Press Releases

Illustration: Gerd Altmann on Pixabay

Big city at night, graphic network structures span the city

The intensive interactions of digitalisation and spatial development are the focus of the Spatial Science Colloquium 2023 (SSC2023), an event hosted by the Leibniz Research Network "Spatial Knowledge for Society and Environment – Leibniz R". For the first time, the SSC will take place on two days: 4 July is an online event aimed at an international scientific audience. Day 2 on 5 July will be a face-to-face event in Berlin dedicated to the application-oriented exchange between science, politics and practice. Registration for the event is now open.

Graphic: IOER-Media

City map in 3D with buildings in orange tones as well as green spaces and a blue river

The sustainable transformation of cities and regions requires specific knowledge resources as well as data, analyses and digital tools. In the future, science and practice will be able to fall back on services of the new research data centre IOER RDC, which the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) will establish over the next few years. It will be headed by data expert Dr Ramona Voshage. A new website provides information on the services offered by the IOER RDC.

Photo: H. Hensel/IOER-Media

Balconies of a high-rise building with awnings and sunshades.

Adaptation to summer heat is becoming increasingly crucial in German cities. A new online tool helps users to determine the effectiveness of various adaptation measures outdoors as well as in and around buildings. The "HRC-Hitzetool" (HRC heat tool) was developed as part of the HeatResilientCity (HRC) project - a joint effort of the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development and the Technische Universität Dresden along with research and community partners. The tool is suited to use by municipalities, the housing industry and individual people alike.

 

Source: IOER-Media/GeoSN

Map detail of Dresden with colourful buildings on a black background

The time has come! – On 6 March, the platform "Colouring Dresden" will be launched. It is part of a new citizen science project in which interested citizens of Dresden can actively participate. Thematically, it is about researching Dresden's stock of buildings. The project team will explain how those who are interested can get involved on 6 March, from 4 p.m. in the Central Library in the Kulturpalast Dresden.

Source: FLOOD.Bi/STRIMA II

map shows blue floodplains

Self-protection against floods is becoming increasingly important. This is particularly true for the protection of residential buildings. The information tool FLOOD.Bi can be used to determine and minimise the risk of flood damage to buildings. The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) developed the tool together with the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) in the EU project STRIMA II. From 2 to 5 March, a team from both institutions presented the online tool at the "HAUS", a construction fair in Dresden.

Photo: H. Hensel/IOER-Media

Detail of a map showing the region around Zittau.

How can Lusatia develop by the year 2050 - without coal mining and instead ecologically sustainable and livable for the local people? The exhibition "Raumbilder Lausitz 2050" (Spatial Imaginaries Lusatia 2050) is dedicated to this question. The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) will be showing it from 3 February to 4 March in the Centre for Building Culture (ZfBK) Saxony in the Kulturpalast Dresden. The exhibition will be opened with a vernissage on 2 February at 7 p.m.

Photo: B. Kochan/IOER-Media

View of a river, the banks are covered with trees

The effects of climate change are increasingly affecting rivers and lakes and threatening the ecological balance in these waters. Adaptation measures are needed. However, in order to implement them in a targeted manner, more knowledge is needed about the complex interactions in aquatic ecosystems. Adaptations are also recommended for the European Water Framework Directive, which aims to achieve a "good ecological status" in bodies of water. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater…

Photo: H. Oertel/IOER Media

Several cornflowers, a bee sitting on a blossom

Leibniz Research Network presents concrete recommendations for action

By 2030, 30 per cent of the planet's land and sea areas should be protected. All subsidies leading to the degradation of nature should be reallocated. These are two of the recommendations from the Leibniz Research Network Biodiversity, of which the IOER is a member. The researchers are publishing their "10 Must Dos from Biodiversity Science" on the occasion of the United Nations’ COP15 World Conference on Nature, which begins Wednesday in Montreal, Canada.

Photo: Jürgen Hohmuth, ZEITORT Fotografie

Aerial view, urban fringe sprawl

Despite many efforts to curb urban sprawl, it continues to progress dramatically. From 1990 to 2014, urban sprawl increased by 95 percent worldwide. During this period, the built-up area grew by an average of around 1.2 square kilometres (more than 160 football fields) every hour. This is the result of a joint study by scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) in Dresden (Germany) and Concordia University in Montréal (Canada). They have published their findings in the journal "PLOS Sustainability and Transformation".

Banner zu "Auf die Plätze fertig los" mit Häusern

With the project idea "Architectural heritage and climate-friendly construction in Dresden" (Baukultur und klimafreundliche Architektur in Dresden), the IOER, together with partners, is one of the winners in the "Ideensprint", the final of the citizen science competition "Auf die Plätze! Citizen science in your city". The three winning teams were honoured at the award ceremony on 20 October at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. With 50,000 euros in funding each, they can now implement the projects together with citizens until autumn 2023

The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development is jointly funded by the federal government and the federal states.

FS Sachsen

This measure is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.