Dr Eli Hatleskog

Biography

People-centred place shaping is at the core of my work. I specialise in trans/interdisciplinary urban research, design-driven research, and systems-informed approaches. Through my work, I explore how asset and value-based approaches, combining the tangible and intangible, can facilitate more sustainable and social city-making and joined-up research and innovation.

I am currently writing set of global case studies with accompanying theory titled Building Cities with Social Value: Design, Architecture, and Art in Collaborative Urban Practice. It will be published in 2026 by Routledge. The book explores how creative disciplines engage publics, reshape space, and nurture the conditions for long-term collaboration and trust.

Prior to this, I was Research Fellow with the T-factor project. T-Factor (EU Horizon 2020) challenged the ‘waiting time’ in urban regeneration to show how culture, and creative collaborations between academia, government, community, and business could unleash inclusive and vibrant urban hubs of (re)generation, social innovation, and enterprise. Through the project I assembled a community of socially engaged practice at CSM and conducted research with six pilot cities exploring how causal loop diagrams can help us to better understand and utilise assets and values across complex urban relationships.