Doctoral student in circularity and habitat value in urban transformation

Publiceringsdatum: 2025-08-19

Det är nu möjligt för dig att få jobb som doktorand hos Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB. Vill du arbeta heltid hos Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB? Just nu letar de efter någon som vill ha en tjänst 6 månader eller längre. Arbetsplatsen ligger nära tillhands om du är bosatta i Göteborg som är tjänsteorten.

Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB söker för närvarande efter ambitiösa individer som vill utvecklas i rollen som doktorand. Kolla in deras ledig tjänst och se om du har vad som krävs för att bli en del av deras team. Bli en del av teamet hos Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB som doktorand genom att ansöka senast måndag den femtonde september 2025.

Jobbannons

We welcome applications for a doctoral student position in circularity and habitat values in urban planning and transformation. This doctoral project provides a unique opportunity to pursue pioneering research on rethinking space and municipal planning processes conducted in co-creation and a transdisciplinary setting spanning architecture, urban development, human geography, ecology, and economy.

Project summary

The doctoral student will carry out a large part of the research project "Rethinking urban planning and transformation in co-creation: Towards a framework for calculation of habitat value for an equitable, resource efficient, and circular built living environment", funded by the Swedish Research Council Formas.

The project aims to develop knowledge and a methodology on how to better utilize, broaden, and develop existing socio-economic calculations in detailed planning. It explores how municipalities can improve the design and care of cities’ living environment.

Our starting point is that habitat value—existing qualities of a place—cannot be bought or sold, but only managed and refined in co-creation with inhabitants. The long-term goal is to enable structural changes in land use economy within municipal spatial planning to support the transition from a linear to a circular built environment, and to shift from new construction to transformation and renovation.

The project adopts a practice-based, transdisciplinary approach, bringing together academia, the public sector, and a collaborative arena. It applies the New European Bauhaus principles: sustainable, beautiful, and together. The framework is iteratively developed, and four cases in Gothenburg cover various circularity perspectives of the built environment, ensuring robustness and scalability:

• Resilience of buildings (offices to residential use)
• Agricultural ecosystems (urban farming)
• Co-creation of cultural values (industrial site into art/culture hub)
• Education and circular systems (reuse of material for school)

Research environment

The Research Area CoDesign for Equitable Living Environments (CoDele) will be your home. Our work focuses on shaping and transforming space while addressing the complexity of current challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, and socio-economic injustice. We emphasize social and ethical responsibility, conscious and critical engagement of society, and require multi-stakeholder participation in design processes, where stakeholders from different backgrounds and disciplines learn together.

Supervision

The doctoral student’s supervision team at Chalmers will be:

• Liane Thuvander – Professor in Architecture and Sustainable Building, leader of the research area CoDele, and leader of the Thematic Area Land
• Marco Adelfio – Professor in Applied Urbanism

For aspects of management of sustainable urban development and calculative practices, you will be supported by:

• Sara Brorström – Professor from the Section for Management and Organization, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg

The research is conducted in a transdisciplinary setting and supported by actors from the Environmental and Cultural Administration of the City of Gothenburg.

The successful candidate will be admitted to the Graduate School in Architecture and earn a doctoral degree within the subject of architecture.

Main responsibilities

As a doctoral student, you will plan, drive, and carry out the research activities of our project with support from the supervisors and in collaboration with the Environmental and Cultural Administration of the City of Gothenburg. You will also contribute to research communication through co-authored articles in top-ranked academic journals and conferences, popular science channels, and case-related activities.

The research will involve both desktop and practice-based research. You will:

• Contextualize your research through literature and document studies, combined with a survey directed to Swedish municipalities and key organizations.
• Develop the framework for calculation of habitat values using the four Gothenburg cases as testbeds.
• Design the development process and procedures for iterative testing and evaluation of the framework in co-creation with the project team and stakeholders.
• Organize, facilitate, and document workshops; conduct interviews; align research with municipal strategies for sustainable building, both generally and in Gothenburg specifically.
• Analyze municipal organizational structures and prerequisites, challenge them, and integrate the framework into municipal processes.
• Engage in a process of “unlearning” to challenge existing practices.

Additional duties

Besides conducting pioneering research, the Doctoral student will:

• Participate in research environment activities.
• Help organize events related to the doctoral project and broader agendas in circularity, co-design, and planning.
• Disseminate research results through peer-reviewed publications and international conferences.
• Communicate research to the public and industry.
• Prepare materials for, and participate in, project meetings, stakeholder workshops, and related events.
• Teach and co-supervise master-level students, and carry out other departmental work (max. 20% of a full-time position).

Qualifications

Mandatory educational background

• Master’s degree in urban and regional planning, architecture, sustainable building, urban studies, urban geography, human geography, public management, or a related social science field.
• At least four years of study (240 ECTS credits), with a minimum of 60 ECTS credits at advanced (Master’s) level (or equivalent).
• By the start of enrollment in the doctoral program, the candidate must hold a Master’s degree, including a Master’s thesis equivalent to at least one term (30 ECTS credits).

Other mandatory skills and personal traits

• Ability to work and navigate in transdisciplinary settings.
• Communication skills in Swedish are meritorious.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Skills in graphic and visual communication.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently, and drive your work forward.
• Highly motivated personality.

 Application procedure

To apply, please go to: https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/work-with-us/vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=14150

Application deadline: 15 September, 2025