About Urban Futures
Centre for sustainable Urban Futures – Urban Futures – is an arena for co-creation between research and practice. We address complex social challenges in the context of urban development, to build integrated knowledge and capacity that can transform our cities and communities in a sustainable manner.
Urban Futures operates through a collaborative partnership between eight organisations in West Sweden, representing both research and practice:
- Chalmers University of Technology
- IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB
- The City of Gothenburg
- The County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland
- The Gothenburg Region, GR
- The Region Västra Götaland
- The University of Gothenburg
Urban Futures’ partners cooperate combined to identify prevailing regional and local social challenges in the context of urban development, where new, integrated knowledge is needed to develop cities in a sustainable manner.
Urban Futures facilitates joint knowledge production and capacity development for sustainable urban development. For us, co-creation is not a single method, but an approach that can be realized and implemented in different ways. It concerns the engagement of diverse actors to reflect collectively on, and purpose robust solutions to, reality-based, complex social challenges.
Mistra Urban Futures becomes Urban Futures
For ten years, the research and knowledge centre Mistra Urban Futures worked with sustainable urban development. When the 10-year funding from the Mistra Foundation ended end in December 2019 the consortium partners in Gothenburg was committed to continue the local collaboration. Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures, or Urban Futures in short, was established in January 2020. Urban Futures builds on the ten-year partnership and is committed to continue to be an arena for co-creation between research and practice.
Urban Futures' activities are developed through a Board and a Coordinating group with representatives from the eight partner organisations, and a central Office function. The Office function is hosted by Wexsus – West Sweden Nexus for Sustainable Development. Wexsus constitutes a partnership between Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Gothenburg, and University West.
