2200 meters: infrastructure, the future, and the politics of belonging in Greenland and the Arctic

In 2015, Naalakkersuisut (Government of Greenland) approved the largest investment in transportation infrastructure ever undertaken by the island’s autonomous government. Consisting of the expansion of two existing airports and the construction of one new regional hub, the project promises development by freeing the island from the constraints of its World War II-era infrastructure and creating greater connections to the globe. However, the project will also realign much of the island’s current transportation network, increasing access to some communities while potentially contributing to the isolation and displacement of others. Focusing on the experience of the airport expansion project in two communities, this article examines how legacies of the past and visions for the future intermix and coalesce around large-scale infrastructural projects and what they can reveal about the interconnection between state policy, the politics of belonging, and the future of Arctic communities.