Resilience among smallholder farmers in rural Africa
How do farmers and pastoralists in Africa deal with change, uncertainty and crisis situations in their daily lives? Linda Engström, researcher in rural development, will investigate this together with colleagues from Tanzania and Canada in a project funded by Formas.
When gardening became a science – new book depicts cultivation throughout history
Now, Swedish Garden History 1500 to 1800 has been published, the final part in a three-volume work that covers Swedish garden culture from prehistoric times to the present. The new part focuses on the early modern period, a period when the idea of what a garden can be, and how it can be used, was being formed.
Ambiguous messages appear to have paved the way for rapid climate policy change
What role did political rhetoric play in the rapid shift in climate policy after the 2022 election? SLU researchers who have analyzed debates in parliament and the media believe that politicians used ambiguous messages to appeal to multiple ideological groups simultaneously.
News & Events
News
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The children’s city – where play meets urban development and nature
How do children see the city? At the Malmö Festival, SLU Urban Futures and Botildenborg invited visitors on a playful journey into the world of urban development. By planting, creating, and interacting with a map, the children left their mark on Malmö—both literally and symbolically. -
How to talk when truth is contested – three strategies for collaborative policy making
Facilitators of collaborative policy making on sustainability issues often face heated debates and conflicting truths. They are on the front lines when facts are contested and emotions run high. A new study explores their experiences and presents strategies for navigating post-truth situations. -
SLU highlights critical perspectives on environmental psychology at international conference
From 15 to 18 June, SLU took part in the International Conference on Environmental Psychology (ICEP 2025). More than 600 participants explored one of the most pressing issues of our time: how people’s experience of place is shaped by climate change, urban development, health, and social change. -
Ambiguous messages appear to have paved the way for rapid climate policy change
What role did political rhetoric play in the rapid shift in climate policy after the 2022 election? SLU researchers who have analyzed debates in parliament and the media believe that politicians used ambiguous messages to appeal to multiple ideological groups simultaneously. -
When gardening became a science – new book depicts cultivation throughout history
Now, Swedish Garden History 1500 to 1800 has been published, the final part in a three-volume work that covers Swedish garden culture from prehistoric times to the present.
Calendar
Research
Research projects
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Paying for Ecosystem Services: Consequences and alternatives (PECA)
A research project that aimed to broaden the perspective on how to support the maintenance and enhancement of ecosystem services that are currently under severe threat. -
Can Cash Transfers have Long-term Effects on Rural Livelihoods in Poor Countries?
Learning lessons from the effects of the child grant in South Africa. -
Towards a more Sustainable Consumption of Carbon Credits
The project aim was to develop a tool for assessing social dimensions of tree planting in low-income countries. -
Conservation, Carbon, Communities: Swedish carbon purchases through forest plantations in Uganda
The project has studied a climate initiative in Uganda in the form of forest plantations established by a Norwegian company – examining the different stakeholders’ views on the purpose of the plantations and how this affects their potential to contribute to local sustainable development. -
Social Cash Transfers - Generational Relations and Youth Poverty Trajectories in Rural Lesotho and Malawi
A key recent policy innovation in sub-Saharan Africa is Social Cash Transfer schemes (SCTs), which give money to poor people. They have been shown to help children and the elderly, but little is known about their impact on young adults or family relations.
Research groups
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Agrarian History
Agrarian history is a broad discipline examining people in the rural society, their social and economic conditions, and their relationship with nature, the landscape and wider society, as well as agricultural production and technological development. -
Landscape Architecture - Design Theory
The design theory group is concerned with the methods, tools, and pedagogy of the landscape architecture discipline. -
Landscape Architecture - Landscape Management
The landscape management subject focuses on how urban open space management such as vegetation, water and soil contributes to biodiversity, climate change adaptation and ecosystem services. -
Landscape Architecture - Profession and Practice
In the subject area the profession and practice, we focus on methods and theories used by landscape architects in their professional work. -
Landscape Architecture - Spatial Planning
The subject area spatial planning studies the interplay between the landscape, spatial planning and (other forms of) governance. -
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. Central to this are issues of democracy, power, politics, governance, and public administration at different levels.