Although I’m originally from a Mediterranean city, I lived for almost a decade in Montreal, and then for a couple of years in Malmö. So one could say I’m drawn to ‘nordicity’. Now that winter approaches, and I’m based again in my native Barcelona, I find myself missing the snow, cross-country ski, ice-skating in parks and, sometimes, just the light of Québec winters. But I’m aware of the tricks my mind plays, as I’m only remembering one side of the coin. Because: months of subzero temperatures (heard of ‘spring of deception’?), ‘slush’, sliding on the street and (almost) breaking your hip, cold-induced facial immobility, or – my ‘favourite’ – dressing and undressing young children every single time you need to go out. All this to say that winters in Nordic cities can be challenging, but also full of opportunities, provided we offer an integrated approach to urban nordicity.

Marie-Hélène Roch, an artist-researcher and founder of  Hiver en Nous in Québec, highlights on Centdegres.ca the importance of cultivating a winter mindset, seeing it as a time for self-reflection and community bonding. Roch emphasizes the need to cultivate “seasonal resilience” not only within individuals but also across municipal institutions, community organizations, or schools. This shifted approach to winter requires adjustments both to everyday habits and urban design. Outdoor activities, winter festivals, and public spaces designed for cold weather can promote mental and physical health while fostering a sense of connection. In this way, embracing winter as a social asset can enhance both collective well-being and resilience. A practical example that Roch gives in this sense is a program in the Laurentides region that provides free crampons to vulnerable individuals, promoting safer walking in winter and helping to combat isolation and encourage physical activity. Or the case of  Garderie Nature in Chicoutimi, where children enjoy outdoor Nordic-style baths in warm water, wearing hats and water shoes to stay cozy.

On the other side of the Athlantic, researchers Kateryna Pereverza, Annelie Viksten and Moa Ribjer share on Medium.com some insights of their research on multiple stakeholders’ sustainable mobility imaginaries in Nordic winter cities through the case of Skellefteå, a quickly growing municipality in the north of Sweden. The unsustainability of winter in Nordic cities would be importantly driven by the increased reliance on solo car usage during that season. It does not only make streets more congested and polluted, and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, but also leads to unsustainable infrastructure spending, with constant snow clearance, road maintenance, and the environmental costs of maintaining a vehicle fleet. Some of the solutions outlined in the article are infrastructure-oriented, such as heated bike lanes, or the example of the recent Fyllingsdalen ‘cycling tunnel’ in the Norwegian city of Bergen, a three-kilometer bike-pedestrian pathway declared to be “the world’s longest purpose-built cycling tunnel”. Other strategies focus on (re)shaping urban form to decrease the need for mobility, such as the concept of a ‘15-minute city’, where the majority of services are available within minutes of one’s home.

Be it in Scandinavia or elsewhere, these urban experiences together become a good illustration that resilience, sustainability, and innovation can go hand in hand. It’s not just about surviving winter, but thriving through it!