Chero Eliassi Sarzeli

Chero Eliassi graduated with a Master´s degree in Landscape Architecture in 2019 from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala. Since 2021, Eliassi has been a doctoral student in Jennifer Mack's Formas-funded research project, "Parks around the Towers: Landscape as Resource in the Urban Periphery from the Record Years to the Future." This research investigates, from a historical perspective, how the outdoor environments of the Million Program has been transformed, used, and shaped during and after the record years (1961-1975) and how these landscapes can be viewed as part of Sweden's cultural heritage. Eliassi's research focuses on allotment gardening cultures in multicultural landscapes, neighborhood park transformations, neighborhood center densifications, and diasporic cultural practices in Swedish welfare areas.

Under the title"A Culture of Place” in Swedish Post-War Allotments: Gardens as Therapy and Threat in Holma, Malmö", Eliassi examines how cultivation in and around to Million Program areas has generated social and therapeutic values, as well as a sense of collective belonging. The research is grounded in on-site studies in Malmö and other Swedish cities.

In"Voices and Visions of a Welfare Neigborhood Park and Center," Eliassi explores the welfare neighborhood park in Norrliden, Kalmar. The research examines memories of play and spatial practices associated with the outdoor environment since its construction. Furthermore, it analyzes the neighborhood park's physical, spatial, social, and ecological transformations from the late 1960s to the present.

Eliassi is also researching how diasporic spatial practices manifest in Million Program green spaces. The project, entitled"Transnational Spaces on Contested Soils: Newroz among the Kurdish Diaspora in Järva Field" focuses on diaspora formation, reinvented traditions, and how diasporic spatial cultures and practices are tied to ideas of homeland, transnationalism, and belonging. The research explores the cultural significance of Newroz and the spaces associated with it, highlighting its role in linking the diaspora to their homeland. It studies the role of a cultural practice (Newroz) and place, as it links links the diaspora and the homeland.

Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chero-eliassi/