Campus Development

At campus spaces various actors of science and society can engage in the co-creation of knowledge, a process increasingly identified as the basis for the transition to sustainable forms of life. 

The campuses at each of SLU’s locations in Ultuna, Alnarp and Umeå are constantly evolving as the number of researchers, students and collaborations increase. The changes are not only physical but also relate to the way users engage and utilise the campus spaces; and how spaces are used in education and research. Some of these spaces take the form of testbeds, outdoor laboratories, parks and outdoor offices.  

SLU Urban Futures is engaged in dialogues on campus development at each of the hub regions, as well as in international conversations on using campus as a living lab, together with institutions such as for instance Utrecht university.  

Campus development PhD at Alnarp – Campus as a Living Lab 

Initiated by SLU Urban Futures, based at SLU’s Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, and supported by The Movium Think Tank at SLU and the university property owner Akademiska Hus, this PhD project aims to increase the understanding of how campus development with a landscape perspective can take place. The project is set to unfold at SLU’s Alnarp campus and to focus on local development and dialogue leading to the conceptualisation of Alnarp’s existing living labs, outdoor facilities, testbeds, training fields and public areas, through planning and design. The overall purpose is to inform ongoing campus development at Alnarp and to transfer lessons to other living lab-oriented campuses, in Sweden and abroad.