Elisabeth Högdahl

I am an ethnologist focusing on place, place development, cultural heritage and inclusion issues, and I received my PhD in ethnology in 2003 with the thesis Göra gata. Om gränser och kryphål på Möllevången och i Kapstaden (Gidlunds förlag).

Within the field of place and place development, I have had a strong focus on people's relationships to place, representation and co-creation. It is interesting to see how the materiality of the place itself interacts with intangible cultural values, and I have therefore also taken an equal interest in those who work and live in cities, how they create action and identity. I have therefore also taken an interest in issues relating to inclusion, sense of safety and democracy. My research has mainly focused on urban environments, where I have studied how places are created and used, but I have also developed various theories and methods for how places can be changed in a more inclusive way. In recent years, rural areas have also been the focus of my research.

Power issues have been and remain important in my research, where interpretative priority is central, i.e. who has the legitimacy to influence and make decisions. 

I have increasingly begun to work with applied research, where I have collaborated with fellow researchers, practitioners and residents to develop approaches and methods for transforming research into practical tools for social change. Two examples of this are the Equalizer method, which is a norm-breaking and inclusive tool for place change, and Memory Planning Methods (MPM).