PhD position: Local co-ownership in landscape transition processes

PhD position: Local co-ownership in landscape transition processes

At the Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology at the Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Aalborg University, a three-year PhD position in local co-ownership in landscape transition processes is available from 1 January 2027 or soon thereafter. The duration of the position is three years.
The Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology (CREATE) is an interdisciplinary research and teaching environment that investigates the relationships between creativity, users and technology. As a PhD fellow at CREATE, you will join an international research community that develops and critically examines knowledge for a more sustainable society.

Your work tasks

The PhD project investigates the opportunities and challenges involved in strengthening local co-ownership in landscape transition projects. The project focuses on how communication, dialogue and participation can foster local commitment and meaningful involvement in nature restoration and landscape transformation.
The position is part of a larger project led by the National Park Thy Foundation, that explores how co-ownership and long-term local engagement can help ensure that landscape transformation initiatives are understood, accepted and embedded in the local communities.
As a PhD fellow, you will follow, study and evaluate project activities designed to engage local communities. You will generate knowledge about which forms of engagement are effective, for whom they are effective and under which conditions they contribute to meaningful participation and local co-ownership. Your research will examine the site-specific communication and participation formats developed and tested within the project. Through e.g. observations, interviews, surveys and dialogue with local stakeholders, you will assess how different approaches to communication, dialogue and participation influence co-ownership among different groups.
A central aim of the project is to develop a nuanced understanding of how local co-ownership emerges in concrete landscape transition processes. You will explore how factors such as place attachment, trust, perceived influence and opportunities for participation shape local attitudes and actions. You will also investigate barriers to participation and examine how people’s ability to imagine alternative futures for their local area affects their responses to landscape change.
Using qualitative and quantitative methods, such as stakeholder mapping, surveys and interviews, you will establish a baseline understanding of local co-ownership and community engagement. You will be examining how nature restoration and landscape transformation initiatives influence local perceptions, participation and feelings of co-ownership. And you will develop research-based and practice-oriented guidelines that can support future landscape transition projects in building constructive and lasting collaboration with local communities.

Your competencies

You hold a relevant master’s degree in urban design, urban or regional planning, sociology, landscape architecture or a related field. You are motivated to develop and carry out an independent PhD project in close collaboration with supervisors, project partners and local stakeholders.
You are interested in understanding how communication, dialogue and participatory processes influence local commitment and co-ownership and you have an academic interest in participation, local engagement and co-ownership processes, as well as curious about how local communities can take part in shaping landscape transition processes. You are comfortable engaging with a broad range of stakeholders, including local residents, planners, landowners, NGOs and public authorities.
You have a clear interest in participatory approaches, co-design, co-production and stakeholder analysis. Experience with qualitative, participatory or design-oriented research methods, such as interviews, observations, workshops, co-design processes or co-production processes, will support your work in the position. Experience with surveys or other quantitative methods will also be relevant, as the project combines qualitative and quantitative approaches. Further, you shall be willing to spend time traveling to Thy and staying here to engage with the project.

Qualification requirements

PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Master's degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 872 of 6 October 2026 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD stud