ABSTRACT
Greenland’s pursuit of greater independence from Denmark requires attracting global capital and consolidating domestic infrastructural networks. The current configuration of Greenland’s airspace, air routes, and airports—collectively referred to as its “aeroscape”—is the direct outgrowth of American military interventions made during and after World War II to fulfill geostrategic imperatives rather than local needs, meaning the largest airports are located far from the most populated settlements. Given the centrality of air transportation to connecting Greenland’s scattered settlements, the sector is a particular target for rationalization. Today, Greenland’s government seeks to renovate existing airports in the nation’s capital Nuuk and the UNESCO World Heritage destination Ilulissat and build a new one in Qaqortoq, the largest town in southern Greenland. This chapter focuses on the case of Qaqortoq Airport, which is expected to replace the country’s southern airport hub in Narsarsuaq. Supported by multiple interviews conducted between January and July 2022 and informed by publicly available plans and documents, this chapter examines the new Greenlandic airport’s spatial design, its importance for Greenland’s nation-building project, and its potential to relate to more locally grounded design narratives, traditions, and imaginings. Taken together, this study underscores a critical moment in time, where a new generation of Greenlandic airports attempts to align with centers of population and economic activity, but at the same time could disconnect other settlements whose existence depends on supporting airports.
