GRK 2679:  Urban Green Infrastructure – Training Next Generation Professionals for Integrated Urban Planning Research

• Subject Area: Construction Engineering and Architecture ; Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine ; Plant Sciences
• Term: since 2022
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 437788427

The objective of the Research Training Group (RTG) is to inspire and to educate young junior researchers who develop innovative solutions for novel Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI). By developing networks of green and blue open spaces with multiple ecosystem services, the goal is to improve the sustainability, resilience, and quality of life of cities.Doctoral candidates will undertake an advanced and specific qualification program that enables them to conduct UGI-related research in their respective disciplines at the highest academic level, while simultaneously trained in inter- and trans-disciplinary research within the setting of a systems-oriented approach. They will collaborate with, and receive support and guidance from, leading experts in the fields of urban research on planning, ecology, engineering and environmental medicine. The RTG is therefore a potential cornerstone in the career of a new generation of young urban researchers. The RTG will develop within a theoretical framework of social-ecological-technological systems with three interacting research clusters on the topics of the transformation of urban space with UGI, climate resilience and energy efficiency, as well as storm water management. In particular, it will explore and focus on three strategies: (i) operationalization to transform complex urban environments through the development and implementation of prototype UGIs, (ii) integration of nature into built structures to reduce dependency on fossil energy and non-renewable resources, and (iii) substitution of urban technical structures and processes.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Participating Institution: Helmholtz Zentrum München; Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt; Universität Augsburg
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr.-Ing. Stephan Pauleit
• Participating Researchers: Professorin Dr. Monika Egerer; Professorin Brigitte Helmreich, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Johannes Kollmann; Professorin Dr. Ingrid Kögel-Knabner; Professor Dr.-Ing. Werner Lang; Professor Dr.-Ing. Ferdinand Ludwig; Professor Mark Michaeli; Professor Dr. Hans Pretzsch; Professor Dr. Michael Schloter; Professorin Dr. Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann; Professor Dr. Wolfgang W. Weisser; Professor Dr.-Ing. Gebhard Wulfhorst