Marikken Wullf-Wathne

Dr. Marikken Wullf-Wathne is a Research Fellow at Oslo Metropolitan University's Center for Welfare and Working Life Research (NIBR), specializing in smart city initiatives and utopian urbanism. Her work critically examines the intersection of digitalization, governance, and social sustainability in contemporary urban development.

• Research Focus: Digitalization in urban planning
• Key Themes: Utopian logics, smart city critique, climate urgency
• Projects: Analyzing "Smart Stockholm" through qualitative methods
• Contributions: Nordic Journal of Urban Studies editorial board, Storbykonferansen organizer

Her publications reveal a consistent engagement with questioning technological determinism in urban governance while emphasizing political agency and alternative futures. Current research explores how smart city discourses both enable and constrain sustainable urban transformations, particularly in energy systems and citizen participation.

She actively bridges academic and public spheres through science communication, including Innoasis Science Talks and NRK media contributions. Her methodological approach combines critical theory with empirical case studies in Nordic urban contexts.