Mattias Malk

Category: Academic

  • S*cial – Values in the built realm. Lecture and interview series

    S*cial – Values in the built realm. Lecture and interview series

    In the 2024 autumn semester, I was invited to curate the open lecture series of the Faculty of Architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The invited lecturers focused on the ongoing shift in planning practice, where considerations other than pure economic viability increasingly play a role in decision-making. The resulting lecture are all available online in full (in English).

    In addition, I conducted interviews with each of the presenters, which were then published in SIRP. Here are the links to each full text(in Estonian)and lecture:

    Jonas Janke (with Arno Brandlhuber), lecture, article.

    Elina Alatalo, lecture, article.

    Christian Pagh, lecture, article.

    Petra Marko, lecture, article.

  • The work of imaginaries in planning – academic article

    This was an academic article written as part of my PhD thesis about the planning of Rail Baltic. The article title is: When the first train departs…Understanding the work of imaginaries in infrastructural renewal in Pärnu, Estonia. It was published in the Journal of Transport Geography in May, 2024.

    Abstract:

    New international rail projects generate a host of expectations for development, especially in intermediate secondary city-regions. However, these expectations often hide the highly distributive effects of improved accessibility that depend on existing urban hierarchies. This paper challenges the simplistic view of infrastructure renewal addressing uneven geographical development and competitive urbanisation. Focusing on the planning process of Rail Baltic, a key Trans-European Transport Network megaproject, in the secondary city-region of Pärnu, Estonia, it explores the constitutive work of imaginaries as structured expectations in shaping urban hierarchies and infrastructural renewal. By triangulating the analysis of planning documents and media accounts with expert interviews, the study outlines the variegated imaginaries of new rail projects at the regional scale. In particular, it makes visible and critiques how existing place-bound elites utilise imaginaries to influence major infrastructure projects in their favour. The findings contribute to understanding the challenges and opportunities of infrastructural renewal in secondary city-regions, and underline the need for a clear municipal strategy beyond equating increased accessibility with local development.

    Link to published article.

  • EKA proceedings, group article

    EKA proceedings, group article

    “Fables of Floods and Fire – Diluvial Myths as Tools for Urban (Re-)Configuration” – article co-written with Amer Obied, Marisa Kerbizi and Willie Vogel. It’s part of COST action “Writing Urban Places. New Narratives of the European City” (Writing Place) Training School: Local Stories and Visual Narratives.

    The full issue can be found here.

  • Writing Place journal, short text

    Writing Place journal, short text

    I wrote a short contribution (pp 184-185) to the article “Co-Constructed Narratives of the Grassroots in the City Narrating Hiedanranta” by Dalia Milián Bernal, Elina Alatalo, Jeremy Allan Hawkins and Panu Lehtovuori. This was published in No. 8-9 (2023) of the journal Writing Urban Places: New Narratives for the European City. The publisher is nai0I0publishers.

    The full issue can be found here.

  • Repository of Methods, 2 chapters

    Repository of Methods, 2 chapters

    I wrote two chapters for the “Repository – 49 Methods and Assignments for Writing Urban Places”, published by nai0I0publishers as part of the Writing Urban Places COST initiative.

    This wonderful collection of methods for researching urban contexts was edited by Carlos Machado e Moura, Dalia Milián Bernal, Esteban Restrepo Restrepo, Klaske Havik and Lorin Niculae.

    The full book can be found here.

  • Rail Baltic Tallinn terminal – academic article

    Rail Baltic Tallinn terminal – academic article

    This was an academic article written as part of my PhD thesis about the planning of Rail Baltic. The article title is: Delayed arrival: planning, competition and conflict
    in the Rail Baltic terminal project in Tallinn, Estonia. It was published in European Planning Studies in September, 2022.

    Abstract:

    This article is an account of a planning process that is distributed and difficult to follow. By performing a thorough analysis of the design competition of the future Rail Baltic terminal in Tallinn, Estonia, it makes visible and critiques the decisions and dynamics enabled by the often-opaque processes of megaproject infrastructure planning and landmark design competitions. For this, the study first outlines a historiology of expectations for development created by new urban rail terminals. Then it relates the discourses of design, megaprojects and design competitions as trait-making processes with the potential to materialize future visions of society. The case study relies on expansive discourse analysis and in-depth expert interviews to trace key planning decisions, design strategies and stakeholder motivation impacting the planning of the Rail Baltic terminal and its role in the wider public realm of Tallinn. The study finds that the interlinked processes of megaproject planning and design competitions have inherent democratic deficiencies which can be counterproductive to benefitting the public realm. The results also suggest the need for a more socially responsible approach to planning infrastructure megaprojects.

    Link to published article.