inta mitterbach, student the university of akron â€“ fall

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Inta Mitterbach, student

The University of Akron – Fall 2007

Urban Geography – 3350:420

Professor: Dr. Mark de Socio

Project: Economic Geography Profile of a Major City

Topic: Nuuk, Greenland

Due: Friday, November 30, 2007

Introduction

Nuuk is the capital of the

world’s largest island: Greenland.

Greenland is located between the

North Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

Greenland neighbors Canada to the

west across the Davis Straight and

Baffin Bay, and Iceland to the east

across the Denmark Strait. The total

land area of Greenland is 840,000 square miles. The terrain of Greenland is somewhat hilly and

there are no trees except in the southern part of Greenland. Nuuk claims to be the “smallest

national capital in the world.”

Nuuk is the largest, oldest, and most “cosmopolitan” city in Greenland. It is located on

the southwest coastline, below the Arctic Circle, where the majority of settlement is situated due

Figure 1- Greenland's National Flag

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to the high level of permafrost that covers most of the island. Eighty five percent of the country

is covered with permafrost but the warm Atlantic currents keep the southwest coast warmer than

the rest of the island, allowing for settlement. The city is located at the mouth of a cluster of

fjords. The east coast of Greenland is unapproachable due to the severe ice conditions.

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Greenland is one of the world’s largest land masses, yet sustains

one of the world’s smallest populations. The climate is “extremely cold”

and has a short summer with temperatures that average 48 degrees F. The

low temperature in Nuuk in 2006 was 1 degree F in February, and the high

was 67 degrees F in August. Thousands of icebergs can be seen year round

but are more common during the summer months.

Economic Base

Greenland’s economy depends on subsidies received from Denmark. Greenland is able to

provide welfare services and free health care (administered by the Danish government) to its

citizens. The majority of the money spent by the government is allocated toward social security

and welfare, followed by education. Greenland has its own national flag and postage stamps. The

monetary unit is the Danish krone (1 U.S. dollar = 5.94 Dkr). Nuuk is the center of commerce

and government for Greenland.

A very few of the population are still hunting in Greenland – mostly for seal or caribou-

reindeer. A reindeer usually weighs around 165 pounds and one pound sells for around 35

Danish kroner (approximately $6 U.S.). The cost of living is relatively high in Greenland. Much

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of the food is imported from Denmark. Other imports include beverages, tobacco, mineral fuels,

goods for construction, machinery, and transport equipment. The majority of imports come from

Denmark, Sweden, The U.S., Norway, and China.

The economy relies heavily upon fishing, fish processing

and scientific research. The fish catch consists of shrimp, cod,

and halibut. Scientific research began in 1882 with the

establishment of the International Polar Year by the German

Explorer Karl Weyprecht to collect scientific data. Greenland was one of the participating

countries in which observation stations were set up to gather data. Studies have been conducted

to obtain meteorological data for world air circulation surveys and to evaluate the climatic

changes that have occurred over tens of thousands of years. In addition to the climate studies,

geologists have traveled to Nuuk to study the rocks and algae fossils found in Nuuk which date

as far back as 3.8 billion years ago.

Animals found in Greenland include the musk-ox, wolf,

lemming, and reindeer. Most of the animals are considered to be

more American than European. Circumpolar animals found in

Greenland include the polar bear, Arctic fox, polar hare, and

stoat. Economic activity includes sealing, fur trapping and whaling. The most common whales

found in the area are minke, humpback, and killer. The majority of animals that are caught due to

whaling are small whales and harbour porpoises. Whale, seal, walrus and dried fish are

consumed by the natives and can be found at restaurants in a meal for $20 or less. (Beer is the

most common alcoholic beverage consumed.) Gertrud Rask is a restaurant in Nuuk that serves

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gourmet Greenlandic and Danish food. Cattle, sheep, goats and hardy vegetables are raised along

the southwest coast. Near the harbor, seals, birds, and fish are sold at “The Board.”

A growing part of the industry in Greenland is in tourism. In Nuuk, you can find parks,

restaurants and three 500 year old mummies. There are at least nine budget, mid-range, and

upper level hotels and sleeping accommodations in Nuuk, and almost 30 places to find

something to eat or get a drink. Tourists come from all over the world and usually stay for two or

three days. Some of the tourists in Nuuk arrive by Canadian cruise ship. Attractions include the

art museum, the 1849 cathedral, and the Greenland National Museum and Archives located in

the old quarter – with information about Greenland’s ancient history. The Archives have records

that date back to 1782. Also in Nuuk is the city council chamber with large tapestries decorated

in Greenlandic culture and nature motifs.

Tourism takes advantage of the interests in seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights),

ice climbing in the spring, fishing, golfing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, swimming, whale watching,

and visiting the fjords. The remains of the Vesterbygd 10th-century Norse settlement are near the

fjords. Included in the things to do are shopping: Tupilaks are Inuit carvings that are made for

tourists – they were once thought to have held magical powers, and jewelry is carved from

reindeer antlers for souvenirs. Among these artisans is also found a fur workshop called Kittat

where traditional costumes called kammiks are made.

Among the activities that attract people to Nuuk and

contribute to the economic balance are the International Snow

Sculpture Festival in March with participants from all over the

world, and the Arctic Marathon in August. The 10.5km marathon

in 2008 will be held on August 9th.

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The southern part of Greenland has untapped

reserves of uranium to be mined. Exports include fish

(shrimp, halibut and cod), hides, skins, furs, and fish oil.

Eighty seven percent of all exports are made up of fish

products, the highest in prawns. The majority of exports are

shipped to Denmark, Spain, The U.S., and Iceland. Nuuk is the main port in Greenland.

Nuuk has one hospital: the Dronning Ingrid Hospital, and also has ambulance and police

emergency services available if needed. The Public and National Library, a Post Office, and two

tourism offices (one for Greenland and one for Nuuk) are located in Central Nuuk. Greenland’s

main publisher, called Atuakkiorfik, is located in Nuuk. The majority of books published in

Greenland are educational. The largest bookstore in Greenland, called Atuagkat Boghandel, is

also located in Nuuk.

Starting in 1934, Nuuk had been the site of Father Christmas – the destination of letters to

Santa from children around the world. The state-controlled Greenland Telecom company which

was subsidized by the government, financed and managed the Santa operation for years, until

spending cuts in 2002. An anonymous commercial benefactor provided financial support for the

Santa effort for eleven years, but recently it has become increasingly difficult for them to sustain

enough funding to carry on the Santa effort which includes replying to approximately 50,000

letters per year. Tourists can visit Santa’s House, located next door to the tourism office.

Among the employers found in Nuuk are the Greenland Teacher’s College (founded in

1847), Nuuk Technical College, and several radio stations. Nuuk is headquarters to two national

newspapers: Atuagagdliutit/Gronlandsposten and Sermitsiak. The primary occupations in Nuuk

are in government, hunting, fishing, fish canning, and reindeer and sheep raising. The number

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one area of employment is in public administration – construction

work comes in second. Generally speaking, the city has a fairly

specialized economy, with a major reliance upon industries related

to fishing and hunting for commerce.

Demographics

In 2000, the population for all of Greenland was 60,000 and the population of Nuuk was

13,400. Reported in the 2007 Greenland census, Nuuk’s population was 15,047. Emigration rates

exceed immigration rates in Greenland. Seventy-three percent of the voting population in Nuuk

cast their votes in the November 2005 election, and of the hunting licenses that were issued in

2006, there were three times as many sportsmen as there were hunters, which could be an

indication that there is a decline in the Inuit hunting lifestyle.

According to a study conducted by Scandinavian scientists, there has been a drop in the

number of Greenlandic male births for which pollution is being blamed. Seals and whales, which

are a staple food for Greenlanders, are ingesting pollutants being carried northward through the

wind and ocean currents. As a consequence, the pollutants are being harbored in the animal

blubber which is being ingested by the Greenlanders. High levels of PCBs are showing up in the

blood tests of expectant mothers and twice as many girls are being born than boys.

The majority of the population is between the ages of 25-59 years old. Abortions were

most performed on the group of women age 20-24 years old in 2005, a decline in age range from

25-29 years old in 1995. Of the names that were given to children who were born in 2004, the

most common were Hans for boys and Ane for girls. Of the infectious diseases that were

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reported in 2006, there was an extremely high rate of incidence of Gonorrhea. In all of

Greenland, there were two cases of AIDS reported in 2006.

The national average household income in 2002 was U.S. $30,815, which was

comparable to the 2005 individual income for Nuuk. The rate of income for a couple living in

Nuuk in 2005 was closer to U.S. $100,000. The average household size for 2004 was 2.5. The

number one highest committed crime in 2005 was theft.

Most of the inhabitants of Greenland are Inuit (Eskimo) and European. Of the European

people, the majority are Danish-Norwegian – the population is approximately 50/50,

Danish/Greenlandic. Most of the people speak Danish and about 70 percent speak Greenlandic.

In Nuuk, many of the people also speak English.

Many of the people are still practicing the traditional Inuit cultural activities including

soapstone carving and drum dancing. Numerous Greenlanders are active in sports in Greenland,

including football (soccer), skiing, badminton, handball, and kayak racing.

Every three years, The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) General Assembly is held to

bring the Inuit together from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia. The objectives include

strengthening unity, promoting rights and interests, developing policies that safeguard the Arctic

environment, and political, economic and social development. The ICC office for Greenland is

located in Nuuk.

History

The Inuit of North America were the first to settle in Greenland. They used the Canadian

Arctic islands to eventually cross over to Greenland, in a sequence of migrations that began

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around 4000 BC and continued until about AD 1000. There were several Inuit cultures that

journeyed to Greenland, including the Sarqaq from 1400 to 700 BC, the Dorset from 800 BC to

AD 1300, and afterward the Dundas and Inugsuk.

Later, Eric the Red, given his name because of his red hair, settled in Greenland from

Europe in 982. Eric the Red was a Norwegian explorer – the “first” to explore Greenland and to

establish a settlement. Eric the Red was the father of Leif Ericson, one of the first Europeans to

reach North America. Leif brought Christianity to Greenland from Norway and a bishop’s seat

was later established in 1126. Eric had originally left Norway with his father who had been

exiled for manslaughter, and settled in Iceland. Later, Eric himself was subject to charges of

manslaughter in Iceland, and left to stumble upon Greenland. After he found Greenland, he

returned to Iceland and convinced several shiploads of friends and relatives to return to

Greenland (in 985) with him to establish a settlement. He and the others established settlements

on the west coast at Brattahlid and Nuuk. By 1,200 AD, Nuuk had almost 90 farms and 1,000

people.

Dependence upon Norway began in 1261 AD. In 1380, Greenland became a Danish

possession and in 1721, Nuuk was officially founded. Nuuk is the oldest Danish settlement in

Greenland, originally settled by a Norwegian missionary: Hans Egede (1686-1758). Hans gave

the capital the Danish name Godthab which means “Good Hope.” Hans established a trading

company and a Lutheran mission – he wanted to find and reestablish the Norse colonies. From

1733 to 1734, a smallpox epidemic in Nuuk killed most of the indigenous people, and included

the loss of his wife. After Hans arrived, more Europeans headed for Greenland in search of the

whales – the Dutch, Basque and Scottish came.

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During World War II, as Denmark was occupied by Germany, Greenland became a

United States protectorate (1940-1945). After the war, in 1953, Greenland became part of the

Danish Kingdom. Soon after, in 1979, Greenland became governed by home rule (granted by the

Danish government), and Godthab was renamed Nuuk which means “the headland.” Since 1981

Greenland has been a self-governing province of Denmark. Greenland holds administration of

the municipal regulations, taxes, education, social welfare system, cultural affairs, and the state

church, while Denmark controls the constitutional affairs, foreign relations, and defense. The

legislative power is held by a 31-member parliament known as the Landsting, and a Supreme

Court. Greenlanders elect two of the Danish parliament members to represent them. Greenland

withdrew from the European Union in 1985. Today, Greenlanders are also Danish citizens,

sharing equal rights under the Danish crown.

Current Conditions Of The City

Transportation services include helicopter and plane

flights to connect to other Greenland cities, and boating. Air

Greenland, which employed 569 people in 2005, has many daily

flights to connect Nuuk to the rest of Greenland. The majority of

domestic flights are by helicopter. Roads are virtually

nonexistent between Greenland cities – there are 87 miles of

roads in and around Nuuk which allows approximately 31

miles of travel toward the interior of Greenland.

Based on the internet sites found online through the

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Nuuk and Greenland departments of tourism, the technology and

recent development is very contemporary. The city has radio

stations and newspapers, is considered to be a fishing center, and

has oil and liquid gas storage facilities. The area has good quality

pastures and sustains reindeer herds. There were 5,612 total dwellings in Nuuk in 2006.

There is a university center in Nuuk: The University of Greenland, established in 1987,

specializes in local and Arctic studies. The wood building used for the university was built in

1747. (Formative education in Greenland is free and compulsory for all children between 6 and

15.) The languages spoken in the schools include Greenlandic and Danish. There is a shortage of

Inuit speaking teachers. In addition to the University of Greenland, The Arctic University has

been established online with support from the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway,

Russia, and Sweden.

Recently, Inussivik Hall was built to house the Arctic Winter Games in Nuuk. The

Games cost $3.2 million. In 2001, Nuuk realized that their facilities were insufficient to house

the Games and a $650,000, 1,500-seat facility was built. The games are held in March and

include the Russian sledge jump, Alaskan high kick, and arm pull.

One of the newest buildings in Nuuk is the Katuaq Greenland Cultural Center – an award

winning cultural venue with theater, music, art and the only cinema in Greenland. Included in the

Katuaq are a conference center, coffee shop, the Greenland

Art School, and the NAPA Nordic Institute.

Initially, the Inuits used tents made from seal skins.

Following this primitive construction, the architecture in

Greenland was small sod home structures built with rocks

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and driftwood. The sod homes were used for hunting season and

abandoned when the animals were scarce. Later, during the

Danish colonial period from 1721 to the 1950s, wood was

imported from Europe and clapboard homes were built. A-frame

homes painted in bright colors are still found in Nuuk today. In

the 1950s, dreary housing blocks were built in the north and east

parts of Nuuk. After an airfield was built in the late 1970s, more

modern apartments and condominiums sprang up in the 1980s.

In Nuuk today, the tallest building is 328 feet tall (about 31

stories).

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inta mitterbach, student the university of akron â€“ fall

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