Sustainable and Attractive Cities

Purpose and goal

The overall goal of the project was to establish a new research direction and education in Urban Metabolism at Chalmers. The specific objectives were the following: 1) development of own research group and 2) qualification as a docent 3) development of education in the subject, and 4) the establishment of an international network and partnerships. All objectives have been met through the following activities: skills development; excellence in research; joint research and publication; establishment of new collaborations; and development of pedagogical skills and the education.

Results and expected effects

The project has contributed to the establishment of a successful research group in Urban Metabolism and an internationally unique education. The project manager has accrued funding for three graduate students and one post-doc and the group has published 15 scientific articles. The developed course is popular and trained over 200 master´s students in four course sessions. Project results contributed to project manager appointment as an Associate Professor at Chalmers and to the creation of a research network and collaborations with several research groups in the USA.

Approach and implementation

The project manager has been placed at MIT and at the University of Minnesota. Time has been split between the international and home institution in order to develop own research group, the EU and national collaborations and teaching at Chalmers. She has retained the daily work with Chalmers via digital meetings and joint working folders. When stationed abroad, she joined the host research group´s activities such as joint projects, seminars and discussions. She has also had exchange with other research groups and started new collaborations.