Rooted in an interdisciplinary framework, my PhD investigates novel ways to democratize local engagement in sustainability: how urban community gardens, as ‘complex ecologies of place’ and ‘green fields of care,’ foster ‘social integration’ alongside embedded shades of exclusion, provide participatory opportunities for citizens amidst gentrifying urban restructuring, and are framed and governed by municipal actors.
In my postdoc, Shaping Socially Sustainable Cities: Exploring Housing Organizational Infrastructures, I explore how social housing organizations, municipalities, and civil society collaborate to create socially sustainable cities. By focusing on ‘associative infrastructures,’ the research investigates the interaction between citizen-driven grassroots organizing, resident democracy, and municipal governance in four Danish municipalities.
Christensen, S., Lund, A. B., Byrkjeflot, H., & Madsen, B. A. P. (2024). Scandinavian perspectives on associative governance. In A. B. Lund, H. Byrkjeflot, & S. Christensen (Eds.). Associative Governance in Scandinavia: Organizing Societies by “Combining Together.” (pp. 1-20). London: Routledge.
Christensen, S., Lund, A. B., Byrkjeflot, H., & Madsen, B. A. P. (2024). Premises and promises of associative governance. In Associative Governance in Scandinavia: Organizing societies by “combining together” (pp. 255-280). London: Routledge.
Lund, A. B., & Christensen, S. (2024). Governing people’s homes: organizing housing associatively in Scandinavia. In A. Brink‐Lund, H. Byrkjeflot, & S. Christensen (Eds.), Associative Governance in Scandinavia Organizing Societies by “Combining Together” (pp. 153–189). London: Routledge.
Christensen, S. (2024) Urban community gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. Democratising local engagement in sustainability (PhD Dissertation). Roskilde: Roskilde Universitet
Christensen, S., Malberg Dyg, P., & Allenberg, K. (2019). Urban community gardening, social capital, and “integration” – a mixed method exploration of urban “integration-gardening” in Copenhagen, Denmark. Local Environment, 24(3), 231–248.