Place Reinvention by Real Changed Image: the Case of Kiruna's Spectacular Make-over

This chapter explores physical relocation of the iron ore mining town of Kiruna in the very north of Sweden is the starting point. Kiruna is a small town, with approximately 20, 000 inhabitants, located in the very north of Sweden at the timberline of the mountain area. The relocation and the reinvention are seen in the theoretical perspective of institutionalism and urban regimes. Empirical evidence is based on activities concerned with the relocation of the town of Kiruna together with earlier documents presenting Kiruna and its development. The analysis forms a part of a larger research project which concerns managing of planning problems with sustainability visions and different stakeholders cooperating in the process. The Kiruna example provides a particularly obvious case that makes it interesting to illustrate the reinvention of a town caused by great physical changes - a spectacular make-over. The chapter provides the framework for the analysis based on regime and institutional theories.