Live, Work or Leave? Youth – wellbeing and the viability of (post) extractive Arctic industrial cities in Finland and Russia

Analysing the attractiveness of Arctic industrial cities as places to live and work, this project focuses on the determinants of youth wellbeing in Arctic industrial cities. The future and sustainability of Arctic city-communities depends on how the young generation sees prospects for their own personal development there. This project looks at youth coping strategies and beyond, studying how youth aim to overcome a 'survival mode' of problem handling and harness actively opportunities in an ultimate pursuit of happiness. In this respect our project aims to contribute to a broader theory of viable Arctic communities combining approaches from the different disciplines of anthropology, legal studies, geography and political economy. In coordination we study how authorities, civil society and (industrial) companies provide conditions for youth wellbeing, and how youth themselves perceives these.