Projects per year
Organisation profile
Organisation profile
Head of Research Group: Kirsten Gram-Hanssen.
Our research
Life in cities and the organization of cities, housing, and everyday practices are crucial to the transition to sustainable. New technical solutions cannot stand alone but must function in the context of social organizations and must be developed in cooperation between citizens, authorities, and companies.
Research focus
- Everyday life and sustainability
- Household consumption patterns
- Residential energy consumption
- Smart home technologies in real life use
- Consumption-production relations and prosumers
- Sustainable urban development
- Local approaches to sustainability
- Sustainable transitions of provision and consumption
Need for new knowledge
Urban design is essential for the quality of everyday life and low resource consumption. Consumption patterns are increasing, and knowledge of the connections between the physical design of cities and the practices of different social groups is essential to understanding and influencing this. The energy system is undergoing change with an increasing share of fluctuating renewable energy, and ‘smart city’ solutions aim to adapt consumption to production. Here, knowledge of the temporality of everyday practices is essential. There is also a need for increased knowledge of the processes underlying urban design and for the development of tools that can be used by local authorities, businesses, and citizens in decision-making on physical development. Differences exist between city and country – and exist internally in cities – in relation to growth and development. Solutions aimed at sustainable change must, therefore, reflect this.
Research efforts
The group works empirically and theoretically with household consumption and everyday practice and with public, private, and civil actor initiatives in the development of cities and residential areas. The empirical work on household consumption focuses on understanding differences in energy consumption, how households respond to measures to manage and move consumption, and how self-production affects attitudes towards consumption. The theoretical work on household consumption is aimed at developing a newer theory of practice to better accommodate analyses in relation to gender and social background and to understand the importance of ethical norms. The empirical work on cities and residential areas investigates local community dynamics, sustainable urban renewal, the revitalization of urban, climate adaptation in cities, and the integration of the energy and housing sector at the area level. Urban transformation and renewal are analysed based on the theory of sustainable social and economic community development and the international literature on new public governance and theories of governance, management, and organizational learning in complex private-public interaction.
Cooperation
The group cooperates with all Danish actors active in the city in housing and supply, such as municipalities, utilities, public and private partnerships, private companies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In addition, at the national and international levels, we collaborate with Danish and international universities and knowledge institutions to provide the basis for decision-making and the background knowledge for a sustainable transformation of the city and residential area. Group members participate in several academic networks, such as SCORAI, EURA, ECEEE, and the ESA research network on consumption.
Application
Practical research is disseminated through daily press, trade journals, presentations, and direct cooperation with all relevant actors in the development of cities, housing, and supply. In addition, research is disseminated internationally through scientific journals, participation in international conferences, and several study programmes at AAU-CPH.
Fingerprint
Collaborations from the last five years
Profiles
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Internationale erfaringer med boligdeling, opdeling og relokation i relation til parcelhuset
Mechlenborg, M. (PI), Jensen, J. O. (PI) & Bonderup, S. (PI)
02/06/2025 → 31/01/2026
Project: Research
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Emptynester’s flyttemønstre: Kortlægning og nye muligheder
Jensen, J. O. (PI) & Mechlenborg, M. (PI)
02/06/2025 → 30/06/2026
Project: Research
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Husholdningers køb, installation og brug af varmepumper: Et helhedsorienteret blik på varmepumpers rolle i en bæredygtig omstilling
Madsen, L. V. (PI)
01/04/2025 → 31/10/2027
Project: Research
Research output
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A mixed-method approach to understand energy-related occupant behavior and everyday practices in multi-story residential buildings
Andersen, K. H., Hansen, A. R., Marzsal-Pomianowska, A., Knudsen, H. N., Leiria, D. & Heiselberg, P. K., 15 Jun 2025, In: Energy and Buildings. 337, 20 p., 115650.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)15 Downloads (Pure) -
Another Way of Living: Danish Intergenerational Co-housing
Beck, A. F., 2025, Aalborg University Open Publishing. 332 p.Research output: PhD thesis
Open AccessFile196 Downloads (Pure) -
Beboerdemokratiets beslutningsprocesser
Bonderup, S., 25 Feb 2025, Den Lille Grønne: Håndbog i energibesparende projekter i den almene sektor. Hansen, M. L. (ed.). AlmenNet, p. 38-55 18 p.Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/conference proceeding › Book chapter › Communication
Open Access
Datasets
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eCAPE
Madsen, L. V. (Creator), Zenodo, 6 Jan 2025
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14592535, https://zenodo.org/records/14592535
Dataset
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eCAPE energy crisis interviews
Gram-Hanssen, K. (Creator), Madsen, L. V. (Creator), Nielsen, R. S. (Creator) & Aagaard, L. K. (Creator), Zenodo, 1 Oct 2024
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.13847672, https://zenodo.org/records/13847672
Dataset
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It will take you some time
Askholm, A. S. M. (Creator), VBN, 10 May 2024
DOI: 10.5278/8d038504-983e-4959-b0e2-36b50564a537
Dataset
File
Activities
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Bofællesskaber i Danmark - Hvad kan top-down-modellen tilbyde?
Jensen, J. O. (Lecturer)
10 Jun 2025Activity: Talks and presentations › Talks and presentations in private or public companies
File -
Fællesskabsorienterede boligformer:
Mechlenborg, M. (Lecturer) & Jensen, J. O. (Lecturer)
4 Jun 2025Activity: Talks and presentations › Talks and presentations in private or public companies
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Fra Slot til Småt: Hvordan tiny houses ændrer parcelhusdrømmen
Mechlenborg, M. (Lecturer)
6 May 2025Activity: Talks and presentations › Talks and presentations in private or public companies
Press/Media
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Danskerne bor i store boliger. Men mange har slet ikke brug for så meget plads
09/07/2025 → 10/07/2025
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Husk pauser og ritualer til den perfekte hjemmearbejdsdag
25/06/2025
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Husk pauser og ritualer til den perfekte hjemmearbejdsdag
17/06/2025 → 22/06/2025
5 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
Impacts
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More public transportation and sustainability
Christensen, T. H. B. (Participant)
Impact: Cultural impact
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Sustainable waste sorting
Gram-Hanssen, K. (Participant) & Katan, L. (Participant)
Impact: Cultural impact