Bengt Persson

I am working with the development of SLU Landscape's cooperation with stakeholder organizations, business, municipalities, authoritities and others within the field of landscape architecture, planning and management. Core work tasks are development of joint research, development and innovation projects. Other tasks are to bring SLU Landscape's research to society and support dissemination and integration of knowledge into practice but also to bring work life into our educational programmes.

I am graduated MSc in Landscape Architecture, 1979, but was originally aimed to be a jounalist. I studied for a week at the University of Journalism in Stockholm before I got a reserve admission to the landscape architecture programme in Ultuna/Alnarp.

I was one of five founders of a landscape architect office in Lund 1980. One of my first own projects was a development and research information project in 1981 to write a booklet about Nature-like Green Areas aimed for a professional audience. It was granted by The Swedish Board of Building Research. After that has followed a number of similar research and development projects directed towards knowledge dissemination to professionals. 

Sometimes I was successful and somteimes failing with my dissemination. To get a bit wiser about the prerequisits for knowledge dissemination to professionals I was enrolled as PhD student in 1981. I used my PhD studies as on-going education parallell with my professional practice. 15 years later I desided to write my dissertation and defended it in 1997 with the title Knowledge Dissemination to Practice within the Field of Landscape Architects.

I have been a consultant during my entire professional career but have had some employments parallell to my consultancy. I was parttime employed at the Movium secratariate when it was founded in 1981. I had a parttime employment as senior lecturer in environemental communication at Malmö University when it was founded in 1998. During the first decade of the 21'st century I was employed as estate manager at the housing company AF Bostäder in Lund. Parallel to that I was visiting professor during six years at SLU Alnarp. During those years I also chaired the Swedish Architect Industry's R&D Foundation Arkus. 

My area of expertise is development of knowledge in the borderland between research and practice. During my first ten years as professional I mainly worked with development projects within traditional open space areas with titles as Life and Death of Weeds (Ogräsets liv och död), Grass in Lawn and Meadow (Gräs i matta och äng), Green in the Local Plan (Grönska i detaljplanen), Nature Knowledge for Makers of Environment (Naturlära för miljömakare), The Joint Garden (Den gemensamma trädgården), Flowers and Bushes (Blommor och buskar) and The Trees and the Time (Träden och tiden). 

During the 1990's I got more directed towards ecological housing, environmental work in municipalities and sustainable development. A hughe project was the three municipal applications of the concept Town and Countryside in Cooperation in Ystad, Tidaholm and Upplands Bro (published in three separate books). Other titles was Biological Waste on Drift (Biologiskt avfall på drift), Eco Villages (Ekobyar), Rennaissance of the Wetland (Våtmarkens renässens), Green Infrastructure in Cities and Villages (Grönstruktur i städer och tätorter), Room for Rain (Plats för regn), The Road in the City (Vägen i staden), The City Regards the Road (Staden ser på vägen), Green Space Factor for Bo01 (Grönytefaktor för Bo01), Sustainable City of Tomorrow Bo01 - Experiences of a Swedish Housing Exhibition (Bo01 - Hållbar kunskapsstad) and The Western Harbour - Experineces and Lessons learned (Västra hamnen - lärdomar och erfarenheter).

A special area of interest is the history of the Swedish landscape architect industy and the history of Swedish housing areas mirrored in titles as Ulla Bodorff - Landscape Architect 193-1982 (Ulla Bodorff - landskapsarkitekt 1913-1982), Swedish Landscape Architects - Glimps from the Industry 1920-1960 (Svenska landskapsarkitekter, glimtar från branschen 1920-1960) and Swedish Residential Yards 1930-1959 (Svenska bostadsgårdar 1930-1959).

Matters concerning the management and maintenance of the utdoor environment has always been one of my main tracks. That interest has led to titles as Manual for Maintenance of the Outdoor Environment (Skötselmanual för utemiljö), High-grown Grass or Exclusive Lawn (Högvuxen gräsyta eller prydnadsgräsmatta), To Purchase Quality (Att upphandla kvalitet), Manual for Maintenance of Housing Areas (Skötselmanual för bostadsgårdar) and Park Management in the Nordic (Parkförvaltning i Norden). 

I give lectures on the history of Swedsih housing areas. I also give lectures on sustainable housing and is involved in the masters programme Sustainable city development. I am tutor of bachelor and master thesis works and also supervising on these levels.

My research is mainly intwo areas. One is professional and organizational learning and development of and actions in organizations where I am leading a three year project with the theme When the Municipalities sets the Research Agenda. Here are seven different municipality organizations involved, three universities and four senior munipality PhD-students. We study the organizational learning and effects on actions in the municiaplities of municipality PhD-students as a bridge between research and practice. The other is managmenet and maintenance of the outdoor environment where I am involved in projects concerning different aspects of the managmeent and maintenance process in regards of the Management Model. 

My main task is cooperation but it spills over on research and education. More pure coopertion projects are i.e. my involvement in the programme management of the Swedish Surplus Energy Constellaion (SSE-C) where I am responsible for the urban adaptions of increased use of low temperature surplus heat. Others are the Planning and Building Day which is an annual conference arranged in cooperation with the Skåne Association of Local Authorities (SALA) and one of Skåne's municipalities as host; and the inititiative Research Municipalities where I have developed criteria for certification in coopeation with SALA and have been branding the concept in the Skåne municipalities. I also arrange work life lunches together with different bransches of the outdoor industri and stakeholders where students are invited to meet professionals educated in SLU. I also give service to other departments within SLU Alnarp concerning innoation applications, establishment of indsutrial and municipal PhDs etc.

2012-               Senior lecturer with specialization in dissemination and cooperation. Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, SLU Alnarp.
2010-2010       Reseacher at the Department of Landscape management, SLU Alnarp.
2004-2009       Visiting Professor in landscape management with specialization in communicative processes in planning and controlling the management of the urban outdoor environment. Department of Landscape Management and Horticultural Engineering, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden.
2003-2009       Chairman of the Swedish Architect Branch Foundation for Research and Development (Arkus) and the Arkus association, Stockholm, Sweden
2001-2004       Member of the Preparation Group for Information Projects, The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas)
2000-2012      Estate Manager in the Foundation Housing Company of the Academic Association, Lund, Sweden
1999-2015         Chairman of the Urban Ecology Forum (StadsØkologisktForum), Malmoe, Sweden
1998-1999       Senior lecturer (50 %) in Environmental Communication, Malmoe University, Sweden
1997-2003       Ass supervisor for PhD students, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp.
1997                Doctor of Agronomy, in the subject Landscape planning, with dissertation Knowledge Dissemination to Practice within the Field of Landscape Architects, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp. Supervisor prof Gunnar Sorte.
1992-2009       Member of the board of the Arkus association, Stockholm, Sweden
1989-               Owner of consultancy company Landskapsarkitekterna i Lund AB (1989–1994 also Larkilund Projektering AB)
1981-1984       Research Assistant (40 %) at the Secretariat for the Outdoor Environment (Movium), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp
1980-               Part owner in Landskapsarkitekterna i Lund AB
1980-1980       Landscape Architect in Scandiaconsult AB, Malmoe, Sweden
1979                M Sc in Landscape Architecture, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Main supervisor for PhD:

Therese Lindgren, 2010: Green Space Management & Residents´ Benefits – A Study of Swedish Rental Multi-Family Housing Areas

Märit Jansson, 2009: Management and Use of Public Outdoor Playgrounds

Tim Delshammar, 2005: Citizen Involvement in Municipal Park Management

 Assistant supervisor for PhD:

Natalie Coquand, on-going: Organizational learning for sustainable development
- A case study of four Swedish municipalities

Petra Bengtsson, 2009: Interaction within Park Management. On Management Styles and Views of Urban Biodiversity in Three Swedish Park Management Organisations

Karl Lövrie, 2003: The Green Space as a Characterising Element of Townscape and Urban Design – Objects, Concept and Structure

Norén Bretzer, Y, Persson, B., Randrup, T.B., 2016, Is public procurement efficiency conditioned by market types? A critical test in park and road sectors in Sweden, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 488-501.

Persson, B (Red), 2013, Western Harbour – experiences and lessons learned, Malmö, Sweden (in Swedish: Västra Hamnen – lärdomar och erfarenheter). Stockholm: Arkus

Ekelund, L. et al, 2012, Branschbeskrivning Trädgård – område hortikultur, utemiljö och fritidsodling, (sid 29-56). Alnarp: Omvärld Alnarp.

Persson, B, Svensson, R, 2010, ’Finns framtidens studentbostäder redan?’ i Tersmeden & Blom (red) Bott i Lund, Lund: Lunds universitetshistoriska sällskap och AF Bostäder.

Persson, B (red.), 2010, Utvecklingsidéer för ekologisk upprustning av efterkrigstidens bostadsområden – exemplet Lindängen, Malmö: Malmö stad

Jansson, M. & Persson, B. (2010). ‘Playground planning and management: An evaluation of standard-influenced provision through user needs’. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 9(1), 33-42.

Gustavsson, T & Persson, B (2010), Betongrenovering på Vildanden – teknisk renovering med arkitektonisk kvalitet, Lund: AF Bostäder.

Persson, B, et al, 2009, Handledning till Skötselmanual för bostadsgårdar, Alnarp: SLU Landskapsutveckling.

Persson, B, Kristoffersson, A, Fors, H, 2009, ’Skötselmanual för bostadsgårdar’, Gröna fakta 4/2009, Alnarp: SLU, Movium.

Persson, B, Persson, B, 2009, ‘Världsvan svenska i grön bransch’, Byggnadskultur, 4/2009.

Randrup, T, Persson B, 2009, ’Public green spaces in the Nordic countries: Development of a new strategic management regime’, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Volume 8/2009, Issue 1, pp 31-40.

Persson, B (red), 2008, Social och ekologisk upprustning – förnyelse av Lindängen, Karlskrona: Boverket

Persson, B. (red.), 2008, Blommor och buskar, 5:e uppl., Södra Sandby: Blommor och buskar förlag, 256 s.

Randrup, T, Persson, B, 2006 ’Forvaltning af byens grønne områder’, Stads & havneingeniøren 5/2006, Silkeborg: Kommunalteknisk chefforening.

Persson, B., Randrup, T., 2006, ’Parkförvaltning i Norden’ Gröna fakta 2/2006, Alnarp: Movium-sekretariatet, SLU.