Brita Hermelin

Professor

My research background is Human Geography. My research explores governance for regional development and for transformation towards sustainability.

Formations and changes in regional governance

My research explores the following themes:

• Local strategic interventions for economic development
• Governance and partnerships for vocational education and training
• Multi-level governance for public transport
• Social innovations for development through local communities
• Local interventions to implement sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030

Published work in English

Since 2017

2026

Hermelin, B. (2026) Place-based development interventions through sparsely populated municipalities in Sweden–governance setting and geographical conditions Planning Practice & Research, 1-17.
Grillitsch, M., Stihl, L. & Hermelin, B. (2026) Municipalities: Actors of Change in Regional Development? Geoforum, 173: 104660. doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2026.104660
Grundel, I. & Hermelin, B. (2026) Smart Specialisation in Swedish Regions as a Governance Tool for Societal Transformation. International Regional Science. doi: 10.1177/01600176261445985

2025

Persson, B., Hermelin, B. & Backström, E. (2025). Developing city-regional governance capacity: the case of skill formation in the Gothenburg city-region. European Planning Studies, 33(5), 721-738.

2024

Hermelin, B. & Gustafsson, S. (2024). A local governance initiative for climate mitigation: the place-leading role of local government. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 11(1), 599-613.
Hermelin, B. & Persson, B. (2024). Local development policy in a societal crisis: municipal-industry dialogues in Sweden during Covid-19. Territory, Politics, Governance, 12(10), 1585-1600.
Grillitsch, M., Stihl, L. & Hermelin, B. (2024) Municipalities’ role in regional development: Navigating subsidiarity, place-based approaches, and geographical variation. Papers in Innovation Studies.
Hermelin, B. (2024) The circular economy. In: Jones, A. and Ström, P. (Eds.) Research Handbook on the Green Economy, p. 51-63. Edward Elgar.
Andersson, I & Hermelin, B. (2024) Rescaling public transport planning in Sweden: investigating the continued planning at the scale ‘left behind’, European Planning Studies

2023

Ström, P. & Hermelin, B. (2023) An economic geography approach to the implementation of circular economy – comparing three examples of industry-specific networks in West Sweden. Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management.
Hermelin, B. & Ström, P. (2023) Services and Environment (Greening). In: Gallouj, F. et al. (Eds.) Elgar encyclopedia of services.

2022

Hermelin, B. & Persson, B. (accepted, 2022) Local development policy in a societal crisis – municipal-industry dialogues in Sweden during Covid-19. Territory, Politics, Governance Doi: 10.1080/21622671.2022.2133008
Hermelin, B. & Henriksson, M. (2022) Transport and Mobility. Planning for Sustainable Development. Planning Practice & Research, 37:5, 527-531.

2021

Hermelin, B. & Trygg, K. (2021) Decentralised development policy: A comparative study on local development interventions through municipalities in Sweden. European Urban and Regional Studies
Hermelin, B. & Persson, B. (2021) Regional governance in second-tier city-regions in Sweden: a multi-scalar approach to institutional change. Regional studies.
Hermelin, B. & Gustafsson, S. (2021) Strategic Planning for High-speed Rail Investments - A Comparative Study of Four Intermediate Stations in Sweden . Planning practice & research

2020

Persson, B., Hermelin, B. (2020) Decentralised cooperation between industries and local governments in a statist skill-formation system: an analysis of industrial schools in Sweden. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, DOI: 10.1080/13636820.2020.1829007
Hermelin, B. & Jonsson, R. (2020) Governance of Waterfront regeneration projects: Experiences from two second-tier cities in Sweden. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, DOI:10.1111/1468-2427.12966

2019

Gustafsson, S., Hermelin, B. & Smas, L. (2019) Integrating environmental sustainability into strategic spatial planning: the importance of management, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 62:8, 1321-1338.
Hermelin, B. (2019, in print) Knowledge Economy. In: Kobayashi, A. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Elsevier
Magnusson, D. & Hermelin, B. (2019): ICT development from the perspective of connectivity and inclusion – the operation of a local digital agenda in Sweden, Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography, DOI: 10.1080/00291951.2019.1596153

2018

Hermelin, B. & Trygg, K. (2018) Introduction: Local approaches to sustainable development with case studies from Sweden , Scottish Geographical Journal.
Hermelin, B. & Andersson, I. (2018) How green growth is adopted by local policy – a comparative study of ten second-rank cities in Sweden, Scottish Geographical Journal.
Hermelin, B. & Rusten, G. (2018) A place-based approach to social entrepreneurship for social integration – cases from Norway and Sweden. Local Economy.
Persson, B. & Hermelin, B. (2018) Mobilising for change in vocational education and training in Sweden – a case study of the ‘Technical College’ scheme, Journal of Vocational Education & Training.
Hermelin, B. (2018) The rise of the hybrid domain. Collaborative governance for social innovation, Regional studies, Vol. 52, nr 1, s. 156-157.

2017

Hermelin, B. & Rämö, H. (2017) Intermediary activities and agendas of regional cleantech networks in Sweden. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 35 (1), p. 130–146.
Rusten, G & Hermelin, B. (2017): Cross-sector collaboration in upper secondary school vocational education: experiences from two industrial towns in Sweden and Norway, Journal of Education and Work, 30 (8), p. 813–826, DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2017.1366647
Trygg, K. & Hermelin, B. (2017) Work practice among advanced producer service firms – project work in space-time, Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography, 117 (1), p. 11–21, DOI: 10.1080/00167223.2016.1259078.

Academic background and networks

Academic awards

PhD in Human Geography at the Department of Social and Economic Geography, Uppsala University, 1997.
Associated Professor in Geography, at the Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University, 2004.
Professor in Geography at the Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University, 2011.
Professor in Human Geography, Centre for Municipality Studies, 2012.

Research networks and associations

• Member of The green economies network.

• Member of Regional Studies Association.

Centre for Local Government Studies (CKS)

Research at the Centre for Local Government Studies

At CKS, we conduct research and collaboration aimed at supporting municipalities in their strategic decision-making. Our connection to the municipal sphere through our partner municipalities is the cornerstone of our work.