The worldwide trend of increasing urban population is also noticeable in Arctic cities. Regarding the unique importance of the Arctic for the global climate system the question arises, how the increasing population can be addressed while taking the environment and the needs of the residents into account.

In the scope of the SUDEA project, Ecologic Institute and its partners from the German Development Institute and the Maria-Curie-Slodowska-University analyse the challenges of sustainable urban development, to build up city environments that match with global environmental goals. The project's main hypothesis is, that urban development in the Arctic will be more sustainable if the positions of local stakeholders are reflected in decision-processes and policies are aligned across the national and regional level.

The project pursues three main goals. Firstly, it aims to increase the understanding of the situation and challenges facing cities in the European Arctic. The focus is on transnational cooperation and how this, together with the engagement of indigenous people, politics, administrations and NGO's, can lead to creative synergies. Secondly, a contribution to the knowledge about sustainable development and the transnational cooperation shall be made by studying the particular characteristics of remote regions. Finally, the research results should help to inform and influence political perspectives and actions on local and international levels.