Urban planning and housing
My research within the scope of this research direction is currently primarily focused on two projects. The first project explores the limits and possibilities of what I tentatively designate as “moderately heterodox” city-level initiatives to challenge the hegemonic dominance of market-oriented approaches to urban development. To this end, I examine the intentions and outcomes of the experimental neighborhood of Vallastaden in the Swedish city of Linköping.
The second project is concerned with the proliferating trend of cities seeking to foster the development of low-carbon or carbon neutral neighborhoods. In this project, we draw on theorisations of climate urbanism to explore how these kinds of projects place new demands on both the planning process and the urban planning profession. The project is structured around case studies of three such recent projects in mid-sized Swedish cities.
I am also currently wrapping up research conducted with colleagues from Uppsala University on how and to what extent the renovations in recent years of rental housing constructed in the 1960s and 1970s as part of Sweden’s extensive Million Homes Program have displaced tenants in these neighborhoods.
I have previously done some work on planning history and the mobility of planning theory.
Transportation and mobility
My second research direction focuses on transportation politics, particularly public transportation.
In my dissertation An infrastructure of freedom: Atlanta, race, and the struggle over public transportation in the capitalist city, which explored the deeply racialized struggles over public transportation in Atlanta (Georgia, USA), I sought to shed new light on how processes related to capitalism and race intersect to shape the planning and development of these vital infrastructures, particularly with regards to their capacity to provide urban residents access to basic mobility options.
Together with Pär Wikman, I have initiated research on the marketization of Sweden’s public transportation infrastructure and the long-term implications of these reforms for the planning, financing, and development of public transportation systems as well as the working conditions of those who operate them.
