Nils Björling

Nils Björling is a researcher within the research group Urban and Regional Transformation. The focus for the work is on developing theory and methods to increase the interplay between local and regional planning. The objective is thereby to support the design practice in urban planning to manage challenges caused by an uneven geographical development and to include a broader field of resources and actors in the planning process. A greater plurality is intended to improve the possibility to manage change over time and balance a sustainable development.
In 2016 Nils defended his doctoral thesis, Fragile Urban Landscapes: Planning methods to open spatial lock-ins of urbanisation. The thesis develops three conceptual tools; fragile urban landscape, urban ecologies and key urban projects, aiming to support the design practice in formulating alternative strategies of alteration, to identify a wider spectrum of resources and to identify mechanisms of transformation bridging the gap between planning and implementation. The work is completed in close cooperation with planning practice at both a local and regional level.