Publications

ILS researchers Hannaneh Jilanialshafty, Shaojuan Xu, and Bastian Heider, together with Frank Othengrafen (TU Dortmund University), have published an article in the journal ‘Energy Research & Social Science’. The article examines how different methods of measuring energy poverty influence which households and areas are identified as particularly vulnerable. Using Dortmund as a case study, the article compares three expenditure-based measurement methods with a multidimensional Energy Poverty Index. These findings show that measurement choice shapes not only where energy poverty is identified, but also which forms of vulnerability become visible to policy. Effective mitigation therefore requires differentiated, place-sensitive policies that integrate financial, social, housing, energy-use, and energy-system dimensions of vulnerability. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2026.104979. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS researcher from the research group “mobilities and space” published an article in the ‘Journal of Transport Geography’. This study examines how remote working influences commuting across socio-spatial contexts, focusing on its interaction with commuting distance, travel time and the use of sustainable transport modes. The findings show the importance of understanding how remote working reshapes the relationship between working conditions and mobility to support the transition towards sustainable mobility. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2026.104846. Further current selected papers can be found here.

Manuel Weiß, a former ILS researcher, and Angelika Münter, an ILS researcher, have published an article in the journal ‘Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie’ together with Johannes Moser, Fabian Wenner, and Alain Thierstein. The paper highlights that good connections to high-speed rail services alone do not make areas around railway stations attractive locations for knowledge-intensive firms. The key factor is the interplay between multimodal accessibility and a diverse range of urban qualities. The paper was produced as part of the DFG project ‘Brain Train? High-Speed Rail Stations as Focal Points of the Knowledge Economy’. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.70106. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS researcher Kati Volgmann, together with Anna Grow from the University of Kassel, has published an article in the journal “Regional Studies, Regional Science”. The normalisation of working from home (WFH), understood as a home-based form of remote work, is associated with changing residential patterns within metropolitan regions, yet its spatial implications remain insufficiently understood. This paper examines the residential distribution of occupations with high-WFH-capacity across German city-regions from 2012 to 2023 using a combination of cluster analysis and multivariate regression modelling. Overall, the findings suggest that WFH-capacity does not dissolve existing metropolitan structures, but remains embedded in them in selective ways. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2026.2722825. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS researcher Melissa Leimkühler, together with other colleagues from the research group ‘Spatial Planning and Urban Design’, has published an article in the journal “STANDORT Journal of Applied Geography”. Increasing urbanisation is exacerbating the challenges of sustainable food supply, as cities depend on external resources and local farmland is limited. The physical proximity of diverse actors in urban areas opens up potential solutions, such as short supply chains and regional supply models. The article examines the network of Dortmund’s food system in the year 2025 using social network analysis to identify actors, collaborations, and key needs. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00548-026-01062-3. Further current selected papers can be found here.

Thomas Weith and Julian Gatawis from the research group ‘Spatial Planning and Urban Design’, together with their former colleagues Jette Ostheller and Barbara Schröter, have published an article in the journal “Discover Cities”, published by Springer Nature. This article focuses on the unique role of urban gardens, particularly urban allotments. With their high variety, they represent a key component of green infrastructure, fulfilling ecological, social and productive functions. Despite this multifunctionality, they are often only marginally included into local planning and development, meaning that their ecological and social potential remains underused and their long-term development is in danger. The article also explains how urban allotments can contribute to transformative and sustainable urban development as part of integrated concepts, rather than merely as isolated pilot projects. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44327-026-00331-y. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS researcher Thomas Weith, together with colleagues, has published an article in the journal “communications sustainability”. Research-driven innovations in agricultural and food systems can advance global sustainability goals, but their complexity requires them to be linked to clear transformation goals. Using a German research programme in the agriculture and food sector as an example, we demonstrate how such integration into transformation pathways can be achieved whilst simultaneously supporting mission-oriented research. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00114-x. Further current selected papers can be found here.

ILS researchers Hannah Brill, Nils Hans and Isabel Ramos Lobato published an article, in collaboration with Norma Schemschat, Heike Hanhörster and Lara Hartig, in the journal Urban Planning. Building on growing research on changing geographies of migration and “new” arrival destinations, the article examines neighbourhoods across Germany through the lens of “left-behindness.” Drawing on 90 interviews from eight arrival neighbourhoods, the article analyses how “left-behindness” and the arrival of migrants interact in everyday life and local governance. It shows how structural constraints, symbolic representations, and social dynamics reinforce one another, shaping both the challenges and possibilities of migration. The article argues that left-behindness is best understood not as a spatial category but as a relational and processual condition that highlights uneven development and reveals how the challenges of migration-related diversity are locally negotiated and contested. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.11159. Further current publications can be found here.

Dr. Lea Fischer und Dr. Michael Kolocek haben einen Fachaufsatz veröffentlicht, in dem sie Ergebnisse aus dem Forschungsprojekt MaBIs (Marginalisierte Bevölkerungsgruppen und die solidarische Innenstadt) präsentieren. Aus einer raumwissenschaftlichen Perspektive diskutieren sie verschiedene Dimensionen informeller Arbeitstätigkeiten, etwa den Verkauf von Straßenmagazinen, das Betteln oder das Pfandsammeln. Der Aufsatz ist einer von über 40 Beiträgen in dem mehr als 800 Seiten umfassenden Sammelband von Frank Sowa und seinem Herausgeber*innenteam. Aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven widmen sich die Autorinnen und Autoren den Lebenswirklichkeiten von Menschen, die in fragilen Behausungen leben. Der Band ist Open Access erhältlich. Mehr…