Kiruna’s move will happen slowly—very slowly. Starting with the first demolitions this spring, the town has given itself 85 years to retreat fully from the mine . The break between old and new will be neither sudden nor absolute; instead, as new neighborhoods are built on Kiruna’s eastern edge and old ones disappear, the town will inch eastward. By 2100, a greener city will have a zigzagging border that will bring fingers of open space close to the town’s heart.

Much of the old Kiruna is coming along for the ride, and with good reason. The town’s earliest structures are distinguished by durable, high-quality construction not commonly seen in frontier boomtowns.

The town plans to hold on to its best buildings, including a clock tower and a beloved church built in 1912 , by taking them apart and reassembling them in the new town center. Other materials left over from the old Kiruna will be recycled via a depot called the Portal , where residents will be able to both deposit and pick up wood, metal, and glass that could serve the new Kiruna’s rebuilding and repair needs for quite some time. Meanwhile, the old Kiruna’s site (which will remain safe to walk on) will be transformed into parkland, and a possible migration path for reindeer herds. Walking through the area in 100 years, one might not know that it had ever been a city.