ARCA - Biocultural Heritage in Arctic Cities

ARCA is a Belmont Forum consortium project consisting of social and natural scientists and artists. It’s main research question is: “How can biocultural heritage embodied in Arctic urban green spaces and natural landscapes serve as a resource for climate adaptation?" It combines the methods of social anthropology, climate science, remote sensing, human geography, arts and community engagement to co-create publicly accessible and place-specific science and arts products. The Vienna anthropology team is focusing on the role of local and Indigenous ecological knowledge and human-nature relations embodied in urban green spaces and landscapes in environmental adaptation and cultural resilience. Our ethnographic research sites include Anchorage in the USA and Kirkenes in Norway. Together with research partners and local communities, our team co-organizes collaborative workshops, including presentations, artistic interventions, participatory mapping and discussions.

This project is funded by BMBWF for Belmont Forum

• go to the official ARCA portal

October 2025 | Recap: Co-Creative Community Workshop

@The Nave, Anchorage
07.-08.10.2025
Topic: Biocultural Heritage & Climate Adaptation in Arctic Cities

Olga Povoroznyuk and Peter Schweitzer co-hosted a co-creative community workshop on urban green spaces, biocultural heritage and climate adaptation in Anchorage, Alaska.

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 partner institutions

• George Washington University, USA (consortium lead)
• Nancen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Norway
• Art & Science International Institute, France
• Indigenous, environmental and arts NGOs in the USA and Norway