Amanda Gabriel

I work as a Lecturer in Environmental Psychology at the Department of People and Society, SLU Alnarp. My work combines teaching, research, and outreach. I am course leader for several Master’s-level courses in environmental psychology, focusing on place, activity and human development, children’s outdoor environments, and qualitative research methods.

As Coordinator for SLU Urban Futures at Campus Alnarp, I lead the work within Healthscapes, aiming to develop interdisciplinary perspectives on the relationships between people, health, and environments. I also lead the Children and Landscape Forum, which brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers around children’s outdoor environments and their role in urban planning.

My research interests include children’s interactions with urban and green spaces, socially sustainable urban development, and the impacts of extreme urban heat on health and well-being. I work within a framework of critical realism and combine qualitative and transdisciplinary methodologies.

Internationally, I was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Surrey (2024) and I lead the international project Conceptualization(s) of Environmental Psychology, bringing together researchers worldwide to reflect on the epistemological and ontological foundations of the field.

I am also producer and host of the podcast Human Land, which explores topics in environmental psychology, urban planning, and health through dialogue with researchers and practitioners.

At SLU, I am a member of PN-LT, the Program Board for Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, and Garden Design, contributing to educational development.

My research explores how environments shape people’s experiences of health, well-being, and everyday life. I primarily use qualitative and transdisciplinary methods to understand socially sustainable urban development, children’s environments, and climate-related health risks.

Ongoing projects

• Conceptualization(s) of Environmental Psychology – International study on disciplinary identities, epistemologies, and ontologies.
• Healthscapes activities at SLU Urban Futures – Interdisciplinary perspectives on the relationship between urban environments and health.
  
  

Past projects

• Sustainable Outdoor Environments for Large Preschools (HUS) – Investigating how preschool outdoor settings can support health, play, and learning.
• Extreme Urban Heat – A Contemporary Health Hazard – Popular science project on how heatwaves and urban heat islands affect health and well-being.
• Digital and Physical Play Environments – Research assistant in a project on the intersection of digital experiences and children’s outdoor play.
• ReGreen Project – Nature-based solutions and co-creation with children for pedagogical purposes, including work at the Alnarp landscape laboratory.
• A Sense of Place Through Land Art – Art-based methods to explore place attachment within environmental psychology.

I contribute to SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment (Miljöanalys) by developing knowledge on people–environment relations and their implications for health, well-being, and social sustainability. My focus includes children’s outdoor environments, urban settings, and climate-related health risks such as extreme heat. Through SLU Urban Futures Healthscapes, I also help advance interdisciplinary approaches linking environmental monitoring with societal challenges in urban development, public health, and climate change.

I am course leader and lecturer at the Master’s programme Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being, responsible for:

Research Methods for People and Environment Studies
Place, Activity and Human Development
Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth
My teaching integrates environmental psychology, urban planning, and health research, with a focus on transdisciplinary methods and place-based learning.

I also have international teaching experience, having been invited to lecture in Brazil, France, and England.

Teaching Merits
Course leadership for three Master’s-level courses within Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being.
Development of course content focusing on transdisciplinary methods, place-based learning, and the intersection of environmental psychology, health, and planning.
International teaching experience through invited lectures in Brazil, France, and England.
Active in pedagogical development through membership in PN-LT.
Supervision of student work at Master’s and Bachelor’s levels in environmental psychology, urban green spaces, and landscape architecture.
 
Education
MSc in Environmental Psychology, SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences)
MA in Media and Communication and the Cultural Industries – Malmö University, with a focus on Critical Discourse Analysis
BA in Literary Studies, interdisciplinary programme in humanities and social sciences, UNICAMP (Brazil) & Sorbonne Nouvelle (France)
 
Academic and Teaching Experience
Lecturer in Environmental Psychology at SLU since 2021, with responsibilities in teaching, course leadership, supervision, and research.
Visiting Scholar, University of Surrey, UK (2024).
University Assistant, UNICAMP, Brazil.
Over 10 years’ experience of teaching at preschool, primary, and upper secondary school level in Sweden and Brazil.
Guest lecturer at universities in England, France, and Brazil.
 
Supervision
Lead the qualitative module in Research Methods for People and Environment Studies, teaching and supervising students in qualitative methodologies and epistemological perspectives.
Supervision and examination of Master’s theses within the programme Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being.
Supervision and examination of student theses at both Master’s and Bachelor’s level across courses within the LTV Faculty.
Example of supervised Master’s thesis:
Staudinger, Christopher (2024). Out for a Walk Where the Thoughts Take Flight: Naturalistic Experience Sampling of Mind Wandering in an Urban Blue-Green Space. Second cycle, A2E. Alnarp: SLU, Dept. of People and Society. SLU Thesis Repository

 
Languages
French – fluent
English – fluent
Portuguese – fluent
Swedish – fluent