ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following work: Pfaffl, Magdalena (2019) Remote villages as heterotopias and places of utopics: analogue case studies in Sweden and Israel in preparation for future Mars settlement. PhD Thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: https://doi.org/10.25903/5ec324d59cbdb Copyright © 2019 Magdalena Pfaffl. The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owners of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please email [email protected] REMOTE VILLAGES AS HETEROTOPIAS AND PLACES OF UTOPICS. ANALOGUE CASE STUDIES IN SWEDEN AND ISRAEL IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE MARS SETTLEMENT. Mag. Magdalena Pfaffl, MMinEng, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University REMOTE VILLAGES AS HETEROTOPIAS AND PLACES OF TOPICS NALOGUE CASE STUDIES IN WEDEN U . A S AND ISRAEL IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE MARS SETTLEMENT. PhD thesis, November 2019 REMOTE VILLAGES AS HETEROTOPIAS AND PLACES OF UTOPICS. ANALOGUE CASE STUDIES IN SWEDEN AND ISRAEL IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE MARS SETTLEMENT. i Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisors, Dr David King and Dr Sharon Harwood for guiding and advising me during the work on this thesis. I am especially thankful for Dr King’s hard work in the final months leading up to submission. I am grateful to have received further guidance and feedback during the finishing stages of my research from Dr Colin MacGregor and especially Dr Nadine Marshall. Dr Caryn West has been of great value in providing feedback of the methods chapter of this thesis. I would like to thank all interviewees in my case study sites, but especially the local site liaisons that that have assisted me in securing accommodation and promoted my research, as well as helped me in recruiting interviewees. I am thankful for the support from space professionals, especially Prof Maria Firneis, Dr Franz Viehböck and Dr Gernot Grömer. While not formally interviewees of this study the above mentioned have been invaluable to the development of assumptions behind this study. Other colleagues, especially Dr Dean Carson and Dr Shane MacConnor, have been partners in discussions that helped me develop my ideas. For this too I am grateful. I want to extend my thanks even to all those unnamed here that I have had the opportunity to meet with and exchange ideas over the years of my candidature. My friends and family have supported me throughout this study, especially my partner Christian, but also my parents Gabriela Pfaffl, as well as Franz Pfaffl and his partner Karin Haslinger. I am thankful for you believing in me and my research and making space in which I could go on writing even as life happened around me. Mag. Andrea Hölzel has been of great support both in keeping me motivated and in listening to my developing ideas. Thanks also to Felizitas Philipp and her family for emotional support during tough periods. Last but not least I want to include my son Bjarni who is inspiring me to keep pushing and envisioning a future filled with new opportunities among the stars. REMOTE VILLAGES AS HETEROTOPIAS AND PLACES OF UTOPICS. ANALOGUE CASE STUDIES IN SWEDEN AND ISRAEL IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE MARS SETTLEMENT. ii Statement of the Contribution of Others This research was funded through the Australian Postgraduate Award, as well as the fee waiver for Higher Degree Research (HDR) students at James Cook University. James Cook University provided supervision through Dr Sharon Harwood and Dr David King, as well as access to literature and software licences. Further intellectual support was provided by Dr Colin MacGregor, Dr Nadine Marshall, Dr Dean Carson and Prof Peter Schweitzer. Dr Caryn West has reviewed the methods section of this thesis. Dr David King provided editorial support. Funding for field research was obtained through James Cook University postgraduate funding, competitive postgraduate funding, as well as funding from department internal research moneys. Chinova Resources, the mining company owning the pilot study mine site, contributed through providing free transport to and from site and free accommodation and board while on site. Some case study villages agreed to reduced accommodation costs. The Arctic Frontiers Emerging Leaders program in Norway that assisted in preparation for the Northern Sweden case studies was partially funded from private funds. Travel to prospective case study sites in Sweden ahead of site selection was funded from private funds. Local liaisons provided assistance in promoting the field studies and recruiting interviewees. REMOTE VILLAGES AS HETEROTOPIAS AND PLACES OF UTOPICS. ANALOGUE CASE STUDIES IN SWEDEN AND ISRAEL IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE MARS SETTLEMENT. iii Abstract While there is a growing body of research on taking people to Mars, as well as on the environmental control and life support systems required to keep humans alive both during the journey and on Mars, there is very little research to support the development of successful new settlements. This research explores the challenges faced by remote villages in harsh environments and how their residents have learned to adapt to these challenges. Accessing this existing knowledge opens opportunities for future settlement on Mars as well as on Earth. Research into remote villages as a form of settlement separate to rural settlement is a comparably new field within human geography. Recently for example the Carsons (2011; 2014) have identified a list of common features of remote villages. However past indices have used features of marginality as markers in identifying remote villages (Cloke, 1977; Cloke and Edwards, 1986) thus creating or at least strengthening an image of remote villages as chronically troubled and in decline. While there exist a number of different definitions and indices for identifying remoteness none appears to cater to the multi-facetted nature of remoteness. Besides the physical component of remoteness, the phenomenon has been shown to include cultural (Huskey, 2005, 2006; Schmallegger et al., 2011; Ardener, 2012; Gilbert, Colley and Roberts, 2016) as well as political (Harvey, 2000; Huskey, 2005; Rogers and Walker, 2005) aspects. At the other end of the spectrum remote villages have been associated with utopian ideals, as can for example be seen in the Israeli Kibbutz movement (Zilbersheid, 2007). The proposition was brought forward by this study that rather than being either utopias or dystopias remote villages might in fact be heterotopias. Heterotopias are places of otherness, places that are disconnected from the mainstream by both physical and socio- cultural barriers and where social rules different from the mainstream can exist (Foucault and Miskowiec, 1986; Hetherington, 1997). This study used an inductive research approach of extreme case studies, using open-ended interviews and qualitative coding techniques. The methodology was most heavily influenced both by Flyvbjergs’ (Flyvbjerg, 2006, 2009) ideas on case study research and Birks & Mills’ (2011) understanding of grounded theory. During 2015 five villages in northern Sweden and southern Israel were visited for this study. These sites were chosen using a multi-parameter matrix that catered for the multi-facetted and often relative nature of remoteness. REMOTE VILLAGES AS HETEROTOPIAS AND PLACES OF UTOPICS. ANALOGUE CASE STUDIES IN SWEDEN AND ISRAEL IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE MARS SETTLEMENT. iv During research in the case studies observations on three types of challenges were found: those challenges that were uncontrollable prerequisites of settlement (“environmental challenges”), those challenges that were brought about by political and social realities outside of the community’s immediate control (“infrastructure challenges”), and those challenges that referred directly to the village community (“community challenges”). Overall challenges faced by villages in both regions were remarkably similar though influenced by factors such as the villages’ age and settlement history. The data from this study showed four common phenomena characterising village life in remote and harsh regions. Firstly, the harshness of terrain and climate provides residents with a sense of place. Secondly, residents described a strong ‘do-it-yourself’-attitude and volunteering culture. Thirdly, there was a high occurrence of different types of self-employment that signified that the lack of employment options was not as significant as expected. Finally, and most importantly, residents were attracted to what life in a remote village could offer, and in particular, the opportunities that could be provided that were different from mainstream society. Using the findings from this study the phenomena listed by the Carsons (2011; 2014) could be put in relation to each other. In doing so I was able to contribute to explaining the co- occurrence of these phenomena and at the same time I identified a missing link. In the following I proposed that the observed co-occurrence of phenomena can be explained through remote villages being heterotopias. Research findings showed that at least the villages in this study can be described as heterotopias. If indeed remote villages are heterotopias, then they can be expected to have a two-way relationship with the mainstream. The villages of this study could be shown to conform to Ravens’ (2015) and Hetheringtons’ (1997) notion of heterotopias as places of utopics, that is places that through their striving towards utopia create a high innovative potential that could be described as that of a ‘living laboratory’ (Raven, 2015). The question then follows how to support remote villages in accessing this potential for innovation. This study proposes the use of structure and agency theory for these means: From the case study data we know residents of the case study sites to have strong agency, that is a willingness and capability to self-solve problems that arise from their villages’ remoteness. However as suggested by structure-and-agency theory, agents need a supporting structure in order to be able to exercise this agency.