In Memoriam: Mats Franzén 1948–2025
We are saddened to announce that our long-time colleague and dear friend Mats Franzén has passed away.
At the time of his sudden passing on 7 November, Mats Franzén was Professor Emeritus of Sociology, and as such remained highly active, engaged, and present in the research environment at IBF. Mats completed his PhD in 1981 together with Eva Sandstedt with what has now become a classic dissertation, Grannskap och stadsplanering: om stat och byggande i efterkrigstidens Sverige, and subsequently worked for many years at the Department of Sociology in Uppsala.
He joined IBF as a Senior Lecturer in Housing and Urban Sociology in 1996, and from 2002 to 2015 he held the institute’s professorship in Sociology. With the passing of Mats Franzén, IBF has lost a much-loved and highly valued colleague and mentor. He is mourned and deeply missed by many.
“Mats’ combination of broad theoretical and methodological expertise, immense empirical and historical knowledge, his eye for concrete details of general relevance, and his calm and considerate commitment made him a perfect colleague and an ideal collaborator. Mats’ contribution to IBF cannot be overstated,” says Head of Department Nils Hertting.
At the time of his passing, Mats was in the final stages of working on his major book project, Minnet av Gubbängen. The publisher, Mats’ wife Agneta Hugemark, and all of us at IBF are committed to completing this final major research endeavor in a long, successful, and highly esteemed academic career.
The text has been updated with a correction regarding the title and year of the dissertation.