Department of Urban and Rural Development

Sustainable transformations require not only new ideas but also knowledge meeting practice. We combine education, research and collaboration to contribute to the societal change needed to meet challenges such as the biodiversity and climate crises.

  • Our issues range from today’s and tomorrow’s discussions about forests, agriculture, urban and rural areas to climate adaptation from a historical perspective
  • We offer courses that are not available at any other universities in Sweden, and we are responsible for around 90 courses within seven different education programmes
  • We work closely with government agencies, organizations, and other societal actors to develop both knowledge and practice
A woman standing outside in a garden, cooking food on a wood stove.

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.

Clas examines the condition of an apple tree.

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.

Portrait picture of Martin Andersson

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

  • 2025-12-11

    Local Voices Uncover Hidden Needs in Ukraine’s Post-War Recovery

    When Ukrainians rebuild their lives after liberation from Russian occupation, some restoration efforts matter more than others. By visiting villages, SLU researchers found that actions such as restoring gardens and demining forest are crucial for people’s well-being – yet they are often overlooked.
  • 2025-12-10

    Tracking climate shocks to build future resilience

    What can past climate extremes teach us about resilience? Researchers at SLU’s Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) are studying long-term data on climate, farming, soils, and society to uncover patterns that could help us adapt to future challenges.
  • 2025-12-08

    Today’s energy choices redraw the landscape of the future

    Sweden’s energy demand could double by 2035, according to forecasts from the Swedish Energy Agency. As fossil sources are replaced by renewables, energy previously extracted underground must now be produced above ground – a transition to leave visible marks on the landscape.
  • 2025-12-08

    Artistic approaches offer new ways to understand Stockholm’s waterscapes

    A forthcoming scientific article – developed with seed funding from SLU Urban Futures to strengthen interdisciplinary writing, communication, and capacity-building across SLU – examines how artistic perspectives are reshaping Stockholm’s waterscapes.
  • 2025-11-20

    Securing food in the cities of the future

    New risks, new legislation and new forms of collaboration raise the question: how can municipalities, regions and food system actors act to make Sweden more resilient in times of crisis?
  • 2025-11-14

    Food is a social lubricant

    Most people now live in cities, and the taste preferences of city residents tend to determine which foods are in demand. This is why the city is key to ensuring a sustainable food supply, writes Håkan Jönsson, coordinator of the Food and Cities initiative at SLU.

Calendar

Some of the ongoing projects
Landscape Management

Health Promoting Forests

Providing practical advices for urban forest landowners, through action on how to manage forests for the human best.

Agrarian History

Sami Natural Resource Use from year 1550 to 1800

The project investigates how Indigenous peoples manage the transition from a foraging to a food-producing economy and how that change affects people.

Rural Development

Include2Restore

The project develops inclusive meeting places where people together find solutions for the restoration of pastures in the Karamoja border area between Uganda and Kenya.

Research groups

Research groups