Robert Hrelja
Associate Professor/Senior lecturer

Presentation

My research focuses on transport governance and policy, transport planning, and urban and regional planning, with particular interests in public transport, sustainable mobility and integrated land-use and transport planning. I am particularly interested in how policy objectives are translated into planning and implementation, and in the institutional conditions and relationships between actors that shape these processes.

A substantial part of my research concerns coordination and collaboration in transport planning. I have studied how municipalities, regional public transport authorities, operators and other public and private actors work together, how responsibilities and interests are negotiated between organisations, and what makes coordination and collaboration work in practice. This research includes the integration of transport and land-use planning, the governance and planning of public transport systems, and transit-oriented development. Theoretically, much of my work draws on institutional and governance perspectives to understand how formal structures, informal rules, professional practices and power relations shape planning and policy outcomes. I have also worked extensively on the transition towards more sustainable transport and cities, including strategies to reduce car travel and the political and institutional conditions that influence their implementation. My recent research includes accessibility and social considerations in public transport planning, and how different objectives and needs are handled in planning practice.

I teach at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels, mainly on the Bachelor's Programme in Urban Planning at Malmö University. My teaching focuses on sustainable mobility, transport planning and the integration of land use and transport, and draws closely on my research on planning practice, governance and sustainable urban and regional development.