The call for action grant was open for all researchers and student organisations at Tampere University. It received 22 applications. STUE board made the decisions about the funding based on 1) how well the activity fits in STUE’s aims and vision, 2) the grounds for the application and feasibility of the plan, 3) the significance of the activity, 4) clarity of the description of the activity, 5) planned use of the grant, and 6) diversity of actions.
Action Grant was granted for following activities. Each activity received EUR 500-3000. More information of each activity will be shared on STUE’s channels as they progress.
Strengthening sustainability research and teaching collaboration with University West, Sweden, by inviting Dr. Hannah Saldert to Tampere University
Doctor Hannah Saldert, a Senior Lecturer and Assistant Director of the Centre for Sustainability at the University West, Sweden, will visit Tampere University from September 16, 2024 – September 20, 2024. Dr. Saldert’s research and teaching topics include strategic urban planning and sustainability paradoxes, primarily related to social sustainability. She will participate in teaching and research activities at Tampere University. During her stay, she will give a guest lecture on the Sustainable Society course (KEKE.100) and a keynote lecture in an STUE seminar on Planning and Governing for Sustainable Cities. She will also participate in a workshop, Pedagogical Reflections on Teaching Sustainability, organized for Tampere University teachers. The visit strengthens research and teaching collaboration between the two universities; STUE and The Centre for Sustainability at the University West share strategic goals.
From (eco)feminist theories to restorative spatial practices: A workshop in collaboration with prof. Christine Bauhardt
The ASUTUT Sustainable Housing Design research group, Urban Planning research group and the Insurgent Spatial Practices research collective are organizing a workshop in collaboration with the Head Division of Gender and Globalization studies at Humboldt-University in Berlin, Christine Bauhardt. Through this workshop we aim to, first, get acquainted with the different discourses within feminist theory linked to feminist political ecology, ecofeminism, and queer ecologies. Then, we set out to discuss and understand the way these critically engage with capitalism, the different discourses on sustainability as well as to matters of spatial/environmental/climate justice, and how these can help us render visible injustices and think through ways to address them, particularly as they relate to urban environments. Building on these perspectives and the discussions that emerge in the workshop, we will mobilize these theories to reimagine sustainable urban futures. This workshop will be open particularly but not limited to students of architecture, planning, Sustainable Urban Development (SUD), and similar fields as well as the boarder STUE community. Dates we will be announced soon.
Sustaining life inside prison walls – Research visit of Yasmine Fakhry
Space and Political Agency Research Group (SPARG) will host a research visit from Yasmine Fakhry from the University of East London 23.-24.4.2024. During her visit Fakhry will present her doctoral research on access to health in Lebanese prisons in SPARG seminar series on Tuesday 23 April 12-2 (room TBA) and deliver a guest lecture as part of the Decentering the Global (HAL.YPAT.341-2023-2024) course 24 April 2-4 in Pinni A2100 Paavo Koli lecture hall. Prisons, as complex and often starkly controlled environments, offer a fascinating case study for exploring the intertwined nature of spatial orderings and imaginaries. The physical design of a prison directly embodies power dynamics and control mechanisms. It dictates movement, interactions, and access to health resources, shaping the lived experience of inmates in terms of health and well-being. Past colonial practices continue to influence healthcare access and quality within the prison system and ongoing crises and conflicts in Lebanon affect resource allocation. Both events are open to all TUNI staff and students and enrolment for the course is available through Moodle.
JustTalks events in Spring 2024
JUSTSPACES Research Network will be launching a series of JustTalks events in Spring 2024. The events will happen six times a year and will be open to the entire TAU community. The purpose of JustTalks is to create an informal atmosphere where attendees can discuss conceptual and methodological questions related to social/spatial justice and cities. The events will be held at Telakka’s second floor. Each JustTalks event will feature a 20-minute speech by a guest speaker, followed by a commentary by a STUE researcher, a Q&A session with the audience, and relaxed socializing. Most of the guest speakers will come from Finnish universities. However, to strengthen the international connections of STUE and JUSTSPACES, we will also invite international guest speaker once in a semester. The action grant will be used to cover the travel costs of international speakers. The topics include for example political agency, human rights, right to the city and carceral spaces. The first JustTalks event takes place on March 26, with Senior Scholar Mustafa Dikeç: Rage as a political emotion
Networking excursion to Göteborg
Tampere University environmental policy researchers are visiting Göteborg to strengthen the collaboration between researchers, NGO Wild Zone and Swedish MARELD architect studio. MARELD has designed and operationalized a citizen inclusive and biodiversity rich Jubileumsparken in Göteborg. Tampere University researchers together with Wild Zone association member will conduct a visit to Göteborg and get to know the biodiversity rich cases the MARELAD architect studio has been working with. After the visit the objective is to increase joint Nordic projects with MARELD as well as organize two events for civil servants and researchers in Finland informing the biodiversity rich and citizen inclusive planning cases conducted in Sweden.
Lessons from bottom-up urbanism for sustainable cities – session at the Nordic Geographers Meeting in Copenhagen
Citizens have real agency in changing cities and urban everyday lives. Individuals, community groups, and grassroots actors such as guerilla gardeners, skateboarders, and DIY enthusiasts as well as more formal placemaking initiatives can have significant impacts on transforming social-spatial structures and changing governance practices. Whether or not having strictly environmental goals, such bottom-up urbanism often answers to local needs, operates creatively with small resources, and applies or modifies existing urban infrastructures. The activities also involve creative ways of sharing and learning while creating new skills and knowledge that hold the potential to contribute to sustainable urban development. This session, organised by Tampere Uni researchers Mikko Kyrönviita and Antti Wallin at the Nordic Geographers Meeting in Copenhagen, delves into the ever more topical issue of the role of citizens’ everyday agency in promoting the transition towards sustainable cities.
CRRC Conference track on Business and biodiversity in sustainable change
As part of the Action4Commons project funded by the Research Council of Finland, the researchers will organise a conference track “Business and biodiversity in sustainable change” in the Corporate Responsibility Research Conference in 4-6 September 2024, in the UK. The purpose of the conference track is to bring together researchers around the nascent research stream which examines the relationships between business and biodiversity. Biodiversity loss is an urgent and critical sustainability issue at the societal, organisational and individual level and has entered business agendas, too. Organizing this track enables A4C researchers to present the project to an international audience and to get to know other researchers interested in the issue.
‘Living greener’: linking urban sustainability with agrarian transformations and entanglements of violence and care –International panel at EISA-PEC 2024
Researchers from the project “EnVi(r)oCare” will organize a panel at the 17th Pan-European Conference of the European International Studies Association, 27-31 August 2024 in Lille, France (subject to acceptance). The panel explores the interconnections between urban sustainability and agricultural transformations in a global context, with a view towards climate change and the goal of ‘green transition.’ Panel contributions by international presenters centre on the analysis of entanglements of violence and care, which are often seen as each other’s opposites, but in fact co-exist. The presentations bring together discussions on political ecology and globalized commodity consumption in the city to highlight persisting inequalities, but also attempts for alternative and more egalitarian orders within urban struggles.
Exploring e-participation platforms for sustainable urban future
This online seminar, organised by Research group of Local and Regional Governance, will gather city officials from diverse European countries to exchange insights on utilizing digital platforms for citizen participation. Participants will share their experiences on how e-participation platforms can help harness citizen knowledge and expertise to address complex urban problems, as well as their potential for enhancing local democracy. Through dialogue on best practices and common pitfalls, the event facilitates mutual learning between practitioners and academia.
Urbanum ry student excursion to Netherlands
Urbanum ry is a guild advocating for the students of Sustainable Urban Development (SUD)–programme at Tampere University. The programme consists of three streams – administrative sciences, engineering, and social sciences – complemented by joint studies on urban planning and sustainability. Urbanum ry will organise its very first excursion abroad in autumn 2024. The guild has selected Netherlands as the excursion destination because the country showcases great examples of sustainable urban development – extensive railway network, casual biking culture, innovative architecture and a commitment to the circular economy – making it an attractive destination for our students to visit. During the excursion, students will visit companies, organisations, and institutions aligned with their field of study, gaining insights into current topics and projects within the Dutch context. Additionally, the participants look forward to engaging with local students in the same field and fostering cultural exchange. As a multidisciplinary programme, students in SUD are consistently encouraged to think outside the box and see things from different perspectives. Meeting professionals from other countries is at the core of this type of thinking and provides a meaningful way to expand students’ knowledge and enhance networking beyond national borders.
Crowdsourced pilot study on indoor air quality: Public lecture series, workshops and a measurement campaign
Air pollution is one of the biggest detractors to our health and wellbeing, and better understanding of urban air pollution and population level exposures, both indoors and outdoors, are important factors in the transformation to sustainable urban environments. The project aims to both disseminate awareness of healthy air quality as well as directly involve local communities with air quality research. In autumn 2024, Urban Physics Research Group will arrange a series of publicly open lectures and workshops to provide knowledge on air quality and monitoring, and to promote tangible actions towards healthier indoor air quality. In addition, enthusiastic citizen scientists are invited to monitor their own indoor environments.
DRN Research collaboration on participation and care in urban spaces
Democracy Research Network of Tampere University (DRN) is a multidisciplinary research network that brings together researchers interested in democracy. In the summer 2024 DRN will launch a research collaboration with Skeittitapuli, Pirkanmaan Kaarikoirat and Vanha kirkko. Researchers of DRN will organize an on-site workshop to collect dreams, hopes and utopias for sustainable urban development from the visitors of Skeittitapuli. In September 2024 DRN will organize a seminar at Skeittitapuli/Laikku that will bring together city representatives, youth workers, Skeittitapuli and Vanha Kirkko representatives, researchers and citizens to discuss participation and urban development. The aim is to make the activities of Skeittitapuli visible while facilitating a dialogue that includes citizens that participate in Skeittitapuli activities and to further explore different forms of participation and care in public space, which is essential for the sustainable development of the urban environment.
Public event presenting books and short films of COST Action Writing Urban Places
Insurgent Spatial Practices – research collective will organize a conversational public event in the city center Friday May 3rd to launch two books and screen related short films from Tampere and Tirana, Albania. Books and films have been produced as part of COST Action Writing Urban Places that explored the potential of narrative methods for urban development. Book called Other Destinations includes translations of not so well known literary authors writing on different mid-sized European cities, and book New Narratives on the European City brings together the achievements of the whole COST Action. Action chair prof. Klaske Havik and Dorina Pllumbi, the organizer of the researcher workshop of short films that will be screened, both coming from Delft University Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, will be presenting in the event.
Justheat project pop-up exhibitions: artistic and research outputs
Justheat project captures the social and cultural history of home heating. Our aim is to understand, how heating practices and transitions have affected people’s everyday life, to make just decisions in the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels. The research team has collected oral histories in Joensuu, Lahti and Tampere regions. As a part of the research team, artist Henna Aho has produced artworks inspired by the heating topic, to be presented in dialogue with the research outputs. Our series of pop-up exhibitions is a way to give back to the communities that shared their stories, and to create a platform to communicate and give visibility to their viewpoints.