News
Further news are available on the German website.
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Roofs are not the only suitable places for installing photovoltaic modules to generate electricity from the sun’s rays. Facades could also play a much more significant role in Germany’s energy transition towards renewables as well as helping to reduce land consumption for energy parks. Together with the Fraunhofer ISE, the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development has calculated the potential area of Germany’s building facades for the installation of PV systems. It is twice as large as that of roofs. They published their findings in the journal "Transforming Cities".
As part of the BMBF project "Scientific support of the transformation process in Lusatia Region" of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ecological and Revitalizing Urban Transformation (IZS) in Görlitz, a planning lab will develop spatial visions for the future of the transforming region from March 2021. Applications are open to interested participants until 8 February 2021.
Five research institutes of the Leibniz Association have joined forces to form the Leibniz Research Network "Knowledge for Sustainable Development". In this way, they bundle their competencies with the aim to further developments in the sustainability sciences and foster societal sustainability transformations.
The Chinese-German joint project "Urban-Rural Assembly" has completed the initial Definition Phase with a joint Open Access book publication. It is now entering the Research and Development Phase and will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for another four years.
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The director of the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Professor Dr. Marc Wolfram, was re-elected for another term as a board member of the International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS) in December.
Simulation game on strategic settlement retreat - handbook for municipalities informs about results
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In a model project of regional planning (MORO), the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) and partners have dealt with an often taboo topic of urban development: the managed retreat from small parts of towns with a low development perspective. In a simulation game it was discussed, without prejudice to the outcome, whether municipalities should withdraw from remote areas and how this could work. The results can be found in a handbook for municipalities, issue 15/2020 of the series "MORO Praxis". [Further information in German]
Future Conference 2020: Doing instead of talking - Future of the city beyond 2020
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On 6 and 7 November, the project "The City of the Future" invited to the fifth future conference. Due to the current situation, the conference took place virtually. The IOER presented its accompanying research in the project. Those who missed the event can relive it via video recording. Funding for sustainable project ideas can be applied for from the City of Dresden until 31 December. [Further information in German]
More biodiversity in cities - brochure with guidelines towards the creation of biodiversity strategies released
One key result of the project "Urban Green Structures for Biodiversity – Integrated Strategies and Measures towards the Protection and Fostering of Biodiversity in Cities" is a brochure with guidelines towards the creation of biodiversity strategies. The brochure is entitled "Mehr biologische Vielfalt in Städten und Gemeinden – Eine Arbeitshilfe zur Erstellung kommunaler Biodiversitätsstrategien". It is available to cities across Germany (only available in German). The two implementing partners, the cities of Bielefeld and Heidelberg, developed exemplary parameters for their particular municipal biodiversity strategies and implemented actual measures in test areas. [Further information in German]
About us - IOER
The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development is a non-university research centre, and a member of the Leibniz Association. We investigate the sustainable development and transformation of cities and regions in the context of the global human-ecological crisis, focusing on the dynamic interactions between ecosystems and society at and across multiple spatial scales, as well as options for responsible stewardship.
Our research is both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, working across the environmental, social and engineering sciences. It is also transdisciplinary, collaborating closely with stakeholders in the public, private and civil society sectors. We aim to foster environmentally just urban and regional transformations that enable humanity to thrive within a safe ecological operating space.
We are committed to comprehensive sustainability management for all our activities. We set great value on training young researchers and supporting academic careers. We also promote equal opportunities and the compatibility between work and family life. Our approach has therefore repeatedly received the TOTAL-E-QUALITY award.
