Sofia Wiberg

I received my PhD in 2018 with the dissertation The Practice of Listening – Citizen Dialogue, Not-Knowing, and Displacements, where I examine the political dimensions of listening in co-creative urban planning processes. Using an autoethnographic approach, I explore the growing emphasis on citizen dialogue and argue for the importance of moving beyond predefined questions. Instead, I highlight the value of not-knowing – the difficult and unsettling questions that challenge established understandings – as a condition for sound judgment and decision-making.

My research is situated at the intersection of knowledge, practice, and politics, with a focus on knowledge practices in collective work and decision-making. I study how knowledge is shaped in specific contexts, how power relations influence what can be said and done, and where the limits of knowing lie in complex planning practices.

I am the executive director of the graduate school TRANSPLACE, which develops practice-based, action-oriented research in close collaboration with Swedish spatial planning. The aim is to challenge established practices and strengthen reflective capacity within planning, particularly in relation to sustainability transitions.
https://www.kth.se/transplace/transplace-1.1302658

My research is organized around several thematic areas:

Ethical dilemmas and situated knowledge
This work focuses on embodied and experience-based knowledge in complex planning situations. The concept of phronesis – practical wisdom grounded in experience and judgment – is central, especially where standardized methods fall short.

Art and urban planning
I explore how artistic practices can expand the notion of knowledge in planning, while also critically examining the risks of instrumentalizing art. This has led to the course Gestalted Living Environments – Shared Spaces, Interdisciplinary Practices, where issues of collaboration, practical knowledge, and conflicting goals are central. I have been a lecturer at Konstfack in this program since 2024.
https://www.konstfack.se/sv/Utbildning/Fristaende-kurser/Gestaltade-livsmiljoer-gemensamma-rum-interdisciplinara-praktiker-Kurspaket-60-hp-HT26-VT282/

Choreography and planning
In the project A Thinking Practice, together with choreographer Stina Nyberg, I investigate parallels between choreography and spatial planning. The work explores tensions between control and openness, and how methods and formats shape possibilities for more democratic practices.

The politics of friendship
Since 2023, I have explored friendship as a social and political practice through teaching, study circles, and writing. The project examines how friendship creates its own spaces, languages, and temporalities, and its relation to public and professional life. It asks how friendship relates to politics, what spaces enable it, and whether it can serve as a form of resistance to contemporary individualism and economic logics. This work is conducted in collaboration with Eva Schwartz (Södertörn University) and Sebastian Dahlqvist (Hägerstensåsen Community Centre).

In addition to my research, I teach at Konstfack and KTH in sustainable urban development and planning, supervise master’s theses and PhD students, and lead doctoral courses.