Citizens and the planning of sustainability of mining

Greenland’s strong political desire to increase self-rule and economic independence from Denmark requires new sources of income and diversification of the economy. Mineral resources and urban centralization are promoted as the key instruments for creating economic independence. This transition will have a large impact on the citizen’s everyday life through the ongoing changes of settlement patterns and livelihoods.
The key question of this paper is how the citizens may inform and influence the sustainability of planning and implementation of local raw material projects and urban planning. Further, the paper explores the ongoing development based on theories of democracy and on capacity building. The paper aims at supporting participatory practices in the ongoing transition of the arctic societies by developing the knowledge basis and promoting further research in the field. The paper concludes that the social, economic and environmental sustainability will depend on the degree to which the citizens are engaged in both local developments of specific mining projects, as well as in societal planning where multiple and complex issues are at stake such as urban settlement patterns, cultures, livelihood, jobs, educations, environment, globalization, and intercultural encounters.