Below is a list of my current and previous research projects on topics ranging from climate change and smart cities to urban nature and low-carbon housing.
Current Projects
Seamless Life: The Imaginaries, Experiences and Peril of Data-Driven Life (2023) – An advanced study group funded by the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies at Lund University to study smart technologies in the home and on the street. The group is led by Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren (Political Science) and includes Lovisa Nyman (Theology and Religious Studies), Martin Garwicz (Experimental Medical Science), Jessica Enevold (Arts and Cultural Sciences), James White (Technology and Society), Alexander Paulsson (Business Administration), Ida Sandström (Architecture), and Robert Willim (Arts and Cultural Sciences).
EmbedterLabs: Better Embedded Labs for More Synergistic Sustainable Urban Transformation Project Planning (2022 to 2025) – A three-year project funded by JPI Urban Europe to develop capacity for more synergistic urban planning for transformations towards sustainable and resilient urban areas. Project partners include Maastricht University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Uppsala University, Gdansk University of Technology, City of Maastricht, Maastricht Bereikbaar, City of Gdansk, Community of Gdansk Foundation, Olivia Business Centre, City of Stockholm, and Sweco.
TRANS-LEARN – Ecosystems of Learning for Urban Sustainability Transformations (2021 to 2025) – A four-year pilot project funded by Formas to study how learning intermediaries support urban sustainability transformations. Project partners include KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the University of Gothenburg, the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), the National Board of Housing Building and Planning (Boverket), the Swedish Centre for Innovation and Quality in the Built Environment (IQ Samhällsbyggnad), the Swedish Innovation Agency (Vinnova), the Gothenburg Region, and Viable Cities.
TRANS-PED / Transforming Cities through Positive Energy Districts (2021 to 2023) – A two-year pilot project funded by JPI Urban Europe to develop a novel governance approach to positive energy districts (PED) to realise deep and holistic changes to cities. Project partners include Linköping University, City of Lund, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, DUSS-explorers, OEAW-ITA, FH Technikum Wien, UFGC GmbH, Kleboth und Dollnig ZT GmbH, StadtLABOR – Innovationen für urbane Lebensqualität GmbH and ElectriCITY Innovation.
Sustainable Innovation Platform Stockholm (2019 to 2023) – A four-year project funded by Vinnova (the Swedish Innovation Agency) to coordinate and enhance the City of Stockholm’s innovation agenda to realise a more sustainable city. Collaborators include the City of Stockholm, Research Institute of Sweden (RISE), and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Previous Projects
Smart Cities in Global Comparative Perspective: Worlding and Provincializing Relationships (2020 to 2022) – A two-year project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and led by Prof Byron Miller at the University of Calgary. This research program will focus on comparing smart city initiatives in seven cities around the world: Toronto, Calgary, Stockholm, Barcelona, Singapore, Taipei, and Seoul. Collaborators include Georgia State University, Macalaster College, McGill University, National Taiwan University, National University of Singapore, Open University of Catalonia, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Seoul National University, Singapore Management University, University of California Los Angeles, University of Calgary, University of Manchester, University of Toronto, and York University.
PERI-CENE: Peri-Urbanization and Climate-Environment Change (2019 to 2021) – A two-year project funded through the ‘Towards a Sustainable Earth’ program, from NERC (UK), DBT (India) and Formas (Sweden) to study the linkages between peri-urban development and climate change. Collaborators include the University of Manchester and the Indian Institute of Technology.
Humanizing the Sustainable Smart City (HISS) (2019 to 2021) – How do humans make decisions in the emerging smart city? In this project, a transdisciplinary project team at KTH is examining how complex cyber-physical-human systems are contributing to the wellbeing of urban residents. The project includes colleagues from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Industrial Engineering and Management, and Architecture and the Built Environment.
A Digital Decision Tool for Efficient Governance of a Fossil-Fuel Free Stockholm (2019 to 2021) – A two-year project funded by Energimydigheten (the Swedish Energy Agency) to develop a digital decision tool for the City of Stockholm with simulation and visualisation of urban energy and transport systems to assist in reducing carbon emissions. Collaborators include the the City of Stockholm, Research institute of Sweden (RISE), and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Situating Smart: The Role of Space and Place in Urban Innovation (2016 to 2020) – A four-year internally funded research project to build up a research agenda on the situatedness of smart urbanisation.
Triangulum: Three Points of Light (2015 to 2020) – A five-year project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Programme to study the development of low-carbon smart districts in Manchester, Eindhoven, and Stavanger. The project will provide insights on the design, construction, management, and evaluation of buildings, energy infrastructure, and transportation networks in each city. Collaborators at the University of Manchester include James Evans, Chris Martin, Ian Cotton, and Krassimira Paskaleva.
RESIN – Climate Resilient Cities and Infrastructures (2015 to 2018) – A 42-month project funded by the European Commission;s Horizon 2020 Programme to o provide standardised methodologies for vulnerability assessments, performance evaluations of adaptation measures, and for decision support tools supporting the development of robust adaptation strategies tailored to the city. Collaborators at the University of Manchester include Jeremy Carter, Angela Connelly, Stephen Hincks, and John Handley.
Citizen Green: Co-Creating Green and Blue Urban Environments in Manchester (2015) – A three-month pilot project to test innovative citizen social science methods and empower Manchester communities to take action on climate change through greening the urban environment in the Northern Quarter. I am working with Gabriele Schliwa and Alexandra Albert at the University of Manchester alongside Manchester City Council, CityCo, Manchester Climate Change Agency, and the Manchester Garden City Initiative.
University Living Lab for Sustainability (2013 to present) – A project funded by the University of Manchester Research Institute to transform the University of Manchester into a platform for research and teaching. This work involves close collaboration with the University’s Directorate of Estates and Facilities. Collaborators include James Evans, Ross Jones, and Lucy Millard.
Oxford Road as Living Laboratory (2012 to 2015) – A collaboration with Corridor Manchester to transform Oxford Road in Manchester into a venue for research and teaching. This work was funded by cities@manchester through a grant from the University of Manchester’s Higher Education Innovation Fund.
CHARISMA – Community Approaches to Retrofit in Greater Manchester (2014 to 2015) – A pilot project to understand how energy savings and fuel poverty are being addressed through collaborative, community-based programmes, using Greater Manchester as a case study. This project is funded by University of Manchester’s Faculty of Humanities Strategic Investment Research Fund and includes Saska Petrova and Jenni Cauvain.
Zero Carbon Habitation (2011 to 2013) – With colleagues from the University of Manchester and Lancaster University, we studied the rollout of zero carbon housing in the UK. This project was funded by the ESRC, The Scottish Government and DEFRA.
Conditioning Demand: Older People, Diversity and Thermal Experience (2011 to 2013) – A project funded by the EPSRC and EDF on how older people manage comfort in their homes and how this changes with the introduction of low-carbon heating technologies. The project team included researchers from Lancaster University, Cardiff University, University of Exeter, and EDF.
Andrew Karvonen 