Call for Abstracts and Roundtables

Title: Masterplanning urban futures under radical uncertainty (EN)

Organisers:
Cozzolino, Stefano (ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung)
Bayro Kaiser, Fabio (RWTH Aachen)

Description:
Uncertainty is inherent in envisioning cities across decades or even centuries—especially as digitalisation, AI, and related technologies reshape urban knowledge, and as the rising complexity of interconnected urban systems radically affects the predictability of development trajectories. Under such conditions, masterplanning must generate sufficient stability to guide long-term urban change and future actions while remaining adaptable to evolving circumstances. At the same time, cities require rapid solutions to address pressing social, economic, and environmental needs. The challenge is immediate: masterplanning processes may unfold quickly, but their spatial consequences endure. This track invites both theoretical and practice-based contributions addressing how planning can operate under conditions of uncertainty, particularly by reflecting on the challenges of integrating new technologies and methods while considering crucial ethical questions concerning justice, design quality, and workable legal frameworks.

Titel: Analoge, digitale und virtuelle Welten im Quartier: Überschneidungen, Vernetzungen und Abgrenzungen (DE)

Organisation:
Frank, Susanne (TU Dortmund)
Weck, Sabine (ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung)

Beschreibung:
Für diesen Track suchen wir theoretische und empirische Beiträge zu Überschneidungen, Vernetzungen und Abgrenzungen analoger, digitaler und virtueller Welten auf Quartiersebene. Wie verändern sich physische Räume und soziale Beziehungen durch digitale Praktiken? Wie werden Wohn- und Arbeitsorte neu verknüpft? Welche realen oder virtuellen Third Places entstehen? Wie verhalten sich Online-Communities und analoge Nachbarschaften zueinander? Welche Erfahrungen gibt es mit Smart City/Smart Neighborhood-Konzepten auf Quartiersebene? Wie verändert der Einsatz digitaler und virtueller Planungstools etablierte Planungsprozesse? Was bedeutet es, wenn Plattformen Quartiere zu algorithmisch strukturierten Markt- bzw. Datenräumen machen? Wie sind diese (und andere) Entwicklungen im Hinblick auf Fragen von Governance, Teilhabe und Partizipation, Ungleichheit und Gerechtigkeit zu bewerten? Besonders willkommen sind Beiträge, die theoretische Perspektiven und empirische Ergebnisse kritisch reflektieren und deren Implikationen für die zukünftige Quartiersentwicklung und -forschung herausarbeiten.

Titel: Digitale Werkzeuge in der Klimaanpassung (DE)

Organisation:
Greiving, Stefan (TU Dortmund)
Warner, Barbara (ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft)

Beschreibung:
Bei Strategien und Methoden der Klimaanpassung von Städten und Regionen spielen digitale Werkzeuge eine zunehmend wichtige Rolle. So ermöglichen bspw. sogenannte digital twins, urbane Räume virtuell abzubilden und Szenarien wie Starkregen, Hitzeinseln oder Hochwasser zu simulieren. Webbasierte Planungstools unterstützen Behörden und Büros dabei, Klimadaten oder Modelle gemeinsam auszuwerten und Entscheidungen transparent zu treffen – Risiken werden früher erkannt, Ressourcen können gezielter eingesetzt und Beteiligungsprozesse erleichtert werden. Digitale Werkzeuge erhöhen Effizienz und können Zusammenarbeit in der Klimaanpassung fördern, es entstehen jedoch durchaus Probleme. Welche Chancen und Herausforderungen sehen Sie in der digital unterstützten Klimaanpassung?

Title: Nature-based solutions to face the triple wave of crises: biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution (EN)

Organisers:
Zingraff-Hamed, Aude (TU Dortmund)
Kaiser, Mathias (TU Dortmund)

Description:
Cities and regions are increasingly confronted with a “triple wave” of interconnected crises: accelerating biodiversity loss, intensifying climate change impacts, and escalating pollution pressures. In this context, blue-green infrastructure (BGI) and broader nature-based solutions (NbS) are gaining recognition as key strategies to enhance resilience, restore ecosystems, and improve human well-being. This conference track invites contributions that critically engage with the role of BGI and NbS in addressing these overlapping challenges. We welcome interdisciplinary perspectives that explore both the opportunities and limitations of implementing blue-green infrastructure across diverse urban and peri-urban contexts. We particularly encourage submissions that address (but are not limited to) the following themes: policy and governance frameworks supporting NbS implementation; stakeholder engagement and co-creation processes; planning instruments and regulatory approaches; maladaptation risks and unintended consequences; assessment of performance and co-benefits; blue-green infrastructure integration into the urban fabric; GIS-based planning for flood protection and stormwater management; integration of radar-based storage management for stormwater harvesting, stormwater management, and flood protection; stabilization of green infrastructure in cities; inclusion of non-human actors; environmental justice and equitable distribution of benefits and burdens.

Title: Housing and land policy (DE/EN)

Organisers:
Hartmann, Thomas (TU Dortmund)
Kolocek, Michael (ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung)
Wenner, Fabian (Hochschule Rhein-Main)

Description:
Housing is a human right. Spatial planning plays a role in providing sufficient, high-quality housing – taking into account the housing needs of the population and healthy living conditions are among its most important tasks, but this often presents challenges. In Germany, there is currently a spatially concentrated shortage of housing, affecting not only socially subsidised housing but also privately financed housing. At the same time, housing policy is confronted with a variety of objectives next to efficiency, some of which overlap or contradict each other, such as affordability, inclusiveness, resource efficiency and design. On the one hand, land can be part of the problem, but it can also be part of the solution. Homes need land on which to stand. Spatial planning and land policy create this ‘basis for living’, on the one hand by zoning land, and on the other by creating framework conditions and incentives for sustainable urban development. In recent years, land has thus increasingly become a lever for social and public welfare-oriented urban development. This track deals with the political and planning fields of action ‘land’ and ‘housing’ with a special focus on the complex and tense relationships between them. Not only institutional and instrumental considerations are welcome, but also explicitly sociological, economic, urban design or strategic perspectives. 

Titel: Mobility and transport (DE/EN)

Organisers:
von Behren, Sascha (TU Dortmund)
Klinger, Thomas (ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung)
Scheiner, Joachim (TU Dortmund)

Description:
Political and technological disruptions are currently affecting all sectors of the economy, society and the environment. Among other things, the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence and the widespread virtualisation of economic and social interactions are leading to potential – or already visible – profound upheavals in the mobility and transport sector. At the same time, challenging conditions such as dilapidated infrastructure and a lack of funding remain urgent challenges. Over the past few decades, it has become increasingly clear that implementing sustainable transport policy and planning also requires a different understanding of policy, planning, and governance. Alongside contributions on all aspects of sustainable transport development more generally, we are seeking: contributions on the role of artificial intelligence in transport research, transport planning and transport policy; contributions on the virtualisation of economic and social interactions, their interplay with physical mobility, and their impacts on the economy, society and the environment; transdisciplinary work dedicated to testing innovative solutions and governance models for the sustainable design of mobility systems; longitudinal approaches (e.g. trend or panel studies) and scenario analysis that track relevant developments and take into account the respective spatio-temporal contexts in which transport demand arises; and research and practical work on the policy and planning controllability of both transport policy and mobility behaviour.

Titel: Raumentwicklung und Raumbeobachtung (DE)

Organisation:
Danielzyk, Rainer (Leibniz Universität Hannover)
Hesse, Markus (Universität Luxemburg)

Beschreibung:
Klimakrise, Kriege, Migration, Energiewandel und KI verändern die Raumentwicklung grundlegend. Das führt zu einer Neubewertung der Faktoren der Standortwahl von Unternehmen und Haushalten: Während traditionelle Industrieregionen Strukturbrüche erleben, gewinnen andere durch erneuerbare Energien oder Rüstungswirtschaft an Bedeutung. Gleichzeitig verändern Homeoffice und neue Lebensformen die Wohnstandortwahl. Daraus entstehen schwer deutbare räumliche Dynamiken, etwa hinsichtlich regionaler Ungleichheiten, Wachstumsprozesse und der Bedeutung digitaler Infrastrukturen wie Rechenzentren oder Stromnetzen. Zur Interpretation der unübersichtlichen Dynamiken sind die raumbezogenen Wissenschaften neu herausgefordert. Inwiefern stellen digitale Netze, Knoten, Einrichtungen anders gelagerte Anforderungen an Raumplanung und räumliche Entwicklungspolitik, verglichen mit Verkehrsnetzen oder Anlagen der Wasserversorgung zuvor? Inwieweit ist der Einsatz von KI bei der Deutung dieser Entwicklungen schon hilfreich? In diesem Track sind umfangreiche vergleichende Regionalanalysen mit globaler/europäischer Perspektive ebenso gefragt wie etwa (qualitative) Regionalstudien zum Verständnis spezifischer regionaler Dynamiken und Konflikte in unterschiedlichen Raumtypen. Innovative methodische Ansätze (auch der Einsatz von KI zur Regionalanalyse) werden besonders begrüßt.

Ordinary infrastructures: global articulations of urban infrastructures beyond the ‘other’

Organisers:
Schramm, Sophie (TU Dortmund)
Beier, Raffael (TU Dortmund)
Kasper, Moritz (Umweltbundesamt)

Description:
Since the ‘infrastructure turn’ (Addie 2020) in social and spatial sciences, infrastructures have been recognized as central to urban functioning and global integration. Although research on cities in Africa and Asia has helped decentre Eurocentric perspectives, it often still frames Southern contexts as fundamentally different, using labels such as the ‘Infrastructural South’ (Silver 2023). This risks portraying these cities as exceptional rather than ordinary. Building on Jennifer Robinson’s concept of ‘ordinary cities’ (2006) and recent debates on ordinariness (Beier 2023; Kasper 2023), we argue for de-exoticizing and de-stigmatizing urban infrastructures beyond the West. Instead, infrastructures in Asian, African, and Latin American cities should be understood as part of a shared global urban condition. We invite contributions that use this lens to analyse diverse infrastructures, from everyday water access and transport systems to digital infrastructures like data centres and logistics hubs, emphasizing grounded, comparative perspectives that rethink inequality and infrastructural lifeworlds globally framed.

Titel: Urban development (DE/EN)

Organisers:
Klemme, Marion (BBSR – Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung)
Siedentop, Stefan (TU Dortmund)

Description:
Urban spaces and urban societies are subject to constant change: their economic foundations, their functional, social, and built structures are continuously evolving, and with them the institutional frameworks and the actors involved in planning processes. This track explores the causes, manifestations, and impacts of urban development, as well as the dynamically changing conditions and prerequisites for sustainability-oriented spatial planning. Contributions are invited that, on the one hand, address the fundamental trends of current urban transformation and, on the other hand, examine the present opportunities and limits of spatial planning interventions at the city and neighborhood levels. Particular attention is given to the impacts of artificial intelligence and the virtualization of social processes on urban development and urban planning. Among others, we are particularly interested in the following topics: transformation of urban centers; strategies and instruments for sustainable urban development (such as densification, resilience, and climate change adaptation); insights into urban governance in the context of urban development (especially with regard to processes of participation and social inclusion); processes of social and spatial change in cities and opportunities to promote social cohesion; the use of artificial intelligence in the various fields of urban development planning.

Titel: Planning Conflicts: On Conflicts of Interest, Positioning and Taking Sides in Planning Processes (DE/EN)

Organisers:
Heindl, Gabu (Universität Kassel)
Tribble, Renée (TU Dortmund)

Description:
Planning is not neutral. It is permeated by interests, exclusions, and implicit and explicit power relations. This panel examines planning conflicts not as disruptions, but as a constitutive element of urban development. Drawing on questions of democratic politics, we seek contributions on planning processes in which conflicting objectives represent social negotiation processes: between exploitation and use, between public entitlement and private appropriation, between technocratic rationality and lived everyday practice. At the heart of this track lies a question that AI cannot answer: that of positioning. Who plans for whom, with whom, against whom? What responsibility does planning bear in the face of unequal power relations? The panel advocates for a reflection on taking sides rather than supposed objectivity, and discusses planning as political action that makes conflicts visible, intensifies them, and turns them to productive ends. This is not about consensus at any cost, but about enduring contradictions and opening up spaces for emancipatory urban development.

Titel: Planning in the age of generative AI: roles, rationalities, and responsibilities (DE/EN)

Organisers:
Wiechmann, Thorsten (TU Dortmund)
Sondermann, Martin (ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft)

Description:
Generative AI, machine learning, and virtual environments open up new possibilities for analysis, simulation, visualization, and participation in spatial planning. At the same time, they raise fundamental questions in planning theory: What forms of knowledge, rationality, and decision support emerge through algorithmic systems—and which tasks remain reserved for human actors? Since spatial planning has traditionally been shaped by dealing with uncertainties, conflicts, and negotiation processes, the question arises as to how digital transformation is changing roles, responsibilities, and forms of knowledge production in planning. Initial approaches such as Symbiotic Planning Theory attempt to conceptually capture collaboration between planners and AI. At the same time, it remains unclear how democratic legitimacy, normative judgment, and the assumption of responsibility will change under conditions of algorithmic decision support. The track invites contributions that reflect on these developments critically, conceptually, or empirically. Both presentations on the use of digital and AI-based technologies in planning and contributions that address the specifically human core of planning practice—such as value judgments, responsibility, or democratic mediation—are welcome.

Titel: Planung von Energie- und Ressourcensystemen in der Transformation (DE)

Organisation:
Lauven, Lars-Peter (TU Dortmund)
Weith, Thomas (ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung)

Beschreibung:
Die Umsetzung von Energiewende und Kreislaufwirtschaft hat bereits deutliche räumlich-physische Veränderungen ausgelöst, die nun in konkrete Planungs- und Umsetzungsprozesse überführt werden müssen. Dazu zählen Daten- und Informationsmanagement, planerische Festlegungen sowie Fragen von Beteiligung und Akzeptanz. Neue Technologien wie Large Language Models und Machine Learning erweitern dabei die verfügbaren Methoden erheblich. Fortschritte bei Dekarbonisierung, Ressourceneffizienz und erneuerbaren Energien können jedoch auch neue soziale und ökonomische Belastungen sowie unerwünschte räumliche Nebenwirkungen verursachen. Daher ist ein verantwortungsvoller Umgang mit digitalen Werkzeugen notwendig. Der Track lädt Beiträge zur digital unterstützten Planung von Energiesystemen, Kreislaufwirtschaft sowie kommunalen Energie- und Wärmesystemen ein; weitere thematisch passende Arbeiten sind willkommen.

Titel: Gestaltung gesundheitsfördernder Räume (DE)

Organisation:
Köckler, Heike (Hochschule Bochum)
Conrad, Kerstin (ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung)
Rüdiger, Andrea (TU Dortmund)

Beschreibung:
Es gibt umfangreiche Erkenntnisse zu Zusammenhängen von Raum und Gesundheit, die räumliche Strukturen sowie deren Entwicklung eine besondere Rolle zuschreiben. Daher setzt sich dieser Track mit der gesundheitsfördernden Gestaltung von Räumen in Stadt und Land auseinander, mit Fokus auf die Umsetzung von Strategien, Plänen und Maßnahmen unter Berücksichtigung verschiedener Rahmenbedingungen. Von besonderem Interesse sind transdisziplinäre Forschungsansätze, sektorübergreifende Zugänge sowie die Beteiligung von Öffentlichkeit und Stakeholdern. Digitale Anwendungen können die Umsetzung einer Gestaltung gesundheitsfördernder Räume fördern, indem sie Partizipation digital ermöglichen, räumliche Entscheidungen mit digitalen Zwillingen unterstützen und/oder Planalternativen durch VR-Anwendungen erlebbar machen. 

Title: Data-based and AI-influenced spatial and urban planning (EN)

Organisers:
Westerholt, René (TU Dortmund)
Novack, Tessio (ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung)

Description:
Digital data and computing technologies have become powerful tools in spatial and urban planning and monitoring. Recent developments such as participatory apps, web platforms, advanced data processing systems, networked sensors, digital twins, and increasingly accessible computing environments including artificial intelligence open new opportunities for planning. At the same time, they reshape spatial practices, for example in urban mobility and land use. However, the growing role of digital technologies also requires critical reflection. As they transform interactions between planners, decision-makers, and citizens, questions arise around inclusion, participation, privacy, place identity, and wellbeing. Digitalisation is further linked to contemporary crises: the COVID-19 pandemic normalised remote work and changed everyday spatial relations; spatial injustice is increasingly shaped by access to digital infrastructure and skills; and social polarisation unfolds largely online with direct spatial consequences. This track invites methodological, empirical, and theoretical contributions on the opportunities and challenges of digital technologies in spatial planning and management.