Josefin Wangel

I'm an undisciplined researcher and educator driven by a combination of curiosity and frustration over the state of the world. My research focuses on exploring drivers and barriers for the transition to a more sustainable and just society, typically with focus on consumption, urban development and energy systems. I am very fond of transdisciplinary and popular science meetings, workshops, lectures and writing.

I'm associate editor for Futures and senior advisor for the thinktank Global Utmaning. During 2020 I'm leading the SLU Futures Lab - a novel initative designed to support interdisciplinary exploration of future challenges.

My background is in Earth Sciences (MSc from Stockholm University) and the multi- and interdisciplinary field of Planning and Decision Analysis, in which I did my PhD on Making Futures. I'm associate professor (sv. docent) in Landscape Architecture (SLU).

I am the initiator and coordinator of the master's level course Making sustainable futures – An introduction to futures studies and scenario techniques (MX0150).

I'm co-coordinator for Roles and methods for landscape architecture in comprehensive planning (LK0330).

I also supervise thesis works at bachelor and master levels. These days I mainly supervise works in landscape architecture but have previously supervised theses on a wide variety of sustainability issues and approaches.

Current palette of research projects includes:

- Greening Urban Lifestyles through Nudging and Participation, in which we look into the potential of urban planning, in a wide sense, to support sustainable lifestyles.

- Beyond Efficiency, in which we critically and creatively explore sustainable cities as discourse and practice (check out our project blog!)

- Gendered sustainability, in which we examine alternative narratives of sustainable everyday life, using an eco-feminist lens.

PhD students

Main supervisor to Malin Bäckman, whose thesis explores sustainable lifestyles through narrative inquiry; Daniel Valentini, who examines the governance of urban biking; and Kani Ava Lind, who explores the relation between body and space in and through landscape architecture.

Assistant supervisor to Jonas Lind (KTH, Sweden) whose thesis explores certification schemes for sustainable urban development; Jakob Grandin (Bergen University, Norway) who looks into the politics of rapid urban transitions; Fredrik Envall (Linköping University, Sweden) who explores smart grid experiments. 

Futures studies (backcasting, design fiction, contrafactual history)

Wangel, J., Hesselgren, M., Eriksson, E., Broms, L., Kanulf, G., Ljunggren, A. 2019.
Vitiden: Transforming a policy-orienting scenario to a practice-oriented energy fiction, Futures 112.

Hesselgren, M. Eriksson, E. Wangel, J., Broms, L. 2018. Exploring Lost and Found in Future Images of Energy Transitions: Towards a Bridging Practice of Provoking and Affirming Design. DRS 2018, Limerick, Ireland.

Broms, L., Wangel, J., Andersson, C. 2017. Sensing Energy: Forming Stories through Speculative Design Artefacts. Energy Research & Social Science, 31C: 194-204.

Pargman, D., Eriksson, E., Höök, M., Tanenbaum, J., Pufal, M., Wangel, J. 2017. What if there had only been half the oil? Rewriting history to envision the consequences of peak oil. Energy Research & Social Science, 31C: 170-178.

Mazé, R., Wangel, J. 2016. "Future (Im)Perfect: Exploring time, becoming and difference in design and futures studies." In: Schalk, M., Kristiansson, T., Mazé, R. (ed.) Feminist Futures: Pedagogies for a critical spatial practice practice. Spurbuchverlag.

Ilstedt, S., Wangel, J. 2014. Altering expectations: how design fictions and backcasting can leverage sustainable lifestyles. pp. 243-254. In: Proceedings from DRS (Design Research Society) 2014: Design's Big Debates - Pushing the Boundaries of Design Research. Umeå, Sweden, June 16-19 2014. 

Wangel, J. 2011. Exploring social structures and agency in backcasting studies for sustainable development. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 78(5): 872-882

Sustainable urban development (climate targets, certification schemes, governance)

Lind, J., Malmqvist, T., Wangel, J. 2019. Key Considerations When Designing Certification Systems for Urban Sustainability and Implications for The Swedish Post-Construction System Citylab, sustainability 11.

Wangel, J., Wallhagen, M., Malmqvist, T., Finnveden, G. 2016. Certification systems for sustainable neighbourhoods: What do they really certify? Environmental Impact Assessment Review 56: 200-213.

Kramers, A., Wangel, J., Johansson, S., Höjer, M., Finnveden, G., Brandt, N. 2013. Towards a comprehensive system of methodological considerations for cities' climate targets. Energy Policy 62: 1276–1287.

Svane, Ö., Wangel, J., Engberg, L., Palm, J. 2011. Compromise and learning when negotiating sustainabilities: the brownfield development of Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm. International Journal of Sustainable Urban Development 3(2): 141-155.

Popular scientific & debate

Wangel, J. 2015. "Den sunda skulden" ("The sound guilt") . Essay for the Swedish climate magazine Effekt special issue (3/2015) of climate change and emotions. 

Wangel, J. 2015. "Den orimliga staden" ("The unreasonable city"). Chapter in: Avner et al. (Eds.) Att slakta en guldkalv: Visioner för ett hållbar samhälle. Carlsson bokförlag.

Wangel J. 2014. Konsumenter kan inte skapa hållbara konsumtionsmönster. (”Consumers cannot create sustainable consumption patterns”) Debate article for Formas EXTRAKT, published 2014-01-28.

Wangel, J. 2013. "Hur hållbara är Hammarby sjöstad och Norra Djurgårdsstaden?" (”How sustainable are Hammarby sjöstad and the Royal Seaport?” Chapter in: Teleman, H., Caldenby, C., Ullstad, E., von Platen, F. (Eds.) Hållbarhetens villkor. Arena: Malmö, Sweden.