Corporate Vision March 2017

102 CORPORATE VISION / March 2017 , There is a growing social upsurge in favour of being and participating in the everyday life of the public realm: a renewed emphasis on public spaces as an important but too often overlooked ingredient in our lives. Over the past two decades, cities have gained relevance in all areas of the environmental, social and economic discourse. The common denominator that gives cities its decisive prowess is its ability to concentrate people. Subsequently, positive interventions made in cities, have the ability to influence wider interconnected networks, thus achieving scalability. The Research Centre for the Future of Places Investigating and Imagining Cities & Public Spaces for the Next Century The purpose of the Centre for the Future of Places (CFP) is to use the focus on public space to merge the knowledge from different urban development silos (disciplines) and to create links among the experts in them in order to create a holistic understanding of the city. The ambition is to enhance an already ongoing paradigm shift where the focus in urbanism studies (in disciplines of urban planning and urban design) is shifting from objects to places. Despite the numerous successful examples, the need for public spaces has not been given the attention that it deserves, in terms of policy and action in developing countries, as well as comprehensive and inter – and multidisciplinary research. Cities must recognise the role that quality public spaces can play in meeting the challenges of our rapidly urbanising world and public space needs to be seen as an instrument of urban transformation. As a permanent mission, the CFP places a spotlight on public space and the public realm, and more specifically, the shifting of attention from object to places, as an essential aspect of urbanism and urbanisation. Within that mission, we will explore the interrelationships between urban form, human behaviour, urban society, and social life, sustainable urbanism and housing in the wake of emergent global transformations looked upon through the cross- cutting lens of public space. The research will focus on four core areas, which will involve inventorying knowledge, framing research and supporting individual projects: (1) Urban form and human behaviour; (2) Sustainable urbanism and housing; (3) Public places and urban spaces; and (4) Emergent global transformations. CFP is now engaging a (biennial) two-year research theme on the twin subjects of ‘Who Owns the City and Cities for All’. These key subjects gained prominence in the United Nations’ Habitat III conference, held in Quito, Ecuador, during October 2016, and they will be developed further through implementation of the conference outcome document, the ‘New Urban Agenda.’ The CFP aims to make a substantial academic and practical contribution to this discourse looking at these two key subjects as one integral research theme. Through stringent research, meta-analysis, white papers, research projects, round tables, colloquiums and conferences and the dissemination of information through key channels, Centre for the Future of Places will serve as the clearing house for promoting healthier cities through people centred urban development, thus shifting the discussion from objects to places. During the coming two years, CFP should develop its reputation as well recognised at the international arena of public spaces and be involved in both international and national research projects and other academic and stakeholder collaborations. The centre is committed to achieving this goal through collaborative interdisciplinary research projects, leadership forums, round tables, debates and conferences, publications, and an important presence at national and international gatherings where new ideas in urbanism are in focus. The centre has been established at the initiative of the President of KTH – The Royal Institute of Technology, Axel and Margaret Ax: son Johnson Foundation and the Dean of School of Architecture and the Built Environment and reflects a renewed drive to excellence in urbanism. The centre’s partners will benefit from participation in joint symposia, conferences, publications, research projects, and the research coordination network managed from the centre, known as the “Future of Places Research Network”. These activities will provide a platform for collaboration, knowledge synergies and exchange of ideas. In addition, the centre may be able to contribute research findings that will be of direct benefit to partners in their own research, education, practice or policy work. The centre will produce, in a usefully focused format, research products of benefit to the citizens of Stockholm and Sweden, and to the international community. As outlined elsewhere, these products will include books, papers, social media campaigns, press releases, websites, videos, and related forms of dissemination. These products will offer useful evidence and guidance on urgent topics of housing scarcity, immigrant integration, urban economic development, environmental 1702CV02