Structural change, transformation and planning

The socio-ecological transformation of the economy and society presents cities and regions with comprehensive and diverse challenges. Economic sectors are facing upheaval, previous infrastructures and forms of land use, but also everyday practices are increasingly being questioned. This is particularly the case in former lignite regions, where the phase-out of fossil energy supply requires a reorientation of regional development. Coping with the structural change towards a post-fossil economy is a cross-sectional task, especially for spatial development and planning.

The lecture series takes up these challenges against the background of the experiences of the phase-out of lignite use in Lusatia, Central Germany and the Rhineland and discusses the following questions:

1. What are conceptual approaches to understanding and, if necessary, supporting spatial structural change as well as its management? What insights do different scientific disciplines provide for an understanding of the upheavals in lignite regions?
2. What empirical findings are there on the effects of structural change in lignite regions and beyond? What narratives and utopias underlie regional transformations and how are different interests negotiated in the process?
3. What practical approaches are there to shaping structural change? What suggestions can experiences from abroad provide? How can a dialogue between science and practice succeed, what role can universities and scientific institutions play in structural change?

Speakers from different regions, scientific disciplines and practice will address these questions. The lecture series serves to promote networking not only between universities and research institutions in the regions and the federal government’s departmental research, but also the exchange between science and practice.

The lecture series is organised by Prof. Dr. Ludger Gailing (Department of Regional Planning, Brandenburg University Cottbus-Senftenberg), Dr. Matthias Naumann (Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development, Cottbus), Dr. Nora Küttel and Prof. Dr. Boris Michel (Institute of Geosciences and Geography, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) and Prof. Dr. Agnes Förster (Chair of Planning Theory and Urban Development, RWTH Aachen University).