About the Research Platform

The pivotal characteristic of the Research Platform “The Challenge of Urban Futures” is its epistemological breadth, in that it aims at scrutinising ecologies of relations that connect multiple thematic areas. The Platform aims at unravelling the social, cultural, economic and politico-institutional mechanisms underlying the convergences and divergences across European cities to track the transformation of urban structures over the last four decades.

Given the wide gamut of issues cities are facing, we focus our research endeavours on five thematic areas: Society and Culture, Economy and Redistribution, Environment and Sustainability, Technology and Surveillance, and Urban Government and Governance. More in detail, our research activities will sit at the intersection of these multiple thematic areas. To achieve this ambitious task, our Research Platform will bring together researchers both within and outside the University of Vienna sharing complementary expertise on the multifarious facets of urban studies.

 News

Event
 

60 students - 7 universities - 2 semesters - 1 goal: Mastering sustainability challenges as a team! Take your chance to be part of an interdisciplinary course with impact and to gain practical experience and ECTS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publication
 

The book by Platform member Christoph Reinprecht and his colleagues Simon Güntner, Judith M. Lehner and Juma Hauser has been awarded with the Kurt Rothschild Prize 2024.

Publication
 

Urban Futures Research Affiliate Byeongsun Ahn published an article in the journal "European Planning Studies" that takes a closer look at planning history and institutional change from a policy perspective.


Five Areas of Research