Scientific Research Projects - Previous, Closed and Current Research Areas
CURENT RESEARCH INTEREST AREAS CONNECTED TO RESEARCH PROJECTS
THE RESEARCH WITH THE NEW HALCYON ATHENAEUM LABORATORY IS NOT
INCLUDED HERE. THE NEW LAB WILL,HAVE A SEPERATE WEBPAGE OF ITS OWN.
THE 15 PROJECTS DURING CFP CENTRE FOR THE FUTURE OF PLACES HAVE BEEN
CLOSED 2016-2022 AND CAN BE FOUND IN CENTRES ANNUAL REPORTS ON KTH.
Four Areas of Research Interest, Work, and Impact
Research Area ONE:
I have extensively researched social housing, loneliness, and the dynamics of aging societies. My
academic pursuits are deeply embedded in urban planning and sustainable development, with a special focus on the socio-economic dimensions that shape our cities and communities, especially housing. Through this research work, I have explored (Mostly through qualitative and quantative research and spatial analysis) the critical ways urban environments influence and enhance the living conditions and well-being of their inhabitants, particularly older adults. Related to that, issues of dislocation, gentrification, zoning, tenure, spatial justice, security, and safety have been investigated in research on social housing. This also included looking at how housing, public spaces, and community planning can alleviate or exacerbate feelings of isolation.
OUTPUT: Three research anthologies on social housing, aging society, and loneliness (US and Sweden), one policy document on aging society (Italy and Sweden), and a Major Research Report on Ageing Society (Austria, Switzerland, and Sweden) as well as a 15 scholarly published papers on these areas of research, as well as two
Research Area TWO:
I have also extensively researched the area of Public Places and Urban Spaces (including heritage and culture). I have researched public places and urban spaces, and my work delves into how urban design and architecture influence the quality of life in cities. I have explored various dimensions of urban spaces theory (mostly through qualitative research, especially environmental psychology, and ethnography) and design, such as how they promote social interaction, enhance community cohesion, support sustainable urban development, land use management, and zoning-laws related to public spaces. My studies on urban form & human behavior frequently highlight the importance of well-designed public spaces that are accessible and inviting, as these are critical for fostering social connections and reducing loneliness among city dwellers. This area of research is crucial in understanding how urban environments can be structured to serve their communities beter and enhance the everyday experiences of residents. My research here has also often touched on how cities can preserve their cultural heritage while adapting to modern needs and growth.
OUTPUT: One major public space database as open source (International and
Global), a Major Policy White paper Future of Places Document for UN-Habitat (International), 20
Published scholarly papers, and three books.
Research Area THREE:
I have also made substantial contributions to the field of urban planning, focusing extensively on
paradigms in urban planning and design, as well as broader urbanism. My work critically examines
contemporary and historical urban planning and design theories, assessing their impact and efficacy in addressing the complex challenges of modern urban environments. My research advocates for an integrated and sustainable approach to urban development, emphasizing the need for cities to be designed in a way that is humane, environmentally sustainable, and responsive to evolving societal needs. My research insights extend into architecture, particularly the design and impact of urban sprawl housing architecture (new urbanism) and high-rise buildings (starchitecture) and eco-districts (green architecture) in urban settings, exploring how these structures contribute to or challenge the dynamics of urban life and sustainability. This comprehensive approach helps to shape a more nuanced view of how architecture and urban planning can coalesce to create functional, livable urban spaces. Additionally, my exploration of planning and urban theories offers a deep understanding of the theoretical underpinnings that guide urban development processes and strategies, contributing significantly to the academic discourse on planning and managing urban spaces in an increasingly urbanized world.
OUTPUT: This research has made the biggest output in research publications, with 35 scholarly papers and ten books.
Research Area FOUR:
Finally, I have contributed to discussions and research on post-conflict reconstruction, particularly
focusing on how urban planning and (real estate) strategic management can aid in recovering and
rebuilding cities and communities after conflicts. My work in post-conflict reconstruction encompasses a comprehensive approach that integrates urban planning, land use policy, property rights, and urban economics to address the multifaceted challenges faced by cities rebuilding after conflicts. My research explores how strategic urban design can facilitate physical and economic recovery, support the reintegration of displaced populations, and help heal community divisions. I underlie their role in ensuring orderly development and preventing future disputes by emphasizing the importance of clear land use policies and secure property rights. Additionally, my insights into urban economics contribute to understanding how to stimulate economic activities and sustainable growth, thereby creating resilient urban environments equipped to thrive post-adversity. This holistic view fosters the reconstruction of infrastructure. It supports restoring social services and strengthening community cohesion, crucial for long-term stability and prosperity in post-conflict settings.
OUTPUT: One major international book (on Former Yugoslavia), 8 Scholarly Research papers, and policy briefs for international agencies.
TIGRAN HAAS GOOGLE SCHOLAR PAGE CITATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS:
htps://scholar.google.se/citations?user=rVwDmlYAAAAJ&hl=en
And
TIGRAN HAAS KTH WEBPAGE WITH ALL THE INFO:
htps://www.kth.se/profile/tigran
LINK TO KTH RESEARCH DATABASE: TIGRAN HAAS RESEARCH PROJECTS
PREVIOUS PROJECTS
Contextual [Authentic] Cities: An Approach to Observational Urbanism
CHARLES WOLFE & TIGRAN HAAS (2018-2020)
Results of the research will be published as a book by: Island Press, Washington DC
Develop methodology that can be used to observe, identify and assess local urban context [authenticity] in face of global economic forces and technologies that affect urban change. Develop an observational approach, survival kit and/or “turn around” protocol that provides tangible best practices to retain, enhance, and/or reclaim local character (history, culture, look/feel, humanistic “intangibles”) in light of economic development, real estate, and technology trends. Potentially formulate a “context [authenticity] index” as a summary expression of identified urban attributes for use and comparison purposes.
Synchronicity - A New Approach, Explanation and Theory of Unus Mundis (Deeper Order) Cities TIGRAN HAAS (2019-2021)
Results of the research will be published as a book by: Cambridge Scholars Publishing Ltd
Synchronicity is a new paradigm of cities based on the concept, first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl Jung, which holds that events are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related. Synchronicity provides a new theoretical and practical understanding of urbanism and cities. It does so by reexamining the architecture, urban planning and urban design disciplines relationship to urban space and urban populations and by reframing the current urbanism paradigms and their principles and approaches in a way that by incorporating the city's many elements, signs, patterns, symbols and images as well as assemblages - via meaningful coincidences and a deeper order, imagined for more than a single element by a single approach, where urbanism of cities becomes something else much more powerful, elemental, systemic, wide-ranging;
Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry (Research Methods) Used are:
OBSERVATIONAL URBANISM - MAIN (based in the detailed observation of cities and built environment in general as well as kinetisicm (city in motion – a three-dimensional construct of incremental development) using multiple logics of pattern, coded, phenomenon and diagrammatic socio-spatial knowledge)
GROUNDED THEORY - MAIN (systematic methodology involving the construction of theory through methodic gathering and analysis of data where deduction is based on carefully inducted ideas (through generation of categories, concepts and prepositions) so that the emergence of new theory is enabled)).
Sources of Data: Literature Reviews, Document Analysis, Internet Portals (Articles, Blogs, Discussion Forums, Exhibitions, Ideas) Case Studies, Direct Observations, Photography, Diaries, Cognitive Mapping, Discourse Analysis and Interviews
OLDER PROJECTS
Sustainable urbanism and beyond: Rethinking cities for the future
Research project on contemporary trends - ideals in urban planning and design and their significance for the contemporary and future urban condition of our metropolises, cities, towns and neighborhoods. The project consists of three parts: New urbanism & beyond – Designing cities for the future (2008), Sustainable urbanism & beyond - rethinking cities for the future (2012) and Architecture, Urbanism & beyond: imagining cities for the future (2014)
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The city in the twenty-first century faces major challenges, including social and economic stratification, wasteful consumption of resources, transportation congestion and environmental degradation. More than half of the world’s population lives in cities and major metropolitan areas, and in the next two decades the number of city dwellers is estimated to reach five billion. This puts enormous pressures on transportation systems, housing stock and infrastructure directly influencing the emissions of greenhouse gases.
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New urbanism & beyond – Designing cities for the future Research project on contemporary trends - ideals in urban planning and design and their significance for the contemporary and future urban condition of our metropolises, cities, towns and neighbourhoods. The project consists of three parts: New urbanism & beyond – Designing cities for the future (2008), Sustainable urbanism & beyond - rethinking cities for the future (2012) and Architecture, Urbanism & beyond: imagining cities for the future (2014) |
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The overall aim of the project is to shed more light on how to improve the places where we live and work – our cities, and pre-eminently our suburbs. The conceptual framework will be New Urbanism, which is one of the most important movements in planning and urban design of the 20th century having its foundation in creation of neighbourhoods that are easily walkable, finite with a definite character, mixed uses, complex and multipurpose grid street networks, housing for different economic levels, adaptation to climate change, an anti-thesis to the modernist post-WWII planning and urban design.
Project URL:
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Learning the lessons of the US HOPE VI social housing renewal programme
A research study on breaking the bonds of concentrated poverty and exclusion: learning the lessons from HOPE VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) / Turning isolated public housing towers into typical mixed-income city neighbourhoods with the application of new urbanism, transit-oriented development and defensible space principles
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Concentrations of very poor, ethnically and racially segregated residents in a neighbourhood or public housing projects create, through a variety of factors, an un‐improvable black hole of unemployment, crime and poverty. This research argues that focus and special attention must be given to new methods and approaches that can proactively, effectively and dynamically alleviate concentrated urban poverty and create better housing opportunities for everyone. The American HOPE VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) programme is here taken as study example of a model for housing development where new neighbourhoods of choice and opportunity have been created with positive and negative outcomes. New visions for neighbourhood housing redevelopment should support a human, economic, social and cultural recovery. Advanced grounded theory employing an explorative research strategy of qualitative inquiry is employed in this research project with an in-depth literature and desktop study and analysis of four case study projects (Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.). Through the HOPE VI study and lessons learned, the research project hopes to propose new ideas and solutions (recommendations) for our troubled suburbs in major metropolitan areas such as Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö where financial and real estate communities, politicians and decision makers as well as planners and architects need to respond to re‐build and revitalise ethnically and socially excluded communities and suburbs to become more environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable. SOURCE OF FUNDING: Riksbyggen Grant "The Good City"
Project URL: http://www.abe.kth.se |
Urban form and Social life (Human Behavior)
In what ways are cities things that happen to us, and in what ways are cities things we do together, with more or less art and purpose? How do we understand both the geometries of cities and the ways that form might be connected - or not - to their social organization and politics.
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In what ways are cities things that happen to us, and in what ways are cities things we do together, with more or less art and purpose? How do we understand both the geometries of cities and the ways that form might be connected - or not - to their social organization and politics? What successful villages, towns or cities have to offer is attractive places. Some places are thriving, some are very quiet, while others are classically and austerely formal; some are worn down, decaying and shabby, but they should all fit together and offer a rich variety of civilized life with sociability and understanding for the culture of places. SOURCE OF FUNDING: Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation
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SOURCE - Sustainable Urban Cells
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SOURCE (Sustainable Urban Cells) is a bilateral project (Sweden-Italy) focused on sustainable management and reshaping of urban areas, in consideration of new European initiatives such as the JPI Urban Europe and in the perspective of the new framework Directive EU2020.
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The research will be based on an interdisciplinary and holistic approach. The main aim is to provide practical guidelines and policies in order to re-shape urban areas by identifying a minimum core denoted “sustainable urban cell”.
Therefore, the particular project goals include:
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to carry out “sustainable reshaping of the city” considering the urban cell minimum core of the larger city’s model. |
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the realization of a new vision for sustainable planning, |
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the assessment and management of energy networks aimed at optimization of the energy ratio between production and consumption in any individual cell. |
This innovative approach to urban planning and requalification considers the city as a grid made of an aggregation of urban cells on which to apply the principles of upgrading energy and environment, rethinking the integrated design of building systems and pursuing the goals of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Finally, the reconsideration of an urban area in a “cell” model, allows an easier identification of the input – output flows and consequently the outcome of potential “weak links” among urban cells. Case studies will be performed in Sweden (Lund) and in Italy (Palermo).
The methodology includes the involvement of stakeholders to carry out the Urban Cell territorial applicability in terms of technical, administrative and economic aspects, providing useful guidelines for public administrations and for citizens’ sensitization including sustainable best practices.
The project will include two intermediate workshops, for presentation of the project work and for the optimization of the strategies used by the partnership, and a final conference as well as a book disseminating the project results and planning post-project actions.
Period: 2011-01-01 - 2013-12-31
Keywords:
Cities, Energy, Holistic, Interdisciplinary, Planning, Sustainability
Sources of Funding: VR (The Swedish Research Council)
Project URL:
http://www.abe.kth.se
