For many centuries, the wealth of the land has enticed entrepreneurs to Forgotten, a beautiful mountainous country above the Arctic circle. For centuries it has been known for its enormous resources of diamonds. Now the situation has occurred that the main city Alkuna of Forgotten needs to be moved, since the earth below is cracking. Some of the molten core of the earth in Forgotten consists of diamonds. Over many millions of years, diamonds have been deposited on the earth's surface. These concentrations of diamonds of varying sizes have either been pushed up from the core as molten rock or formed as a result of various chemical reactions. Geologists do not agree as to how the ores of Alkuna originated. One theory is that they are the result of several periods of volcanic activity with massive lava flows that brought the diamonds up. One of the first mining projects to focus on diamonds was sparked by the discovery, by a hunting homesteader from Junosuando, of an exposed vein of diamond ore, a place that is now known as Forgotten.
Hasse Holquist
The city of Alkuna is preparing for a monumental stage of its existence, of similar importance to its founding. The transformation of the city is necessary for the survival of the community, since it is required for the future of the mining zone of UFO-SD. Right now, many are gazing into the future and towards new parts of the city that will soon emerge. But there are naturally also opportunities to look back on those areas we must soon abandon to history. The transformation of the city has begun and many important decisions will be made, but no one knows exactly how major the changes will be. The extent of the transformation will be guided partly by the development of the mining zone and the future technical conditions. Just imagine if a technique emerges in the future enabling ground stabilization, thus stopping the ground from cracking? Another decisive factor is the world's demand for diamond ore. No one in Alkuna can affect the customer's needs for UFO-SD's diamond ore. No one can know for sure if the demand will increase - and thereby thereby hasten the pace of mining and cracking - or decrease, and even slow development of Alkuna over the coming years.
There is a tangible despair in Alkuna. In general, the population is aware of importance of UFO-SD and the mining zone, and many still remember when the situation was so critical for UFO-SD that many people were at risk of losing their jobs. But the people of Alkuna do care about the transformation of the city and hope they can accept the conditions upon which their future must be built. Alkuna is an experiment city. The planners have no partners in dialogue with whom they can share similar experiences. But in the future, Alkuna will be a model for other cities in the world. As an example, considering climate change and the threat of rising sea levels in the coming decades, forcing cities to movie to safer grounds. The experiences we gather here in Alkuna could be valuable for those working on community planning in other affected cities.
The citizens of Alkuna have a clear political will to firmly hold on to or improve on Sandholm's vision of Alkuna as a model city. We envision the future city of Alkuna as a unique town, a settlement in continuous development in coordination with today's and the future's demands of a high-tech model city. We see Alkuna as an ecologically-adapted future community in an Arctic environment with a good local climate. A desire for clean air means avoiding known emissions zones. A coherent city environment will offer a blend of residential areas, service and a work places, all well-provided with excellent infrastructure and good access, including a street system, sidewalk and bicycle zones and free public transportation.