Sara Ferlander

Background

About Sara Ferlander

Jag är forskare och lärare i sociologi på Mälardalens universitet. Min forskning handlar om förorten, genus, ungdomar, socialt kapital och hälsa. Jag leder projektet "En stad för alla? En studie om unga kvinnors liv i en föränderlig förort", som finansieras av Vetenskapsrådet. För sammanfattning på engelska, se nedan. A city for everyone. A study about young women's lives in a transforming suburb Stockholm is growing. By year 2050, it is expected to expand with another million inhabitants. More housing is needed, especially in suburban areas. At the same time, inequalities and segregation are growing significantly in Stockholm. This is challenging. The question is how to build an equal and sustainable city - a city for everyone. The study aims to examine equality - or inequality - in the transforming urban context by focusing on the experiences of young women living in suburban areas, a group generally ignored and disadvantaged. The aim is to explore how urban space is perceived and used (or lived) by young women in 'marginalised' suburban areas as well as conceived by the people who plan, control and manage these areas. Various forms of inequality within such 'place-making' processes will also be in focus. An interdisciplinary team of researchers will during four years conduct an in-depth ethnographic study in three suburban areas south of Stockholm - Fittja, Flemingsberg and Östberga. Various forms of qualitative methods, in particular participant observations and interviews, will be used in combination with quantitative GIS-analysis of the areas. In line with Crenshaw - one of the forerunners of intersectional thinking - our project departs from the idea that if we address the needs of those who are disadvantaged and restructure urban space accordingly, then other will benefit too. Thus, working our way towards a more equal city.