Ville Santala

Research

PhD title: From experimentations to collaborative governance: The role and implications of experimentations in shaping Australian smart cities

Ville's PhD project explores various forms of urban experiments in Australian cities. Living Labs, innovation hubs and other forms of experimental spaces are emerging as key sites to seek solutions to urban challenges, trial new innovations in real-life setting and ultimately make cities smarter and more liveable. In his PhD project, Ville will explore the theoretical basis of urban experimentation and create new knowledge on how experiments may change the governance of cities. Ville will use in-depth case studies to examine the forms experiments take in cities, their drivers and goals, and roles of different actors. Research will shed light on how experiments change the way cities involve and engage citizens in decision making and planning.

Publications

Ville Santala, G. Costa, L. Gomes-Jr, T. Gadda & T. H. Silva (2020) On the Potential of Social Media Data in Urban Planning: Findings from the Beer Street in Curitiba, Brazil, Planning Practice & Research, 35:5, 510-525.

Moskwa, E.C., Ahonen, I., Santala, V., Weber, D., Robinson, G.M. and Bardsley, D.K. (2016). Perceptions of bushfire risk mitigation and biodiversity conservation: a systematic review of fifteen years of research. Environmental Reviews, 24(3): 219-232.

Research funding

2018 International Postgraduate Tuition Award, University of Wollongong

2018 University Postgraduate Award, University of Wollongong

2016 National Grant, Centre for International Mobility CIMO

2015 Grant for Excellent Study Marks, University of Turku