Amanda Gabriel is a lecturer in environmental psychology, course leader, working with research at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). She works with transdisciplinary research projects that explore how environments influence health, well-being, and behavior, particularly in urban settings.
She currently works at SLU’s Department of People and Society. She also serves as a HUB Coordinator for SLU Urban Futures, for the campus Alnarp, and focusing on Healthscapes - advancing cross-disciplinary approaches to understanding people and environments.
Her research interests include critical realism with transdisciplinary and qualitative methodologies, a pluralistic and international understanding of various epistemologies and ontologies, children’s interactions with green and urban spaces, and socially sustainable urban development. She is also engaged in work about the impact of extreme urban heat, and nature-based interventions for well-being.
Amanda previously held a Visiting Scholar position at the University of Surrey (2024), where she initiated and continues to lead the international project "Conceptualization(s) of Environmental Psychology."
She is currently leading the forum Children and Landscape at SLU Landscape. She is the producer and host of the "Human Land" podcast, exploring topics in environmental psychology, urban planning, and health.
Amanda Gabriel is a course leader and lecturer at the program "Outdoor environments for health and wellbeing", co-leading the courses:
Research methods for People and Environment Studies
Place, Activity and Human Development
Outdoor environments for children and youth
Amanda has experience teaching internationally and has been invited to give lectures in Brasil, France and England, in various universities.
Her teaching integrates environmental psychology, urban planning, and health research, with a focus on transdisciplinary methodologies, and place-based learning.
Amanda Gabriel’s research investigates various topics and perspectives often connected to aspects of how environmental settings shape health experiences and behaviors. She has been involved in multiple national and European projects, using qualitative and transdisciplinary approaches to understand urban sustainability, health, and social well-being.
A Selection of Ongoing Research Projects:
A selection of past projects
Education:
Course Leadership & Research Methods:
Master’s Level Supervision:
Student Thesis Example:
Staudinger, Christopher (2024). Out for a Walk Where the Thoughts Take Flight: Naturalistic Experience Sampling of Mind Wandering in an Urban Blue-Green Space. Second cycle, A2E. Alnarp: SLU, Dept. of People and Society. SLU Thesis Repository https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/20653/
Selected Publications
Mårtensson, F., Wiström, B., Hedblom, M., Litsmark, A., Gabriel, A., Herngren, L., Ågren, J., & Ode Sang, Å. (2025). Creating nature-based play settings for children through looking, listening, learning, and modifying in a Swedish landscape laboratory. Socio-Ecological Practice Research, 7(1), 93–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-024-00208-7
Persson, A. S., von Post, M., Kjellberg Jensen, J., Andersson, H., Ekblad, A., Gabriel, A., Ignell, S., Isaksson, C., Jansson, M., Jarman, P., Klingberg, J., Lindeblad, C., Lisberg Jensen, E., Mattsson, P., Mårtensson, F., Perrigo, A., Nyquist Malmsten, M., Rosdal, A., Roslund, M., & Wullenkord, M. C. (2024). Natur på skolgården för lärande, hälsa och hållbarhet. BECC Policy Briefs, 2024:1. https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/natur-p%C3%A5-skolg%C3%A5rden-f%C3%B6r-l%C3%A4rande-h%C3%A4lsa-och-h%C3%A5llbarhet
Gabriel, A., von Essen, E., Guardini, B., Kjellgren, S., Peterson, C., & Staundinger, C. (2023). A sense of place through land art. European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes, 6(2), 154–183. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2612-0496/17583
Pálsdóttir, A. M., Gabriel, A., Digerfeldt, K., Borodina, I., Liedman, L., Peter, S., Redmo, L., Almqvist, S., Nilsson, K., Jeppson, S., Fragapane, S., Schmidt, A., Lundkvist, P., Weisend, A., Barret, L., Guardini, B., Alsadius, K., Axelsson, K., Georgii, E., & Pousini, G. (2022). Urban green spaces: Incorporating nature in urban planning for sustainable and resilient environments. LTV-fakultetens faktablad, 2022:2. https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/117364/
A Selection of Conference Presentations
Gabriel, A. (2024, June). What is environmental psychology? Various transdisciplinary perspectives. Seminar presented at the IAPS 28 Conference: Enacting Transdisciplinary Knowledge: People, Places, Movements, and Sustainabilities, Barcelona, Spain.
Gabriel, A. (2024, June). What is environmental psychology? Various transdisciplinary perspectives. Symposium conducted at the British Environmental Psychology Conference.
Gabriel, A., Mårtensson, F., & Manni, A. (2024, June). Winter time in preschool. Paper presented at the IAPS 28 Conference: Enacting Transdisciplinary Knowledge: People, Places, Movements, and Sustainabilities, Barcelona, Spain.
Mårtensson, F., Manni, A., Fröberg, A., & Gabriel, A. (2023). New larger preschool facilities: Changing the game for children’s outdoor stay. Presented at the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education Conference.
Gabriel, A. (2024). Interactive poster presentation at IAPS, EDRA, and BREPS.
Popular science
Co-leading and writing the Urban Heat Series, an initiative addressing the challenges of extreme urban heat and its impact on health, well-being, and urban planning. Published by Urban Scapes, SLU.