Urban Regeneration of Haparanda City Centre (Climate Adaptation Project course, 2015)

The municipality of Haparanda is located some 81 km south of the Arctic Circle by the shores of Torneå River. Its twin city is Tornio, located just across the Torneå river in Finland. This unique configuration has allowed Haparanda to grow and to attract a number of retail firm (e.g., Ikea) to serve the northern part of Scandinavia and Finland’s Lapland.

Haparanda is undergoing a number of urban transformations such as the  development of a shopping area in the northern part of the municipality. However, the municipality wants to strengthen the old city centre. The idea is to complement the shopping-based economy of Haparanda with more cultural functions.The cultural and planning departments in Haparanda have delivered a series of suggestions on how the old city should look like in the near future. Political consensus is needed to go ahead with the project.


The partnership between the Municipality of Haparanda and the Master in Climate Sensitive Urban Planning at Luleå Tekniska Universitet (Luleå University of Technology) will be strategic in order to develop a climate-sensitive, urban regeneration project for Haparanda.

The project was presented in May, 25 to the city of Haparanda and to the political board of the twin city Haparanda-Tornio.

Credits
Supervisor: Agatino Rizzo
Students: Broekhuizen, Ico, Pérez Lobera, Julia, Rovers, Twan, Sanchez Lopez, Sara
Haparanda Kommun: Jytte Rydiger, Goran Wigren