Urban research − understanding urban change in its diversity

ILS researchers Sebastian Eichhorn und Angelika Münter have published a joint expert commentary in the journal “Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning” together with colleagues from the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) and the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IÖR). This commentary addresses the findings of the study “Housing Construction Needs (More) Land”, published by Institute for Housing, Real Estate, Urban and Regional Development (InWIS) at the Ruhr University Bochum and EBZ Business School Bochum on June 18, 2025, and criticizes the blanket demand for more and more building land as short-sighted. Instead, land for housing construction should be sought on a small scale and where it is actually needed. The entire article is available under the following DOI: https://doi.org/10.14512/rur.3425. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS researchers Noriko Otsuka, Janina Welsch, and Anna-Lena van der Vlugt, in collaboration with colleagues, have published an article in the journal “Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives”. The article examines the complexity of walkability in three European cities based on the WalkUrban project. It focuses on the innovative citizen science method based Walking Route Assessment. The citizen-science led method played an important role in highlighting the areas for improving urban walkability, with photographic evidence. Cross-examination with the results from other methods (i.e. spatial modelling, household survey and walk-along interviews) provided deeper insights into people’s perceptions of their walking environment and routes on a neighbourhood scale. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2025.101588. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS-researcher Michael Kolocek has published a paper in the journal “Cities”. The article summarizes the main findings of the Z³ research project („Zusammenhalthochdrei“) from the perspective of property rights theory. The study focuses on the land acquisition process in several affected villages and how residents were compensated for their losses. It critically evaluates whether the principle of social compatibility achieved its intended goals. The situation in these areas is unique, as some villages initially designated for removal were later spared due to revised mining plans. Two theoretical concepts are discussed: solastalgia, which describes the relationship between ecosystem health and human well-being and explaining the psychological impact of these turbulent experiences; and solatium, an international concept used to compensate for emotional distress and pain caused by losing one’s home. Although solatium does not exist in German law, the paper shows how stakeholders sought to mitigate economic and emotional harm through an innovative compensation approach combined with participatory measures. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.106273. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS researcher Barbara Schröter, in collaboration with several colleagues, has published an article in the journal “ecosystem services”. The article covers how justice is conceptualized in ecosystem services research. They identified five different framings, that each render different (in)justices (in)visible. The diversity of framings emphasizes the importance of considering multiple perspectives on justice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101755. Further current selected papers can be found here.

Within the Horizon 2020 Project ReRoot, Cornelia Tippel, ILS-Scientist within the research group „Urban Social Space“ has co-authored the „Integration Otherwise Inspiration Kit“. The publication is a practical guidebook that centers bottom-up approaches on integration and moves beyond polarizing debates of newcomers failing to integrate or blames society as insufficiently welcoming. The authors introduce the concept of „arrival infrastructuring“, the interactive process through which newcomers, together with others, actively shape and transform their arrival situations. Through stories from the ground with concise takeaways, alongside tools for reflection and action, this guide equips practitioners, policymakers and community builders with a deeper understanding of the diverse forms of arrival infrastructuring, as well as the successes and challenges of everyday integration processes. https://doi.org/10.11116/9789461666758. Further current selected papers can be found here.