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As social sustainability has lacked recognition and consideration within physical planning since the establishment of the sustainability definition, this thesis seeks to investigate its role within a railway infrastructure’s physical planning process and project management. The study evaluates the specific case of the East Link, section Södertälje-Trosa, because it is a current project that has been ongoing for a long period of time. The thesis further seeks to investigate how the planning actors connected to the case study project have recognised the role of social sustainability and what influences they experience have affected the level of social sustainability within the project. The theory used to evaluate the research questions includes a definition for sustainability and presents which social sustainability aspects have been used for the investigation: distributive justice, the citizen perspective, and power. To be able to evaluate the project management of the East Link Södertälje-Trosa, theory regarding project management and communication is also presented. The case study has been focused on the analysis of publicly available documents for the project, which are also complemented by semi-structured interviews with planning actors of different sectors. The empirical analysis, where the case study results are connected to the theoretical basis, concludes that the East Link Södertälje-Trosa project has lacked both consideration and recognised ambition for social sustainability, even though the Swedish Transport Administration has expressed a future aim for the concept. The reason as to why social sustainability has lacked prioritisation is due to multiple factors; the timing of the project initiation, size of the project and project management, as well as lack of consideration and recognition for social sustainabilityaspects within the citizen perspective and the utilitarian philosophy behind the project. While the Swedish Transport Administration is largely responsible for the ambition of social sustainability within the project, the level of social sustainability is also influenced by the power of the discourse, where it has not gained enough recognition as important for physical planning and because of this, there are no legal requirements for its focus. The future of social sustainability and its recognition is further discussed in relation to the Swedish Transport Administration’s future ambition of social sustainability, the practice of social impact assessments and inclusion of social sustainability sectors within projects. Finally, a proposition is made regarding social-ecological sustainability, where social sustainability can gain equal recognition to ecological, as they are interdependent and of equal importance in physical planning.

Increased urbanisation and climate change are negatively affecting the water cycle and are increasing floods and creating concerns for the built environment and human wellbeing. This has created a need to research sustainable water management in cities. Nature-based solutions (NBS) can offer more sustainable ways of water management, but conventional systems are still favoured in governance. Hence, the aim of this thesis is to identify opportunities and challenges of implementing NBS at Årstafältet in Stockholm and the related governance processes from a Socio-Ecological-Technical system perspective in order to bring a holistic view on sustainable urban stormwater management. The methods used in triangulation for this case study are interviews, a site visit, and desktop study of associated planning documents. The collected data is analysed with an analytical framework that investigates the Social-Ecological-Technical System (SETS) dimensions, in relation to governance. The results show that the implementation of NBS at Årstafältet has been largely successful, due to contextual factors, as well as an adaptive and reflexive governance approach. However, identified system dynamics, interrelations and tensions have shown that there is room for improvements. By increasing transdisciplinarity in early stages of the process to overcome rigid governance structures and techno-centricity. The application of the SETS framework has proved to be successful in identifying dynamics, interrelations, and tensions but there are issues related to uncertainties in how to categorise system components. Nevertheless, the SETS perspective has been useful for identifying challenges and opportunities related to governance and planning processes of implementing NBS.

Understanding the complex nature of social-ecological cascades, or chain reactions of events that lead to widespread change in a system, is crucial for navigating the challenges they present. Emerging pests and pathogens, such as the fall armyworm, provide an opportunity to study these cascades in greater detail. I use topic modeling of digital news articles to investigate the potential social-ecological cascades associated with the ongoing fall armyworm invasion of multiple geographic regions. My findings reveal regional thematic shifts in the popular news media discourse surrounding the fall armyworm invasion. Notably, in the discourse surrounding Oceania, I observed a pronounced focus on invasion preparation, a theme significantly more emphasized compared to regions like Africa and Asia. These regional variations shed light on some of the localized priorities in addressing this invasive species. By highlighting the significance of employing comprehensive case studies of emerging pests and pathogens, this research underscores the need for more in- depth analyses of social-ecological cascades to better manage and mitigate their impacts.

Sustainable and equitable fisheries are central for addressing the challenges of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. International trade, once presented by Walrasian economists as a panacea for fisheries development, has not markedly decreased poverty and has been related to the overexploitation of marine species. In this light the consequences of a continued expansion of seafood trade are highly uncertain and problematic. Two competing theoretical hypotheses predict either overexploitation or recovery of marine species when connected to international trade, respectively. The empirical literature finds trade relationships and connections of local fisheries to a large-volume market critical factors for social-ecological outcomes. Here, I combine these insights to show that multi-level links, between fishers & different markets (market manuscript) and marine species & trade relationships (squid manuscript), are critical to explain diverging social-ecological outcomes. In the market manuscript we model the transition from local, to multi-level (both local and global), to global markets in a two species fishery. We find this transition is non-linear, leading to fluctuations in species abundance as a result of abrupt switches between target species. Critical fluctuations of species abundance driven by new market connections are a result of large shifts in prices for one species and high asymmetries in expected income between the two species. The squid manuscript provides empirical and modeling evidence that cyclical changes in the ocean can drive social-ecological systems outcomes through changing interactions at multiple levels. The interactions between squid population and fishers and squid distribution and trading structures determines benefit distributions in the fishery. The lack of consideration of multi-level interactions related to trade in models for fisheries management is likely associated with a lack of processes for integrating the empirical and theoretical insights of two disciplines at the core of fisheries science. Social-ecological system scholars study more often empirical and fishery economics the theoretical aspects of interactions between trade and fisheries. One process suggested in this thesis to bridge insights from both disciplines in fishery models is the careful study of the important interactions in the empirical case. Comparison of these interactions with observed empirical interactions in other systems informs the model conceptualization that is then embedded in a theoretical framework. This leads to the development of models of intermediate complexity  that integrate insights on regular structures and patterns observed in real social-ecological systems. The squid manuscript exemplifies this integration. We integrate observed multi-level links in a standard fishery model between the squid population fishers and traders, and thus better represent the empirical system.  A continuous dialogue between empirics and theorycan help build models of intermediate complexity. To capture the complex elements of these social-ecological systems, in this young field of study, next to a continuous dialogue priority observed empirical dynamics can help question theoretical assumptions. This study seeks to contribute to the development of fisheries management models more suitable to face contemporary challenges of fisheries management by focusing on how multi-level interactions between fisheries and trade shape sustainable and equitable outcomes.

Academic studies of sustainable fashion, and the discourses of actors in business and policy, under-define fashion as a system by treating the social and ecological aspects of fashion separately. This reduces the potential for academic findings to provide knowledge useful for transformation of the fashion system and obstructs desired outcomes from policy and business responses to fashion’s negative social and environmental impacts. Understanding how fashion works as a system presents a challenge to transdisciplinary efforts for transformation towards sustainability. In this Licentiate, I explore ways to look at fashion using a feminist critical realist social-ecological system approach. I develop a theoretical framework to understand the fashion system, and particularly to understand what is keeping it unsustainable. I view fashion as a ‘nested’ social-ecological system with inseparable social and biophysical parts.  I use a feminist lens characterized by diversity; this draws attention to gaps, what is known, missing and absent. To show that social aspects and material aspects are intertwined and cannot be studied independently of each other, I use critical realism as a metatheory. I bring its idea of a stratified reality and the model of the four-planar social being to the social-ecological system approach that forms the core of my work. I combine Ostrom’s frequently used general framework for analysing social-ecological systems with a policy-oriented framework for sustainable development. Drawing from these two frameworks I develop a five principles for a strategy framework for sustainable fashion. In summary, applying the strategy framework within the theoretical framework enables thinking more deeply about the structure and implications of knowledge contributions when taking a social-ecological perspective on actions for sustainability.  The two papers in this licentiate thesis examine the effects of ontological standpoints that allow environmental impacts of textile fibres to be analysed in isolation from the cultural and social aspects of fashion.    Paper 1, ‘Making Resilient Decisions for Sustainable Circularity of Fashion’, is recently published in the journal Circular Economy and Sustainability (Palm et al. 2021). It aimed to show how current circularity responses to global sustainability challenges have so far fallen short. The current path of the expanding fashion industry is fraught with accelerated material throughputs and increased disposal and waste, contributing to human-driven environmental changes at planetary scale. In addition the fashion industry has issues of poor working conditions, modern-day slavery, and justice. By representing a Driver – State – Response framework as an adaptive cycle of a social-ecological system, it makes it clear that reducing planetary pressure from the global fashion and textiles industry requires greater recognition of the system’s social drivers. This paper was a step towards the iterative development of my sustainable fashion framework.   Paper 2, ‘Reviewing and defining the concept of Sustainable Fashion: a critical social-ecological approach’, is included as an early-stage draft manuscript. It aims to provide a starting point for discussions towards a coherent science-business-policy definition of the concept of sustainable fashion itself. Using the five theoretically grounded principles of my strategy framework, I examine the manifold definitions related to sustainable fashion such as eco fashion, green fashion, ethical fashion, slow fashion, organic fashion and cradle-to-cradle-fashion. Critical realism’s idea of absence structures this paper.  This thesis contributes to knowledge of what a nested inseparable social-ecological system fashion is, enriching ontological descriptions for resilience research more generally.  Also, it provides concrete guidance for transdisciplinary efforts with business and policy working to decrease fashion’s negative impacts on humans and the planet, by showing that fruitful responses pay attention to social activities beyond the industry value chain, not just material flows within. Finally,  I hope my research serves as a contribution to propaedeutics of the field of sustainable fashion, i.e. giving an introductory understanding of the reality and the possibilities of fashion for people and planet. / <p>The work presented here was part of a consortium research project between Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, initiated and funded by H&amp;M Group, the Swedish public limited company. Celinda Palm, Sarah Cornell and Tiina Häyhä’s employment was part-funded through this project.</p>

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Världens befolkning ökar idag i rask takt. Om cirka 30 år beräknas det bo närmare tio miljarder människor i världen, varav över sex miljarder beräknas bo urbant. Urbaniseringen ökar kraftigt vilket sätter stor press på den fysiska planeringen. För att kunna inhysa en ökande befolkning är det många kommuner som satsar på att förtäta städerna. Dock leder förtätning till att de grönområden som finns i städerna blir allt färre vilket gör att städerna blir fragmenterade och att invånarna får allt längre till rekreationsområden. Vilka är viktiga för människans hälsa och välbefinnande. Städer måste ha grönområden som klarar ett ökat besökstryck eftersom slitaget ökar. Slitage, förändrad markanvändning och fragmentering påverkar biologisk mångfald och ekosystemtjänster negativt, både lokalt och regionalt. Ett samhälle med låg biologisk mångfald och få ekosystemtjänster har sämre förutsättningar för att klara chock och stress såsom pandemier och en ökad befolkning. I denna kvalitativa studie undersöks hur Järfälla kommun, Sollentuna kommun samt Sundbybergs stad i Stockholmsregionen arbetar med ett ökat besökstryck på sina grönområden. Samtliga kommuner har olika förutsättningar men gemensamt är att alla har en förväntad befolkningsökning samt hög befolkningstäthet. Empirin har samlats in med hjälp av intervjuer med kommunala tjänstemän samt dokumentanalys av kommunernas översiktsplaner. Det teoretiska ramverket utgörs av tidigare forskning kring ekosystemtjänster i urban miljö samt social-ekologiska system. Resultatet visar att samtliga kommuner i någon form har förändrat sitt arbete till följd av det ökade besökstrycket och det beräknade ökade invånarantalet. Förvaltning, planering, samverkan, kunskap och värdering är viktigt för att skapa ett hållbart och resilient samhälle. / The world's population is growing rapidly. It is estimated that almost ten billion people will live in the world in about 30 years, of which over 6 billion people are estimated to live in urban areas. Urbanization is increasing, which puts great pressure on urban planning. In order to accommodate an increasing population, many municipalities plan to densify the cities. However, densification leads to fewer green areas in the cities, which means that the cities become fragmented and that the inhabitants have longer distances to recreational areas. Which are important to human health and welfare. Cities must have green areas that can withstand an increased visitor pressure as wear and tear increases. Wear and tear, changes in land use and fragmentation have negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services, both locally and regionally. A society with low biodiversity and few ecosystem services is less able to cope with shock and stress such as pandemics and an increased population. This qualitative study examines how Järfälla municipality, Sollentuna municipality and the city of Sundbyberg in the Stockholm region work with increased visitor pressure in their green areas. All municipalities have different conditions, but they all have in common that they have an expected population increase and a high population density. The empirical data has been collected with the help of interviews with municipal officials and document analysis of the municipalities' general plans. The theoretical framework consists of previous research on ecosystem services in urban environments and social-ecological systems. The results show that all municipalities in some forms have changed their work because of the increased visitor pressure and the estimated increased number of inhabitants. Management, planning, collaboration, knowledge and evaluation are important for creating a sustainable and resilient society.

Last century witnessed an unprecedented growth of cities which has led to the consolidation of an eminently urbanised world population. Meanwhile, agriculture has adopted industrial methods of production in the shape of large-scale, chemical-laden crops in the countryside, which, together with the liberalisation of global trade, have undermined the livelihood of small-scale peasants throughout the world, forcing many of them out of business. The food industry has responded to the high rates of hunger and malnutrition with an extraordinary increase in production that has not solved food security problems, as these have turned out to be more a question of unequal access to food rather than insufficient supply. Furthermore, the activity of large agri-food corporations has resulted in the degradation of natural ecosystems and an increasing pressure over already overburdened critical resources for food production. Consequently, facing the imminent threat of climate change, more and more voices are questioning the sustainability of the current food system and rising against the burgeoning hunger and escalating inequalities resulting from it. Hence, several alternatives to the neoliberal food system are emerging these days with the aim of reducing social inequalities and curbing environmental degradation, being urban agriculture one of them. Precisely, this thesis explores, from a social-ecological justice perspective, whether urban agriculture can address issues of environmental stewardship and disparities in food distribution. Although the many virtues of urban farming might not be enough to subvert the structures of power that are deeply rooted in the foundations of the present food regime, it could still play a significant role in alleviating the gaps in food needs. However, food security comes only after the core reasons of poverty have been addressed and social justice is achieved in the larger society. The pathway towards a greater social and ecological justice seems to require not only to re-examine how to feed the urban population, but also a significant transformation that goes beyond aspects from the whole food supply chain and embraces societal systemic change.