SRP's Research

Research Profile

Sustainable development of cities and regions can only be achieved if we change the way we plan, build, claim and use our urban spaces. To achieve this, it is crucial to identify and analyse the spatial effects of social transformations. Those are usually associated with the introduction of new technologies, changed patterns of production and consumption, new value attitudes and forms of politics. Our aim is to transfer them into planning strategies and concepts. Our research group focuses on an interplay of theory, practice and research, especially in the following subject areas:

• Spatial transformation of cities and regions: e.g. principles of climate-friendly urban and regional development, perspectives for the future of inner cities or strengthening social cohesion in cities and rural areas
• Health-promoting urban and regional development: e.g. principles of planning healthy urban neighbourhoods or measures to improve urban environmental quality
• Digitalisation in urban and regional development: e.g. possibilities and limits of digitalisation or the development and evaluation of digital participation processes.

The evaluation and further development of methods, procedures and instruments of urban and regional planning play a significant role here. This also applies to the critical examination of planning control options and planning practices, which thus represent two more research areas:

• Urban and regional planning control options: e.g. assessment and evaluation of planning measures or limits and possibilities of informal urbanism.
• Urban and regional planning practices: e.g. values in planning consideration processes or planning as social practice.