Our Interest
The Institute of Landscape examines internationally relevant topics, such as the United Nations global sustainability goals "Sustainable Development Goals" (2016-2030) and the EU Commission for European Research, working programme "Horizon 2020".
In particular, the themes of
- green infrastructure
- urban agriculture
- cultural heritage
receive special emphasis with the synergies across these interdisciplinary areas being considered in detail.
Recently, for example, through the CoProGrün project: co-produced green belts as an infrastructure of sustainable urban development, 2016-2019, the Institute has been commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research BMBF to examine how the “Grüngürtel F” Green Belt, located within the Ruhr District, can be reassessed with regard to its contribution to delivering sustainable green infrastructure (GI). This involves the development of new forms of urban agriculture. Furthermore, an international conference on the subject of Urban Agricultural Heritage, was hosted by the Institute and promoted by the VW-Foundation in May 2019. It focused on the question as to what extent urban agriculture can be identified and managed as a cultural heritage resource.
The Institute applies inductive research methods which build upon the analysis of individual projects and locations. This approach aims to produce generalised knowledge which can be applied to future regional development scenarios and which can also contribute to the development of best practice. In this context, research from “living laboratories”, such as Cologne Forest Laboratory is becoming increasingly important. The Institute not only observes and describes, but also intervenes in processes through the development of landscape strategies which aim to generate new practical knowledge-based outcomes.
Aims
The Chair of Landscape Architecture is interested in chairing, coordinating or participating in research projects dedicated to the subjects of green infrastructure, urban agriculture and cultural heritage. We offer excellent experiences in transdiscipinary European research on sustainable development of urban and rural regions with special emphasize on the role of open space for building up ecologically-sound, viable and inclusive neighbourhoods.
We are especially interested in these calls:
- Visionary and integrated solutions to improve well-being and health in cities SC5-14-2019
- Transforming historic urban areas and/or cultural landscapes into hubs of entrepreneurship and social and cultural integration SC5-20-2019