Planning Cities and Regions of the Future

In 2050, 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities. In the same year, Germany is supposed to be climate neutral. This brings with it a variety of challenges. Cities are facing high settlement pressure. The available space must be divided wisely for living, working, leisure, mobility and recreation. Living and working space must be created in a way that conserves resources. An efficient and at the same time sustainable transport infrastructure is needed. In addition, cities of the future must be adapted to conditions caused by climate change, i.e. they must be resistant to periods of heat, heavy rain and flooding.  

Away from the metropolises, regions are struggling with structural change due to migration, ageing or the energy transition, among other things. Challenges arise at the socio-economic, socio-ecological and cultural levels. However, structural change can also offer opportunities. So how can successful structural change be supported and promoted? To what extent can planning strategies and instruments support the transformation process? How can existing neighbourhoods, cities and regions become permanently liveable and sustainable places?

In order to plan cities and regions of the future with foresight, fundamental knowledge, data and analytical and planning tools are needed. On the one hand, the IOER provides knowledge and data on building stock, land consumption and potential (e.g. building land reserves, inner development potential, solar potential). It develops instruments for analysis and planning, e.g. inner-city mobility. In addition, however, the IOER also conducts research on policy instruments that can cope with the extremely complex challenges.

Robert Knippschild
Stefanie Rößler
Christoph Schünemann