URBAN STUDIES
Urban geography, involving both urban systems and the internal structures of cities, is an integral and traditional aspect of the department's research interests. Typical themes have been changes in urban structure, urban renewal, actors and conflicts lying behind urban transformations, the perception of urban environments, nature in urban areas and the relations of such matters to urban politics and planning. The main objects of study include the towns and cities of South-Western Finland, with respect to which the department acts in an advisory capacity in matters of urban planning as well as carrying out research.
Urban studies in the department also benefit from networking with research programmes and teams in other countries, and the department has been instrumental in arranging numerous international meetings and intensive courses.
An especially close connection exists between teaching and research in this field. Teaching in urban studies is provided at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and numerous major papers and reports have been published from the 1960s onwards.
Contact person for urban studies:
Professor Harri Andersson, harri.andersson@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5589