SearchUrban trees and forests contribute to making cities socio-economically and environmentally more sustainable. This is a transdisciplinary field where the two platforms SLU Urban Futures and Future Forests meet and collaborate to identify knowledge gaps and new research…
A new way to prioritize food issues
Significant changes have occurred in the food system. The old local systems have started to strain as the systems become more global and complex. Now, we need new methods to secure food supply.
SLU Urban Futures joins the Sea Forum of BoSS Malmö
The Bauhaus of the Seas Sails (BoSS) is a project funded under the call for the development of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) by the European Union. The project aims to promote renewed ethical and aesthetic regenerative development…
A holistic view of flooding and water moving through the landscape
[SLU Kunskapsbank - In Swedish] När för mycket vatten hamnar på fel plats och vid fel tidpunkt, kallar vi det för översvämning. Allt oftare kan vi se i media hur folk som bor i översvämmade områden blir drabbade.…
NICE – Innovative And Enhanced Nature-Based Solutions For Sustainable Urban Water Cycle
This project will develop precision Nature Based Solutions for removing pollution and pathogens from urban waste water. SLU is the lead for WP6 - Modelling Nature Based Solutions, which will develop free, open source, software to help scientists,…
Green4Extremes – Green infrastructure for synergetic climate adaptation to extremes events
In the Green4Extremes project, researchers from SMHI, SLU and Lund University evaluate how green infrastructure can provide synergistic effects that counteract both flooding and heat stress in cities while making the cities more pleasant to live in.
A safe garden environment can create a path into the job market
[Article in Swedish] Trädgårdens trygga miljö, med inspirerande omgivning och praktiska arbetsuppgifter, kan påverka livet för den som under många år levt i utanförskap eller arbetslöshet. Det visar en studie av SLU-forskaren Anna María Pálsdóttir på institutionen för…
Urban farming can provide us with food in times of crisis
[Article in Swedish - forskning.se] Tillgång till mat är avgörande för vår överlevnad. Men vad händer om det blir krig, eller en längre kris? Stadsodlingar kan vara ett sätt att dryga ut livsmedlen. Men det krävs en vilja…
SLU joins the New European Bauhaus initiative
Living spaces that are beautiful, sustainable and inclusive. Those are ambitions of the EU initiative New European Bauhaus. In August 2023, SLU became an official partner in the New European Bauhaus to further strengthen the work on the…
Urban food production requires interdisciplinary collaboration
Researchers at SLU investigated whether rooftop greenhouses could be a viable option in Sweden. “By using an interdisciplinary approach, we capture crucial information that might otherwise be overlooked. For example, the connection between natural ventilation and plant protection,…
Creating cool islands in the city – how microclimates and urban greenery can reduce the dangers of heat
Extreme urban heat – a serious threat in cities and a contemporary health hazard
What will the green energy landscape of the future look like?
A Master's level course for future landscape architects deals with major global societal issues, such as sustainable energy production, economic growth and the consequences our choices have in our future landscapes. A green energy transition is necessary for…
Vattnet svämmar över – vad händer?
(Article in Swedish.) Eftersom de största riskerna som är förknippade med översvämningar finns i städerna är det viktigt med åtgärder som minskar översvämningarna där.
How do we get our cities right – June 2023
Six keynote speakers at the conference 'Getting our Cities Right #3 in June 2023, answer the question: From your perspective and background, what are the main ways to get our cities right?
Nordic urban greenery in a global context – present state and future imaginaries
Marcus Hedblom, Professor in Landscape Management, SLU, was one of the speakers at the Nordic conference: Towards Greener, Healthier and Resilient Cities, on 1 Dec 2022. (Website in Swedish, recorded video in English.)
What’s to eat? Women, children and the urban food environment: the case of Addis Ababa
Food and nutrition security is a cornerstone for achieving global sustainable development. In Africa’s rapidly growing cities, unemployment and widespread poverty currently leads to high levels of food and nutrition insecurity for a large share of the population.
How can Living Labs contribute to sustainable urban transformation?
A short clip where some of the speakers at the conference Getting our Cities Right #2 in Alnarp reflect on Living Laboratories as a methodology to create more sustainable urban landscapes.
Arguments for greener cities
(Research compilation in Swedish) Vilka fördelar har gröna städer? Argumenten för gröna städer är överväldigande för den som följer aktuell forskning. Växter i stadsmiljöer har positiva effekter för invånarnas hälsa, klimatet, den biologiska mångfalden, den sociala sammanhållningen och…
More trees are needed in cities
(Article in Swedish) Johanna Deak Sjöman är forskare i grön infrastruktur och urbana ekosystemstjänster vid Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet. Hon ger oss en bild över det aktuella forskningsläget och förklarar hur grönska påverkar klimatet i urbana miljöer.
Learning from the Global South: strategic public space design for the informal city
Landscape architecture scholar Caroline Dahl of SLU Landscape travelled to Buenos Aires in May 2022 for a teacher’s exchange and engaged in a conversation with urban researcher Max Rohm of UBA’s Architecture and Urban Design Faculty.
How de we get our cities right? June 2022
Four keynote speakers at the conference 'Getting our Cities Right' in Uppsala 2022, answer the question: From your perspective and background, what would be the three key ways to get our cities right?
Food waste in Addis Ababa
A little seed funding goes a long way! This project, led by Associate Professor Assem Abu Hatab at SLU, started with an application to SLU Urban Futures seed funding and resulted in a collaboration project in Addis Ababa…
What are urban forests?
Urban forests are in increasing focus these days as contributors to healthier, more resilient, and more attractive cities. But what do we mean with ‘urban forests’? On the 29th of September 2021, two research platforms at SLU invited…
Governance, Justice and Resistance: On the way to a fossil-free welfare society
An SLU project aiming to develop an integrated vision for transition governance that is more likely to be socially accepted and effective.
What drives people’s decision-making regarding climate change? What personal values in the landscape are at risk from the effects of climate change?
A recently published article entitled "DeveLoP - a rationale and toolbox for Democratic Landscape Planning" presents a rationale and a toolbox for analyzing individuals' decision-making and elicit their values in the landscape.
Urban nature connects Europe and Latin America
By connecting researchers, policymakers, local communities and developers, the Conexus project is co-creating and evidencing solutions that are inspired and supported by nature. SLU is coordinating and running living labs across seven countries in Europe and Latin America.
Deficient sanitation increases the risk of animal spread diseases in slums
A research project led by researchers from SLU is studying how diseases that spread from animals to humans in Salvador, Brazil, can be reduced. The research includes four areas in metropolitan slums with a lack of sanitation, such…
Informal Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development: Towards a more inclusive urban agenda
In September 2021 international guests were invited to explore the dynamics of rapid urbanization and environmental change in the context of informal settlements in the global south. Find the recorded webinar here.
Soundscape Perceptions and Preferences for Different Groups of Users in Urban Recreational Forest Parks
Although the soundscape in cities is receiving increased attention in urban planning, there is still a lack of knowledge of how personal factors influence the perception of and preference for soundscapes. This study from Xi’an, China, explores the…
The power of design and landscape perspectives
Landscape architecture, in research and practice, is a field with potential to greatly influence and strengthen urban transformations and sustainable development. We met with Gunilla Lindholm, associate professor in Landscape Architecture at SLU, to hear more about this…
Food & Cities
Food & Cities is a collaboration between SLU Future Food and SLU Urban Futures. The project communicates SLU’s existing research and aims to create new encounters between different disciplines and sectors.
Swede dreams: can Malmö’s green points system help rewild London?
London will be the largest city in the world to implement a green space system. The Guardian visited Bo01 and Tobias Emilsson, a researcher at SLU, who presented the development of green roofs at the Bo01 district in…
Effects of uncontrolled urbanization on river streamflow and water quality
Urbanisation cause degradation of water quality and streamflow in rivers and streams worldwide. Benjamin Gossweiler Herrera evaluated land changes, water quality and flow in the river after three decades of urbanization in his new doctoral thesis.
Source-sorting toilets and sewers – an important issue for sustainable urban development
(Video in Swedish) Ett väl fungerande system för hantering av toalettavfall är grundläggande för både hälsa och miljö. Det finns dock de som menar att dagens vattenbaserade system har spelat ut sin roll, och att det är dags…
Don’t flush the secret to sustainable agriculture down the toilet!
In the apartment buildings of tomorrow, the lowly toilet is set to contribute to reduced emissions and more sustainable agriculture. A new system from researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) transforms urine into nutrient-filled pellets…
Urban Take-Away: The Strategic Synthesis Project
In our second Urban Take-Aways, we meet Jonas Bylund, research and innovations officer for JPI Urban Europe and programme coordinator for IQS. We make a deep dive into synthesis and explore what it means and how it can contribute…
Each major city has its own typical microbial flora according to a new global study
An international consortium has reported the largest study ever of the microbes found on surfaces and in air in metropolitan environments around the world. (Article in Swedish.)
Urban Sustainability in the Global South
This transdisciplinary collaboration contributes to the development of research themes at SLU that capture synergies across SLU’s priority areas for global development and the global goals for sustainable development, using urban sustainability as an entry point.
Smart urban agriculture
[PDF Report] Smart urban agriculture initiatives where food is produced in closed, controlled and digitally augmented environments, such as vertical farms, plant factories and aquaponics systems can be found in cities across the globe. Such initiatives produce fresh…
Strategic Synthesis Project
This inter-institutional and transdisciplinary exchange targets harvesting knowledge on synthesis processes and methods relevant to urban topics considered at the European level. Initiated in 2018, it unfolds in partnership with IQ Samhällsbyggnad and Joint Programming Initiative JPI Urban…
Animal Adaptations to Survive the Anthropocene
The world is changing fast. Some animals adapt and may even thrive in the presence of humans, while other species decline and face extinction. Dr. Kays will present his research using animal tracking and camera traps to study…
The children’s voices about the city as a living environment for themselves
As part of the preparation for the Healthy Urban Childhoods summit 2019, SLU Urban Futures funded a project where children and young people from Sweden and around the world shared questions and messages on urban health for the…
Designing for Energy Transition – Dirk Sijmons (NL)
Dirk Sijmons, founder of the H+N+S office and former State Landscape Architect of the Netherlands examines the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy from a spatial design perspective.
The Sustainability of Urban Food Systems in Developing Countries
By 2050, the global food system must feed nine billion people, out of which around eight billions would be in developing countries. This implies the need for a major transformation in food systems- particularly in developing countries, if…
Co-creation!
Do you miss something here? Would you like to contribute? Please let us know: urbanfutures@slu.se