Research Area Built Environment - Resources and Environmental Risks

The Research Area Built Environment - Resources and Environmental Risks investigates sustainability issues related to the use, development and materiality of the built environment and its spatial interactions with the environment. We understand the built environment as a complex socio-ecological-technical system whose physicality includes buildings, infrastructures and anthropogenically modified open spaces.

Our research is oriented towards ambitious sustainability and climate protection goals such as "minimising the consumption of natural resources" and "limiting global warming" (1.5 degree target) as well as the future viability and resilience of the built environment as an anthropogenic resource. In doing so, we consider social and technical innovations up to regional and sectoral contributions of mitigation in relation to the mentioned targets and adaptation to changing environmental conditions.

The research area focuses on anthropogenic and natural resources and their use and degradation (Research Group „Anthropogenic and Natural Resources“) as well as risks to the stock and usability of the built environment due to natural hazards, which are intensified or caused by climate change.

Our central research questions are:

• How can the built environment be understood as a socio-ecological-technical system and designed in concrete spatial contexts using integrative concepts for resource conservation, climate protection and resilience in harmony with sustainable development goals?
• How can the materiality of the built environment in the concrete spatial context be developed towards a circular system that serves the aforementioned goals of resource protection by exploiting potentials from technical and social innovations?
• How can the resilience of the built environment in the concrete spatial context be increased against environmental hazards and resulting environmental risks caused or intensified by anthropogenic influences including climate change?