Urban Landscapes and Futures

Environmental Management and Assessment (EMA) research group

Urban systems and related transport infrastructure increasingly dominate the world´s flows and storage of energy and materials, widely affecting use of natural resources, ecosystem services and biodiversity. At the same time urban and urbanising landscapes are arenas where most people live and work. Therefore, methods and tools for integrating sustainability issues in urban development are urgently needed.

Urban nature is a key component of the urban system, providing ecosystem services such as air quality and micro climate regulation and stormwater retention but also health and recreation, and sustaining biodiversity. Research is conducted on impacts of urbanisation and transport infrastructure on biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as on development of methods and tools for integration of biodiversity objectives and an ecosystem approach in planning and management of urban systems.

Selected publications

2019		Högström, J, Balfors, B. and Hammer, M. 2019. The role of small-scale planning projects in urban development: A case study in the metropolitan Stockholm region, Sweden . Land Use Policy 84: 294-304.
2018		Khoshkar, S., Balfors, B. and Wärnbäck, A. 2018. Planning for green qualities in the densification of suburban Stockholm – opportunities and challenges . Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 61: 2613-2635.
2018		Engström, R., Destouni, G., Mörtberg, U., Howells, M., 2018. Multi‐functionality of nature‐based and other urban sustainability solutions: New York City study . Land Degradation and Development 29 (3653-3662).
2018		La Sorte, F., Lepczyk, C., Aronson, M., Goddard, M., Katti, M., MacGregor-Fors, I., Mörtberg, U., Nilon, C., Warren, P., Nicholas, W., Yang, J., 2018. The phylogenetic and functional diversity of regional breeding bird assemblages is reduced and constricted through urbanization . Diversity and Distributions 24: 928-938.
2017		Högström, J, Balfors, B and Hammer, M. 2017. Planning for sustainability in expansive metropolitan regions: exploring practices and planners’ expectations in Stockholm, Sweden . European Planning Studies 26: 439-457.
2017		Högström, J., 2017. Towards sustainable urban development in expansive urban regions: Conditions and challenges for municipal spatial planning practice , TRITA-SEED-LIC 2017:01. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, 15 pp.
2017		Khoshkar, S. 2017. Paving the way for green qualities - Role of environmental assessment . TRITA-SEED-LIC 2017:02, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 24 pp.
2017		Karlsson, C.S.J., Miliutenko, S., Björklund, A., Mörtberg, U., Olofsson, B., Toller, S., 2017. Life cycle assessment in road infrastructure planning using spatial geological data . The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 22: 1302–1317.
2017		Karlson, M., Seiler, A., and Mörtberg, U., 2017. The effect of fauna passages and landscape characteristics on barrier mitigation success . Ecological Engineering 105: 211-220.
2017		Goldenberg, R., Kalantari, Z., Cvetkovic, V., Mörtberg, U., Deal, B., Destouni, G., 2017. Distinction, quantification and mapping of potential and realized supply-demand of flow-dependent ecosystem services . Science of the Total Environment 593-594: 599-609.
2017		Engström, E., Mörtberg, U., Karlström, A., and Mangold, M. 2017. Applying spatial regression to evaluate risk factors for microbiological contamination of urban groundwater sources in Juba, South Sudan . Hydrogeology Journal 25: 1077-1091.
2017		Kalantari, Z., Khoskhar, S., Falk, H., Cvetkovic, V. & Mörtberg, U. 2017. Accessibility of water-related cultural ecosystem services through public transport – A model for planning support in the Stockholm region . Sustainability 9: 346.
2017		Mörtberg, U., Goldenberg, R., Kalantari, Z., Kordas, O., Deal, B., Balfors, B. and Cvekovic, V. 2017. Integrating ecosystem services in the assessment of urban energy trajectories - A study of the Stockholm Region . Energy Policy 100: 338-340.
2017		Karlsson, C.S.J., Kalantari, Z., Mörtberg, U., Olofsson, B., Lyon, S.W., 2017. Natural hazard susceptibility assessment for road planning using spatial multi-criteria analysis . Environmental Management: (accepted).
2016		Balfors, B., Azcarate, J., Mörtberg, U., Karlson, M. and Odelius Gordon, S. 2016. Impacts of urban development on biodiversity and ecosystem services . Chapter 8 in: Geneletti, D. (ed.). Handbook on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Impact Assessment. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp 167-194.
2016		Karlson, M., Karlsson, C., Mörtberg, U., Olofsson, B. & Balfors, B. 2016. Design and evaluaon of railway corridors based on spatial ecological and geological criteria . Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 46: 207-228.
2015		Azcarate, J. 2015. Beyond impacts: Contextualizing strategic environmental assessment to foster the inclusion of multiple values in strategic planning . TRITA-LWR PHD 2015:02, doctoral thesis in Planning and Decision Analysis, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2015		Karlson, M. 2015. Road ecology for environmental assessment . TRITA-LWR PHD 2015:06, doctoral thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2015		Karlson, M. & Mörtberg, U. 2015. A spatial ecological assessment of fragmentation and disturbance effects of the Swedish road network . Landscape and Urban Planning 134: 53-65.
2015		Engstöm, E., Balfors, B., Mörtberg, U., Thunvik, R., Gaily, T. & Mangold, M. 2015. Prevalence of microbiological contaminants in groundwater sources and risk factor assessment in Juba, South Sudan . Science of the Total Environment 515-516: 181-187.
2014		Aronson, M.F.J., La Sorte, F.A., Nilon, C.H., Katti, M., Goddard, M.A., Lepczyk, C.A., Warren, P.S., Williams, W.P.S., Cilliers, S., Clarkson, B., Dobbs, C., Dolan, R., Hedblom, M., Klotz, S., Louwe Kooijmans, J., Kühn, I., MacGregor-Fors, I., McDonnell, M., Mörtberg, U., Pyšek, P., Siebert, S., Sushinsky, J., Werner, P. & Winter, M. 2014. A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers . Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281, 20133330.
2014		Kalantari, Z. 2014. Road structures under climate and land use change: Bridging the gap between science and application. TRITA-LWR PHD 2014:01, doctoral thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2014		Karlson, M., Mörtberg, U. & Balfors, B. 2014. Road ecology in environmental impact assessment . Environmental Impact Assessment Review 48: 10-19.
2013	Bergsten, A. & Zetterberg, A. 2013. To model the landscape as a network: A practitioner's perspective. Landscape and Urban Planning 119: 35-43.
2013		Coello-Balthasar, Z. & Balfors, B. 2013. Problems faced by a national water utility in an urban area, case study: Tegucigalpa, Honduras. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 8: 508-522, DOI: 10.2495/SDP-V8-N4-508-522.
2013		Marcus, L., Balfors, B and Haas, T. 2013. Sustainable urban fabric: The development and application of analytical urban design theory. Chapter 4 in: Sustainable Stockholm: Exploring urban sustainability in Europes greenest city, eds. J. Metzger. and A. Rader Olsson. Routledge, New York, pp 71-101.
2013		Mörtberg, U., Haas, J., Zetterberg, A., Franklin, J., Jonsson, D. & Deal, B. 2013. Urban ecosystems and sustainable urban development – analysing and assessing interacting systems in the Stockholm region . Urban Ecosystems 16: 763-782.
2012		Mörtberg, U., Zetterberg, A. & Balfors, B. 2012. Urban landscapes in transition: lessons from integrating biodiversity and habitat modelling in planning . Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 14: 1250002, 31 pages.
2011		Hedblom, M. & Mörtberg, U. 2011. Characterizing biodiversity in urban areas using remote sensing . Chapter 20 in: Yang, X. (ed.) Urban Remote Sensing: Monitoring, Synthesis and Modeling in the Urban Environment. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK: 287-304.
2011	Lundberg, K. 2011. A systems thinking approach to environmental follow-up in a Swedish central public authority: Hindrances and possibilities for learning from experience. Environmental Management 48: 123-133.
2011	Zetterberg, A. 2011. Connecting the dots: Network analysis, landscape ecology, and practical application. TRITA-LWR PHD 1062. Doctoral Thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2010	Lundberg, K., Balfors, B., Folkeson, L., Nilsson, M. 2010. SEA monitoring in Swedish regional transport infrastructure plans - Improvement opportunities identified in practical experience. Environmental Impact Assessment Revew 30: 400-406.
2010		Zetterberg, A., Mörtberg, U. & Balfors, B. 2010. Making graph theory operational for landscape ecological assessments, planning, and design . Landscape and Urban Planning 95: 181-191.
2009		Brencic, M., Dawson, A., Folkeson, L., François, D. & Leitão, T. 2009. Pollution mitigation. Chapter 12 in: Dawson, A. (ed.), Water in Road Structures vol. 5, Springer Netherlands, pp 283-297.
2009		Folkeson, L., Bækken, T., Brenčič, M., Dawson, A., Frančois, D., Kuřímská, P., Leitão, T., Ličbinský, R., Vojtěšek, M., 2009. Sources and Fate of Water Contaminants in Roads. Chapter 6 in: Dawson, A. (ed.), Water in Road Structures vol. 5. Springer Netherlands, pp. 107-146.
2009		Leitão, T., Dawson, A., Bækken, T., Bren i M., Folkeson, L., François, D., Ku mská, P., Liinsk R., Vojtek, M. 2008. Contaminant sampling and analysis. Chapter 7 in: Dawson, A. (ed.), Water in Road Structures vol. 5. Springer Netherlands, pp. 147-174.
2009		Lundberg, K. 2009. Monitoring as an instrument for improving environmental performance in public authorities - experience from Swedish Infrastucture Management. TRITA-LWR PHD 1048. Doctoral Thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2009	Lundberg, K., Balfors, B., Folkeson, L. 2009. Framework for environmental performance measurement in a Swedish public sector organization. Journal of Cleaner Production 17: 1017-1024.
2009		Mörtberg, U. 2009. Landscape ecological analysis and assessment in an urbanizing environment . Chapter 25 in: McDonnell, M.J., Breuste, J. and Hahs, A.K. Ecology of Cities and Towns: A Comparative Approach. Cambridge University Press, pp 439-455.
2006		Faith-Ell, C., Balfors, B. & Folkeson, L. 2006. The application of environmental requirements in Swedish road maintenance contracts. Journal of Cleaner Production 14: 163-171.
2006	Lundberg, K., Balfors, B., Folkeson, L. 2006. Identification of environmental aspects in an EMS context: a methodological framework for the Swedish National Rail Administration. Journal of Cleaner Production 15: 385-394.
2005		Balfors, B., Mörtberg, U., Gontier, M. & Brokking, P. 2005. Impacts of region-wide urban development on biodiversity in strategic environmental assessment. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 7: 229-246, DOI: 10.1142/S1464333205002006.
2005		Faith-Ell, C. 2005. The application of environmental requirements in procurement of road maintenance in Sweden. TRITA-LWR PHD 1016. Doctoral Thesis, KTH Land and Water Resources Engineering, Stockholm.
2005		Lundberg, K., Balfors, B. & Folkeson, L. 2005. Environmental management systems in rail operation and maintenance: current practice and potential improvements. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 7: 433-456.
2004		Brokking, P., Schmidtbauer Crona, J., Eriksson, I.-M. & Balfors, B. 2004. SEA in Swedish transportation policy-making and planning - political ambitions and practice. European Environment 14: 94-104.
2004		Bäckström, M., Karlsson, S., Bäckman, L., Folkeson, L. & Lind, B. 2004. Mobilisation of heavy metals by deicing salts in a roadside environment. Water Research 38: 720-732.
2004		Mörtberg, U. 2004. Landscape ecological analysis and assessment in an urbanising environment - forest birds as biodiversity indicators. TRITA-LWR PHD 1012. Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
2003		Mörtberg, U. & Balfors, B. 2003. Landskapsekologisk planering i och kring tätorter. I: Carlestål, B. (red.), Vilda djur i stadsmiljö - Tillgång eller problem? Redovisning av konferens den 25 oktober 2001. Kungliga Skogs- och Lantbruksakademiens Tidskrift 142: 13-17.
2001		Mörtberg, U.M. 2001. Resident bird species in urban forest remnants: landscape and habitat perspectives . Landscape Ecology 16: 193-203.
2000		Mörtberg, U.M. & Wallentinus, H.-G. 2000. Red-listed forest bird species in an urban environment - assessment of green space corridors . Landscape and Urban Planning 50: 215-226.