SESAC

Hägerstrand Lab Inaugurated at Lund University in Collaboration with SESAC

May 18, 2026

Lund University has officially inaugurated the Hägerstrand Lab, a new research infrastructure at the Department of Human Geography, launched in collaboration with SESAC (Swedish Competence Centre for Satellite-Enabled Social Science Analytics). The lab is designed to bring data, code, and ideas into direct proximity with the fundamental questions of human geography.

Bridging the Gap Between Science and Practice

At its core, the Hägerstrand Lab is built on the priority of bridging the gap between science and practice. It serves as a shared environment where computational approaches are developed, discussed, and put into actionable use.

The lab does not strictly enforce a single, narrow definition of “computational” research. Instead, it is “open by design,” supporting a diverse ecosystem of methods, tools, and traditions. By bringing together programming, GIS, spatial data analysis, machine learning, and visualization, the lab acts as a forum for dialogue across methodological and disciplinary boundaries. It allows researchers, students, and guests to seamlessly transform code and data into tangible reports, simulations, and spatial artifacts.

Intellectual Inheritance: Why Hägerstrand?

The laboratory honors Torsten Hägerstrand, whose seminal work at Lund University profoundly reshaped human geography. His foundational theories of “time-geography” detailed how human activity unfolds through paths, constraints, and interactions across space and time. Today, these classical ideas intersect perfectly with contemporary computational methods—from mobility data tracking and agent-based modeling to large-scale geographical analyses.

The Inauguration

The official inauguration took place on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Room 42 at Geocentrum I. Supported by the Department of Human Geography and the Faculty of Social Sciences, the afternoon brought together a diverse group of colleagues and collaborators for fika, purposefully designed knowledge exchange, and a series of welcoming speeches.

Henrik Gutzon Larsen reflected on the enduring intellectual legacy of Torsten Hägerstrand, followed by opening remarks from Ola Hall, Markus Grillitsch, and Philipp Stark. Representing SESAC’s broader collaborative network, Stefanos and Sai Ganesh from Karlstad University were present to celebrate the launch and coordinate ongoing internal project initiatives.

The Hägerstrand Lab is now open as a vital nexus for computational geography, ready to support high-performance cluster services, host visiting scholars, and foster innovative research that translates complex data into real-world geographical understanding.