Integrated Peri-urban Development

The interdisciplinary research school Integrated Peri-Urban Landscape Development was initiated in 2006, with six doctoral students (see the list below). The school is initiated and coordinated at the level of the Faculty, with students from four different departments. Bridging the gaps between “urban” and “rural” oriented research, the school aims to contribute with a deeper understanding of contemporary peri-urban development in Sweden and elsewhere. In addition, the research school has made an important contribution to the strength of the interdisciplinary environment at the LTJ Faculty, involving doctoral students from different departments, with their supervisors in common activities, such as thematic PhD-courses and workshops.
The school emphasises the need for a thorough understanding of the present day conditions of peri-urban areas, as well as the need for a bottom-up perspective on the driving forces and land-use changes, in order to facilitate spatial planning, land-use management and food production adjusted to the conditions of peri-urban areas. Bridging the divides between rural and urban studies, as well as the divides between science and humanistic research, the school facilitates an understanding of the complex conditions for a sustainable, integrated peri-urban development.

The Alnarp peri-urban seminar is an important part of the joint activities of the school. The seminar is open for the public.

The school includes the following research projects:
Countryside development in a peri-urban context
PhD student: Helena Mellqvist, Department of Landscape Management, Design and
Construction Supervisors: Kenneth Olwig, Allan Gunnarsson

Bioenergy and nutrient recycling on a peri-urban farm
PhD-student: Thomas Prade, Department of Agriculture – Farming Systems, Technology and Product Quality Supervisor: Jan Erik Mattsson, Allan Andersson, Håkan Rosenqvist

Pesticide use in the peri-urban environment
PhD student: Nur Ahmed, Department of Agriculture – Farming Systems, Technology and Product Quality Supervisors: Eva Johansson, Inger Åhman, Mats Lieberg, Jan-Erik Englund

Emerging Energy Landscapes: landscape analysis in rural planning for wind energy
PhD-student: Karin Hammarlund, Department of Landscape Architecture. Supervisors: Kenneth Olwig, Gunilla Lindholm

Potentials and conflicts connected to horse keeping and the use of the horse in the peri-urban landscape
PhD-student: Hanna Elgåker, Department of Rural Buildings and Animal Husbandry Supervisors: Christer Nilsson, Stefan Pinzke, Gunilla Lindholm

Utilization possibilities of the built agricultural infrastructure for recreational purposes on the multifunctional peri-urban farm
PhD-student: György Ängelkott Bocz, Department of Rural Buildings and Animal Husbandry Supervisors: Christer Nilsson, Stefan Pinzke, Carl Foung