Kiruna: Svappavaara

Survey, analysis and initial proposals

Team Berätta mig vidare approached Svappavaara through presence, dialogue and storytelling. Their method was based on informal encounters and attentiveness: being on site, listening, facilitating conversations, drawing out stories, building relationships and engaging with everyday life in the area. By following the stories of local residents, connecting them to their own experiences and passing them on to others, the team built a relationship with the community and gained new perspectives on what could be key to the area’s sustainable development, beyond what can be described in maps or discussed in meeting rooms.

Following a thorough analytical process, the team identified the school as a key factor for the area’s future. The first phase of the work was summarised in a report presenting a development and management plan, including a design process for creating spaces for learning in “Skolskogen”, the forest area adjacent to Svappavaara school. The report is available further down the page.

Prototype: Stories and spaces for learning

The team received continued funding to further develop their ideas during 2025 and implement them as a prototype for how Kiruna Municipality could work with careful urban development beyond the town centre in the future. They presented a design process aimed at creating new outdoor learning environments in collaboration with teachers, students and the local community. The process is based on “Djurmänniskan”, a fictional character used as a tool for students to generate ideas for the design of the school forest.

The team emphasised the need to slow down the early stages of planning processes, the importance of being present on site, and of listening to the people who live there in order to develop environments that are used and valued over time, by the school and by the wider community of Svappavaara.

The team’s full work, including the development and management plan for the municipality’s continued efforts, is presented in the final report Space for learning, Svappavaara, Kiruna – Development and Management Plan.