Development Patterns of Settlement Systems in Coastal Arctic Regions

Abstract

Coastal Arctic regions have gained increasing strategic importance due to climatic changes, transformation of global logistics, and the growing role of the Northern Sea Route. The formation of Arctic settlement systems is restricted by natural conditions, transport accessibility, and economic specialization, which makes it necessary to identify their spatial development in a comparative context.
Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify general and specific patterns of the spatial development of settlement systems in coastal Arctic regions, namely in the Murmansk region, Northern Norway, and Alaska.
Methodology: The historical-geographical and comparative geographical analyses, statistical processing of demographic and spatial data, and cartographic modeling. The empirical basis includes statistical and cartographic documents from Russia, Norway, and the United States.
Research findings: It is shown that, despite similar natural and climatic conditions, the regions demonstrate different settlement models: a stable linear model in Northern Norway, a fragmented nodal model in Alaska, and a mixed coastal-continental model in the Murmansk region. The transport infrastructure plays the key role in the spatial framework and settlement stable development.
Research implications: Research findings can be used in spatial planning of Arctic regions. Value: The development patterns are identified for coastal Arctic settlements, including the coastal orientation, selective territorial development, a nodal-linear spatial structure, and strong dependence on a limited number of transport corridors.