Utifrån det svårdefinierade begreppet smart stad syftar studien till att förstå vilken riktning, inom begreppet, Stockholm tar i jakten på att bli världens smartaste stad. På så sätt besvaras i studien frågan hur Stockholm blir smart istället för att besvara hur smart Stockholm blir. Med inriktning på implementeringen av nya digitala verktyg inom stadsplanering intervjuas tre aktörer med olika ingångsvinkel till ämnet. Genom denna kartläggning förväntas centrala faktorer och ytterligare viktiga aktörer framträda. Analysen av dessa ämnar leda fram till huruvida riktningen för Stockholm kan anses centreras kring stadens inånare eller kring tekniken, två tydliga läger i debatten kring den smarta staden. Resultatet pekar mot att Stockholm tar en invånarcentrerad riktning i kommunens strävan efter att uppå sitt mål att bli världens smartaste stad. Detta resultat behöver dock nyanseras där argument som stödjer den andra riktningen också är närvarande i studien. I vidare studier bör samtliga identifierade aktörer intervjuas, i ett försök att nyansera bilden av det splittrade begreppet smart stad. / Using the ambiguous definition of the concept smart city, this thesis aims to synthesize the direction Stockholm follows in Stockholm Municipality’s goal of becoming the smartest city in the world. Three actors with different backgrounds within the digitalization of urban planning are interviewed in the search of understanding how a city becomes smart rather than considering how smart a city is. This is achieved by finding material factors as well as key actors in the development of the smart city. Based on an analysis of the identified factors and actors, together with differentiating views of the concept smart city, the thesis proposes insight of whether Stockholm is considered as either citizen or technologically oriented. Understanding the local and social context of the smart city, we find that Stockholm displays a citizen-oriented perspective. However, arguments supporting the contrary view of the smart city concept are also present in the study, thus showcasing the complexity of the question in mind. Further studies should consider interviewing every identified actor in an attempt to piece out and elaborate the image of the ambiguously defined smart city.

The diploma thesis Economic and social interaction during Normalization era is is based on qualitative research. It deals with issues of system of return services and barter exchange in non - cash market in 1970's and 1980's in Czechoslovakia. The centrally planned economy was not able to produce enough consumer goods and meet the demand of the population. Employees, who worked in department stores, took easier approach to consumer goods than others. They excercised power over distribution and they traded some commodities for another services. As a research method applied is oral history. The primary sources used are narrative interview and secondary history literature.

Given an increasing number of teachers who find it difficult to engage students in teaching, it is  important  to  find  out  but  also  to  understand  the  reasons  why  students  study  geography. Furthermore, as results in education are based on student motivation, since motivation affects both the productive and the receptive knowledge, it is important to emphasize the importance of  motivation  as  a  key  factor  in  education.  Previous  research  in  this  field  is  deliberated, however, this study focuses on learners’ motivation. This study aims to investigate students’ reasons  and  their  motivation  to  study  geography  but  also  to  find  out  whether  there  are differences  concerning  motivation  depending  on  the  factors  of  age  and  gender.  Moreover,  a further purpose is to create a debate about the concept of motivation and present the significance of  motivation  in  learning.  To  achieve  the  aim  but  also  to  answer  the  research  questions,  a qualitative  method  was  used  in  this  study  in  the  form  of  a  survey.  This  study  consists  of  66 participants,  which  are  secondary  school  students  and  university  students  in  Sweden.  The respondents’ answers from the survey were converted into statistics and results are presented in table form and are based on Deci and Ryan's Self-Determination Continuum. Results show that  there  are  statistically  significant  differences  according  to  age  and  gender  concerning intrinsic  and  integrated  regulation.  Based  on  the  findings  of  this  study,  suggestions  for increasing  and  developing  teachers’ knowledge   of   motivation,   since   teachers   have   a predominant role in this. For this reason, this study is valuable from an educational perspective to create successful learning.

While the school subject geography is defined as a unified subject, academic geography is divided into two scientific disciplines; human geography and physical geography, which makes the relationship between the academic disciplines and the school subject geography somewhat complicated. Research shows that the textbook is often equal to the course. The textbook has a central role in the teacher's planning of the course and is thus crucial for the student's learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate and discuss how the school subject geography is presented in textbooks. I examine how the interdisciplinary, unified subject geography, which illustrates the connections and the mutual influence between societal development, natural environments and human activity, is exemplified, and what challenges teachers face depending on the design of the textbooks. In addition to a quantitative analysis, I make a more qualitative one in order to concretize and nuance the image that emerges. The study shows that the school subject geography is mainly presented according to the identified common and specialized areas of interest, concepts and theories for the respective discipline of human and physical geography. Overall, relatively few examples in the textbooks are identified, only about 35 percent of all analyzed pages, where human-nature interaction is clear and which portrays the coherent, unified subject of geography according to the curriculum.

Numerous scholars describe agroforestry as an extraordinary food production system that generates viable ecosystems and accommodates regenerative capabilities. Agroforestry may therefore be a promising solution to the future environmental challenges facing food production. This multifunctional land management system is practised in temperate and tropical regions alike, however, it exists to a remarkably limited extent in Sweden. This research points to the complexities in agricultural and forestry policy as a main barrier for wider agroforestry adoption. The foundation of inquiry is thus to analyze various Swedish legislatives and support systems that either facilitate or adverse agroforestry practice, through the lens of political ecology. The research findings derive from a qualitative study, consisting of conducted interviews with key stakeholders in Swedish agricultural and forestry policy. The study contends that a core obstacle for agroforestry development is the dualistic approach to governmental sectors, i.e. forestry and agriculture, and the lack of coordination between them, since agroforestry cannot be classified as neither . A perpetual policy prioritized towards large-volume crop yields, rapid production, large scale investments, calculative assessments and a competitive business sector is moreover identified. The research asserts that these hegemonic discourses permeating policy, consequently act as a disincentive for agroforestry adoption due to the ofttimes long implementation period, high initial investment and uncertain food market for agroforestry produce. In addition, the study illustrates that cultural expectations of landscape mainly give trees a cultural and environmental value, therein neglecting the multifunctionality of woody vegetation - which hence suggest a lack of a holistic approach to food systems. The thesis finally argues that these hegemonic discourses concerning assessment and management of land, together influence the design of state policy and farmers’ attitude towards agroforestry systems. Overall, current policy regulations portray a rather static and incomplete way of managing the dynamic symbiosis of multifunctional food systems.

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Cape Town is a city with a complex housing problem due to the apartheid planning and the design of the current housing programs. Apartheid planning has segregated the city, leading to a more divided and spread out city. With the current affordable housing programs, most houses are being built in poorly located areas, resulting in inhabitants feeling more separated and isolated from the city center. To develop a more integrated society, the concept of Inclusionary housing has had a growing appeal in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to examine the concept of inclusionary housing and how it can be implemented in Cape Town to fight segregation and housing inequalities. Interviews were conducted with various stakeholders from the private sector, public sector, NGO’s and academics with the aim to provide their perspectives on inclusionary housing and to answer the question if inclusionary housing is the right tool to help Cape Town become a more integrated city. A closer investigation was made on a specific development project in Sea Point where an inclusionary housing pilot project was going to be implemented. The majority of stakeholders agree that getting an inclusionary housing policy in place in Cape Town is a step in the right direction towards a more integrated and affordable city. / Kapstaden har ett mycket komplicerat bostadsproblem på grund av det tidigare apartheidsystemet samt utformningen av de nuvarande bostadsprogrammen för låginkomsttagare. Apartheidsystemet har lett till en uppdelad och segregerad stad. Med de nuvarande bostadsprogrammen byggs de flesta bostäder i sämre belägna områden, vilket leder till att invånarna känner sig mer separerade och isolerade från stadens centrum. För att utveckla ett mer integrerat samhälle har konceptet Inclusionary housing fått en växande uppmärksamhet i Sydafrika. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka konceptet inclusionary housing och besvara frågan hur det kan implementeras i Kapstaden för att bekämpa segregering och den rådande bostadsbristen. Intervjuer genomfördes med olika intressenter från den privata sektorn, den offentliga sektorn, icke-statliga organisationer och akademiker med syftet att ge sina perspektiv på inclusionary housing samt besvara frågan om inclusionary housing är det rätta verktyget för att hjälpa Kapstaden att bli en mer integrerad stad. En närmare undersökning gjordes av ett specifikt bostadsprojekt i Sea Point där inclusionary housing skulle implementeras.  Majoriteten av intressenterna är överens om att ett implementerade av en inclusionary housing policy i Kapstaden är ett steg i rätt riktning mot en mer integrerad och prisvärd stad med avseende på boende.

The Madrid City Council’s efforts to invite citizens to decision making are being examined through the eyes of six young inhabitants, aged 18-30. Their views on sustainability and experiences of participating in the city development are gained through qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The interviewed citizens find sustainability important, but their definitions are not in accordance with the polysemic way sustainability is being conceived and discussed theoretically. It also differs from their experience of how the government defines it. The findings are filtered through the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development, urban planning, and citizen engagement. While expressing a low trust in the institutions, the citizens seem to believe that the city takes the public’s opinions into account, but to a low extent. Possible explanations to the perspectives provided by the interviewees and the current situation of low participation rate among young inhabitants are presented. Strategies for how the Madrid City Council could increase the participation rate among young citizens are then suggested, such as increased governmental transparency, increased focus on projects related to sustainability, and improved education about sustainability.

Urban community gardens’ capability to yield aspects of social sustainability has been addressed in previous research. Nevertheless, further studies within this scientific field are requested for, exploring various socio-economic contexts and how such variables impact the outcomes of urban community garden initiatives. By the means of qualitative content analysis of material obtained via interviews and documents focusing on two urban community gardens in Skäggetorp, Linköping, on which a conceptual framework of social sustainability is applied,this study aims to investigate and seek a greater understanding of the potential and challenges of utilising urban community gardens as a planning strategy to foster social sustainability in socio-economic vulnerable neighbourhoods. The study finds that urban community gardens can bring various aspects of social sustainability, which can help meet the needs of socio-economic vulnerable neighbourhoodsin the strive for social sustainability. Many of these aspects are primarily created through the interaction occurring in the gardens. The study further confirms that urban community gardenscan function as educational hubs, allowing residents to practise language skills and learn about societal functions. Additionally, findings indicate that urban community gardens can be of financial significance in socio-economic vulnerable areas, a finding that previously mainly has been identified in studies of developing countries. Moreover, the study finds that urban community gardens allow existing traces of social sustainability to become visible and practised. However, low participation and lacking governmental support can obstruct the utilisation of urban community gardens as a planning strategy to foster social sustainability in socio-economic vulnerable neighbourhoods.

This dissertation consists of three essays in the field of environmental economics. The first chapter provides the first causal evidence that hostile activities online lead to physical violence. Given the recently documented relationship between pollution and social media, I exploit exogenous variation in local air quality as the first step to instrument for online aggression. In an event study setting, I find volatile organic compounds (VOCs) increase by 7% when refineries experience unexpected production outages. Together with higher air pollution, I find more aggressive behaviors both online and offline, as well as worse health outcomes near refineries. A one standard deviation increase in surrounding VOCs leads to 0.16 more hate crimes against Black people and 0.23 more hospital visits per thousand people each day. Second, I consider how emotional contagion spreads through social networks. On days with pollution spikes, surrounding areas see 30% more offensive and racist tweets and 12% more crimes; those geographically distant but socially networked regions also see offensive and racist tweets increase by 3% and more crimes by 4.5%. Nationally, overlooking spillovers would underestimate crime effects of pollution by 24%. My findings highlight the consequences of social media hostility and contribute to the public debate on cyberspace regulation. The second chapter, which is coauthored with Andrew Wilson, analyzes the relationship between weather and railway accidents. Rail thermal expansion and contraction are key considerations in rail design and construction; rail operators and rolling stock may likewise exhibit vulnerability to temperature changes. We quantify the sizes of these effects by leveraging a comprehensive dataset of railway malfunctions in the United States spanning 1997-2019. We find that both heat and cold cause elevated rates of railway malfunctions, with relatively larger increases in the number of incidents leading to a casualty as well as the number of injuries and deaths resulting from these incidents. We find that exposure to daily temperatures averaging over 30°C (86°F) leads to a 16% increase in the number of rail malfunctions, a 13% increase in the number of incidents leading to a casualty, and 18% and 36% increases injuries and deaths-effects net of any operational adjustments made to mitigate these effects. Further, while we also find that warmer locations exhibit a weaker relationship between heat and railway malfunctions, we find no evidence that companies are learning, year-over-year, how to reduce accidents. Finally, we note that effects of heat are strongest for derailments (versus other types of malfunctions) and freight trains (versus passenger trains). Our findings highlight the vulnerability of the railway system to the climate. The number of injuries and deaths associated with weather exposure-especially in comparison to operators' reported private costs of equipment failure-suggests a role for enhanced rail safety regulations and adaptation funding to protect critical heat-exposed infrastructure. The third chapter, which is a joint work with Douglas Almond and Muye Ru, explores the impact of federal policy rollback on methane leakage. Improvements in satellite measurement enable independent assessment of regulatory and climate policy. In August 2020, the Trump Administration lifted Obama-era requirements that oil and gas firms detect and repair methane leaks. We merge geo-identified data from the European TROPOMI (satellite instrument) to the specific locations of the US oil and gas infrastructure. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find a prompt increase in US methane emissions following the summer 2020 rollback. The number of high-methane emission events from the oil and gas sector more than doubled after the rollback relative to the coal sector, which did not experience the same regulatory rollback. While the oil and gas industry claims it faces a persistent, profit-making incentive to stem natural gas leaks and emissions, we find a large and nimble response by industry to changes in federal policy. Public policies that reduce methane externalities are critical given that global methane concentrations are rising at an increasing rate.