Marcus Jahnke new Platform Leader of Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures 

Marcus Jahnke has degrees in both design and engineering. He is very interested in power structures, and has studied norm critique and how hierarchies affect the city. With Jahnke’s broad knowledge and work experience his goal is to become an inclusive platform leader that makes “things happen”.

Today, Marcus Jahnke is working at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, where he among other things has been in charge of the group Urban Development. This position included responsibility for strategic development, financial development and personnel.  

Before this Marcus Jahnke was a senior lecturer at Valand Academy of Art and Design, HDK, at the University of Gothenburg, after having achieved a Ph.D. in Design at HDK in 2013. He has also worked as assistant researcher at the Center for Consumer Science, (CFK) at the University of Gothenburg, as environmental manager at NCC Contracting, and as environmental systems responsible at Volvo Cars.
Marcus Jahnke is looking forward to this mission as Platform leader for Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures.

Marcus has been following the work of the Centre and its development, he is also familiar with the thematic areas of the Centre and is fully aware of the complexity of these areas? He is very interested in social sustainable development and issues of fairness how power structures affect society. Other areas of interest are co-creation, artistic intervention in urban development and innovation capability in municipal organisations.

” I am good at combining knowledge and see connections between different areas and disciplines. Where something at first seems to be inconsistent, I see connections and things that would match, and from that point develop it further”, Marcus Jahnke says. 

He also wants to emphasise that he is a person that “gets things done”. His strengths are his ability to listen, to organise work, to enthuse people and “gear up” when the time is right. He wish to develop processes that result in new possibilities for collaboration, and create opportunities for new projects for the Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures. 

What would you like for (Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures) to achieve in a couple of years?

” I am sure that initially it will be about updating and developing the organisation based on the new conditions. I think we need to process this. But we also need to create new possibilities and projects. In about five years’ time; I believe we may have reached quite far with our aim that the Centre should be an important  local actor for urban sustainable development with, among other things, a focus on the social dimension of urban sustainable development. Some things could also go faster to develop.” Jahnke believes. 

“In recent years the demand for working with the social dimension of sustainable development, has increased significantly. Now, when people understand what organisations that work with trust, inclusion and well-being really do, then we need to continue working within this area.

Marcus also emphasises the important work that Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures already do in West Sweden through its eight joint partners. He also mentions that it is important to focus on the urban-rural divide, to include a focus on rural development issues, and also to involve local networks and civil society. To keep up the local relevance it is also important that the Centre keeps its national and international collaboration updated, Marcus adds. 

Marcus Jahnke will start serving as Platform Leader for Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures at GMV, August 2020. 

Photo: Samuel Michaëlsson