Thomas Höjemo

Thomas Höjemo is a postdoc at the Institute for housing and urban research since September 2021, with research made in the nexus between urban design, sustainability and mobility. He has a special interest in developing research that can have a practical impact in speeding up the transition towards a society with environmental emissions that are in line with planetary limitations.

The current research project has the title Housing areas with mobility services: an actor perspective on process dynamics, planning challenges and usability. The project commenced in September 2021 and will last until August 2023.

Thomas completed his doctoral degree in Architecture in 2020 at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and wrote a monograph on experiences of urban environments by foot, based on walk-along interviews with inhabitants of Varberg, Sweden. He has a background as a consultant within the transport and environment in urban settings at WSP Advisory, and additionally as an educator and programmer within the IT sector.

Housing areas with mobility services: an actor perspective on process dynamics, planning challenges and usability (Länsförsäkringar, September 2021 - August 2023)

To counter climate change is a societal challenge. In Sweden, the transport sector - with private car traffic dominating - is responsible for almost a third of the greenhouse gas emissions. Traditionally, housing areas have been tailored for the private car, with one consequence being that residents without a car have to pay for their neighbour's car use indirectly via the rent/fee. New services have been developed recently, such as mobility hubs that make it possible for a flexible choice suitable for the individual journey from a menu of mobility options (transport modes). However, more research is needed on how urban and housing design in a better way can match the residents' practical needs for mobility. Therefore, this research project is focused on investigating how the processes and design of housing areas and their linked mobility solutions better can be adapted to dwellers' everyday travel patterns.

In the research project these two research questions are studied:

1. What are the key barriers/challenges, seen from the perspective of different actors, to build a housing area that supports more environmentally friendly travel patterns?

2. How can the design of mobility services be improved, so that it is an attractive option from a user perspective in comparison to a private car?

2. Hur kan utformningen av mobilitetstjänster förbättras, för att det ska vara attraktivt ur ett användarperspektiv attt nyttja dem som ett alternativ till privatbil?