Research Area Transformative Capacities

In this research area, we investigate transformative change linked to neighbourhoods, cities and regions with a view to understanding its preconditions, pathways and sustainability impacts. We build on insights regarding patterns and dynamics of socio-technical, social-ecological and socio-institutional transformations, spatial development and urban/regional economic change. On this basis our focus is on bridging disciplines and (co-)producing knowledge to conceptualise, assess and develop transformative capacities in urban and regional systems. This requires inter- and transdisciplinary research in selected geographic contexts, spatial configurations and across scales. Our overall aim is to co-design spatially informed governance approaches, instruments and methods that are able to initiate, navigate, accelerate and stabilise transformative change towards sustainability. The research area Transformative Capacities (FB T), in cooperation with the Research Data Centre (FDZ), develops and utilises Artificial Intelligence as a methodological bridge to scale data collection in Real-World Laboratories and Citizen Science (CSX) projects. Local, privacy-compliant Large Language Models (LLMs) are employed in a Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) architecture to translate highly sensitive, heterogeneous qualitative inputs (e.g., narratives, local knowledge, participatory formats) into standardised, machine-readable quantitative data schemas. This overcomes the qualitative-quantitative gap, enabling robust comparative analysis of transformative capacities while strictly adhering to data ethics (ELSA) and open science (FAIR) principles. Additionally, generative AI supports the accessible translation and playback of complex database analyses to local stakeholders (e.g., in Transformation Arenas).

In the Interdisciplinary Centre for Transformative Urban Regeneration we deepen specific aspects of transformative change in small and medium-sized towns in peripheral locations as well as in regions affected by structural change. Moreover, we investigate the role of economic patterns and dynamics for the transformative capacities of cities and regions in the Research Group “Sustainable economic dynamics and innovation”.

Our guiding questions are:

• How can the transformative capacities of urban and regional systems be understood and conceptualised?
• How can the transformative capacities of specific urban and regional systems be identified, assessed and compared?
• How can governance approaches, instruments and methods be designed to increase the capacity to initiate, navigate, accelerate and stabilise transformative change in cities and regions?