Dec 2025: Article by Katrin Schmid and Ria-Maria Adams in Polar Geography
The quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal Polar Geography has just released the article “No room in the North: housing scarcity as infrastructure’s failed relations in the Arctic” by InfraNorth researchers Katrin Schmid and Ria-Maria Adams.
The article examines the entanglements of housing infrastructure, economic structures, and social relations in Arctic regions, focusing on Nunavut (Canada) and Malmfälten (Sweden). Using a comparative ethnographic approach, the authors explore how housing scarcity is shaped not only by physical infrastructure but by broader political and economic forces.
Drawing on thematic content analysis and an infrastructural relations framework, Schmid and Adams highlight how capitalist logics, demographic shifts, and governance structures contribute to ongoing housing crises. Rather than viewing infrastructure as a static entity, the researchers adopt a relational perspective that emphasizes the reciprocal dynamics between housing, social networks, and state policies. Their findings suggest that housing scarcity in the Arctic is not merely a consequence of remoteness or material limitations but a product of structural neglect, economic disincentives, and governance complexities.
By framing infrastructure as a site of contested relations rather than a neutral technical system, the authors argue that addressing Arctic housing challenges requires not only increased investment but a fundamental rethinking of infrastructural governance, social responsibility, and sustainability in northern communities.
This article is part of a special issue guest edited by Timothy Heleniak. You can find it open access in Polar Geography.
