Small Settlements in Greenland Face Major Challenges
Lack of jobs, emigration and an aging population make many smaller towns and settlements vulnerable. But mayors believe that investments and more housing can reverse the trend.
Small settlements face major challenges, according to Torben M. Andersen, chairman of the Economic Council of Greenland.
Limited business opportunities, a declining population, an increasing average age and an unbalanced gender distribution with many men are trends that are here to stay in the smallest settlements.
And that simply does not make them sustainable in the long term, believes the economics professor from Aarhus University.
They are economically and socially vulnerable, according to him, unless they have a strong business base in fishing or tourism—or are located close to larger cities.
“The harsh reality is that the settlement pattern is not sustainable,” stated Torben M. Andersen in a presentation on the subject at the Future Greenland conference.
Which worries him, because “it is simply a question of sustainability and the living conditions that people have,” he tells KNR.
Urbanization
Like other places in the world, Greenland has undergone urbanization in recent decades.
More residents, especially young people, are moving to large cities like Nuuk in search of better job opportunities, leisure and cultural offerings, and economies of scale in the cities—and the process is self-reinforcing.
“People want to be where things are happening,” says Torben M. Andersen.
The large distances between towns and settlements and difficult transport conditions exacerbate the development, as they make it unrealistic to offer the same living conditions and services throughout the country.
The conditions have led to what Torben M. Andersen calls “small business disadvantages” and recruitment challenges.
This affects everything from business to health in small towns and settlements in the country, as it becomes more difficult to maintain a functioning economy and a welfare society.
Political Issue
In his presentation at the conference, Torben M. Andersen referred to politicians as the ones who must find a solution.
The economist said that the dispersed settlement pattern continues to have cultural and political significance, but according to him, there is a need for politicians to address the situation and start a discussion on how best to ensure acceptable living conditions and development opportunities across different types of settlements.
Torben M. Andersen points to several approaches, but perhaps most important of all is the question of how to promote more economic development in smaller settlements, so that more business activity can be created and, in the long term, a sustainable economic foundation can be laid.
It cannot be ignored that public support is necessary, says Torben M. Andersen, but it can be arranged in different ways.
He distinguishes between a passive policy with general subsidies and price support and a more active policy, where support is targeted at activities and businesses that can create local sustainability.
But it must also happen with what he calls local responsibility and initiative, so that solutions are based on the specific conditions of the individual areas rather than copying models from the largest cities.
Housing, Housing, Housing
After Torben M. Andersen’s presentation on Greenland’s settlement structure, the mayors from the country’s municipalities took the stage for a panel debate at Future Greenland.
The mayors agreed that there are major problems with getting the settlements to run economically. But all agreed that the settlements should generally be preserved, and pointed to a central problem: housing challenges.
After the debate, KNR caught up with Lars Erik Gabrielsen, mayor of Avannaata Municipality, for an in-depth conversation.
Here he said that he heard a lot of talk about creating a better framework for investments in Future Greenland, and that the political and business will to invest is there.
But he believes that the time has come to act and no longer just talk.
“There are no restrictions. Send an application to the Self-Government and get an approval or a rejection. The opportunity is there,” he says.
Lars Erik Gabrielsen recognizes Torben M. Andersen’s concerns, but he still doesn’t completely buy them, because the economist forgets the housing shortage, he says.
“They also flee for a reason,” he says about young Greenlanders in smaller towns and settlements.
“Young people live with their families. What does it end up with in the end? They move out. They lack housing.”
The mayor says that he meets many young people who want to work in small towns and settlements.
They dream of becoming fishermen and working in kindergartens or with the elderly, he says.
But there are just no homes for them.
“The workforce is there. They just stay with their father and mother,” says Lars Erik Gabrielsen.
Torben M. Andersen acknowledges that the housing challenges are real and says that the housing shortage is one of the “vulnerabilities” he believes characterizes smaller settlements.
Deviating or a Model for Imitation?
According to Lars Erik Gabrielsen, the North Greenland settlement of Oqaatsut is an example of how smaller settlements do not necessarily equal a bad economic investment.
In 2018, there were 19 residents left in the settlement. Then a fish factory came along, and now there are over 50 residents.
Like so many other places, there is also a shortage of housing.
But they produce halibut—700 tons per year—and attract a lot of foreign labor.
He highlights the settlement as a sign that it can be done, and that people want to live in smaller settlements. They just need to be involved in economic growth and have a place to live.
For him, the settlement is a model that can be followed in the attempt to ensure that each individual settlement manages to create economic momentum on its own.
Torben M. Andersen does not know the settlement in detail, he tells KNR.
“But it is an example that it can be done,” he says.
“There can easily be well-functioning smaller settlements.”
However, it goes without saying that there is a big difference between the settlements when it comes to business opportunities.
“They are not all in the same situation,” he says.
“Not all settlements can have a fish factory, and therefore there is a real challenge.”
Source: KNR (in Danish)