I am since the beginning of 2013 Professor in Planning in Urban Regions at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, where I am heading the Research Group on Urban Sustainability.
Prior to my present position, I was for 15 years Professor in Urban Planning at Aalborg University in Denmark, and before that Research Manager and Researcher for 10 years at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research. In my research, I have in particular addressed issues related to sustainable urban development, relationships between urban form and transport, driving forces in urban development, planning theory and philosophy of science. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods, I have for more than 25 years investigated influences of urban structures on travel behavior, mainly in the Nordic countries, but also in China and Southern Europe. This includes an RCN-funded project I am currently heading, investigating influences of residential location on travel, physical activity and health in the urban regions of Oslo, Stavanger/Sandnes, Bergen and Trondheim. During recent years, I have increasingly investigated possibilities and limitations of ecological modernization strategies to achieve sustainable urban development. Moreover, I have made several theoretical contributions concerning the ontological and epistemological presuppositions for research within the field of spatial planning.
Google Scholar citations: https://scholar.google.dk/citations?user=lg5A7EUAAAAJ&hl=da
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petter_Naess2
Cristin: https://www.cristin.no/as/WebObjects/cristin.woa/wa/personVis?type=PERSON&pnr=25728&la=no&instnr=192