Sustainable geographies
This thematic research area addresses several sustainable development goals (SDGs) and cuts across all subfields at the Geography Research Unit. We study how economic sectors, such as mining, forestry and tourism, and communities, countries and other actors engage with activities that have economic, environmental and social implications for sustainability at different scales. Further, we examine how these actors and sectors adapt to the changes caused by the activities. Key perspectives in this research include vulnerability, resilience and adaptation of people, communities and places to change. In particular, we focus on environmental change, mitigation, inequality, societal progress, social and environmental justice, increased quality of life, health issues and interdependence of people, places and environment across scales.
Research group information
Unit and faculty
Contact information
Research group leader
- Professor
Researchers
Research group description
Our current research integrates sustainability in different ways. The objective is to provide new knowledge that will contribute to the development and implementation of policies promoting sustainable development, resource use and economic activities, equitable distribution and use of human, natural and capital resources, and protection of both people and environment. Important for our research is to promote equitable development and well-being in the Global South and Global North and meaningful inclusion of those previously and currently marginalized and excluded in decision-making processes.
Ongoing projects
Accessibility to the food resources
- GlobalFood: Global geographic accessibility to food resources https://www.oulu.fi/geography/globalfood
- https://www.oulu.fi/maantiede/node/62943
Climate migration
- Creating a political and social climate for climate change https://www.cmi.no/projects/2124-nfr-creating-a-political-and-social-climate-for
- ILMASI: Ilmastosiirtolaisuus: kohti ilmiön parempaa ymmärtämistä ja hallintaa https://www.oulu.fi/yliopisto/uutiset/ilmastosiirtolaisuutta-tutkitaan-kestavan-kehityksen-nakokulmasta
Ecosystem services
- AccESS: Exploring geographical mismatch between supply and demand of ecosystem services using big and open source data across high latitudes https://www.oulu.fi/kvantum/node/206065
Education
- Differential inclusions: Spatial politics of education, youth educational paths and citizenship formation Kettunen Marika
Energy production
- Modern villages: production of decentralized solar energy in small northern communities https://www.oulu.fi/tech/node/208060
Geodiversity and biodiversity
- Geodiversity as a surrogate of lake biodiversity and a measure of conservation value Toivanen Maija
- Geodiversity for preventing biodiversity loss: spatio-temporal perspectives in the high-latitude environments Salminen Henriikka
- iGEOBIO: Improved geodiversity information in assessing and conserving biodiversity https://www.researchgate.net/project/Improved-geodiversity-information-in-assessing-and-conserving-biodiversity-iGEOBIO
- Impacts of land use on northern biodiversity and tools for improved conservation under global change Maliniemi Tuija
Management of natural resource
- CitRes: Citizen Engagement, Transparency and Transitional Natural Resource Governance https://www.citres.net/
- Spatial inference on oil and economic development https://www.bi.edu/research/centres-groups-and-other-initiatives/spatial-oil/
- TIGRe: Transparency, identity, and governance of high-value natural resources https://tigreproject.weebly.com/
Permafrost hazards and infrastructure risks
- HYPERISK: Hybrid modelling for improved permafrost risk assessments https://www.oulu.fi/kvantum/node/206072
Transformation of governance
- SPARCTIC: Borders, planning and mobilities in the context of sustainability challenges and the warming Arctic
https://www.azmearyferdoush.net, Lunden Aapo, Kellokumpu Ville
Related courses
- 790329A: Kestävyys ja muuttuva ympäristö
- 791632S: Sustainable development and global tourism
- 790610S: Sustainable tourism development in Northern environments
- 790161A: Tourism, development and sustainability
- 790320A: Matkailusuunnittelu ja aluekehitys
- 790350A: Aluekehityksen ja aluepolitiikan erityisteemat: Kestävä aluekehitys / 790350A Special themes in Regional Development and Policy: Sustainable regional development
- 790346A: Luonnon monimuotoisuuden suojelu maantieteen silmin
- 790340A: Globaali kehitysproblematiikka