks (Alaska), de nouveaux ateliers approfondiront le concept de « droit à la ville froide » à travers des méthodes participatives impliquant communautés autochtones, institutions locales et acteurs urbains. Ces sessions porteront sur les expériences vécues du changement climatique, de la santé, de la mobilité et de l’accès à des services urbains culturellement situés, tout en consolidant des outils de cartographie sensible et de récits partagés.

À Umeå (Suède), le projet s’inscrira dans des réseaux de recherche bioculturelle existants afin d’explorer la manière dont les savoirs autochtones et locaux peuvent contribuer à des modèles plus inclusifs de gouvernance urbaine arctique. Les ateliers mettront l’accent sur les méthodologies de co-conception et sur le rôle des infrastructures culturelles dans les stratégies d’adaptation au changement climatique.

À Tromsø (Norvège), les activités permettront de consolider les terrains précédents à travers un atelier de synthèse réunissant chercheurs, urbanistes et participants autochtones. Il s’agira de dégager des principes communs pour des villes arctiques plus justes, résilientes et écologiquement ancrées.

Enfin, une forme d’exposition itinérante circulera entre ces différents sites. Elle traduira les résultats de la recherche en une expérience visuelle et sensorielle accessible, en dialogue entre savoirs scientifiques, épistémologies autochtones et pratiques artistiques. Cette exposition constituera un espace de médiation et de co-production des connaissances à l’échelle des villes arctiques.

The Lot 3, led by ASCII, ensured the project’s visibility among academic, institutional, and general public audiences. In addition to a series of dedicated presentations and exhibitions, the research was disseminated through major international events such as the SAISON D’ART 2024 at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, the Biocultural Heritage conference at the University of Coimbra, and Ars Electronica 2025 in Linz. Prospection activities were also conducted to develop future collaborations, and two scientific articles were published, contributing to the academic dissemination of the project’s results.

The project was structured around several complementary Work Packages, integrating coordination, research, experimentation, tool development, and dissemination. ASCII plays a cross-cutting role, with specific responsibility for Lot 3.

WP1 (bioclimatic assessment of Arctic urban green spaces) and WP2 (Arctic communities and biocultural heritage) enabled a conceptual and empirical exploration of biocultural heritage as a resource for adaptation. These activities led to multiple analyses and sustained engagement with local communities, notably through the exhibition When Oaks Think They Are Baobabs (Pau, September 2024) and Dancing Data (December 2024), which combine arts, science, and technology. They also include the production of original artworks and research on resilience gardens and cultural traditions across Europe.

WP3 (cultural mapping of biodiversity in transforming Arctic cities) enabled data collection and analysis, as well as collaborative artistic research involving artists, scientists, and local and Indigenous communities. This work was developed through the Art, Migration and Globalization conference series (2024–2025), as well as workshops such as Milk River (Bayonne, October–December 2024). Seminars held in Paris (November 2024–June 2025) on AI, culture, and creation also explored the use of AI to support the integration of Indigenous biocultural knowledge.

WP4 (synthesis of knowledge for climate change mitigation) supported reflections on urban green spaces and artistic interventions grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems. Since January 2024, ASCII has contributed through the Stalker and re:location experimental series, bringing together contemporary art, ethics, sustainable urbanism, and Indigenous knowledge systems.

The project explores the intricate relationship between climate change and biocultural heritage ? a holistic concept, emphasizing the entanglement of natural and cultural elements. The project aims to understand whether and how traditional ecological and Indigenous knowledge, as well as human-environment relationships, that constitute the core of biocultural heritage can contribute to climate change adaptation in urban areas and surrounding landscapes. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and associated elements of biocultural heritage have been serving as critical resources for climate adaptation to generations of Arctic residents. Climate change processes threaten cultural and biological diversity, underscoring the urgency for adaptation and mitigation measures, especially in the Arctic that is changing four times faster than the rest of the world. Arctic cities and their associated subsistence landscapes that transform even faster emerge as interesting case studies for inquiries into the role of TEK and biocultural heritage in climate adaptation processes. Thus, the main research question of this project is, "How can biocultural heritage integrated into urban and natural landscapes contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts?"

Working with local and Indigenous communities in Fairbanks and Nome in the USA, and Kirkenes and Tromsø in Norway, the project will explore the potential of traditional knowledge and local land use practices as holistic and culturally sensitive tools for climate adaptation. The project team, consisting of social and natural scientists, artists and activists, will combine quantitative and qualitative methods of climate science, remote sensing, human geography, and social anthropology. The integration of scientific data with Indigenous long-term observations and artistic explorations should lead to publicly accessible, co-produced and place-specific arts and science products. Results of the project will also be published in academic articles, disseminated via online media, as well as through art+science exhibitions.