This research area examines spatial planning in the context of heritage and the transformation of cities and regions. It will focus not only on the challenges of a world in transition to sustainability (the so-called “Great Transformation” (WBGU) with an urgent need for a post-fossil economic and societal strategy, but also on the opportunities that it offers for cities and regions. With regards to major issues such as climate change, demographic change, financial crises, transport decarbonization, energy transitions, and social polarization, it has become increasingly apparent that regions and cities are driving forces in processes of change and transformation. The spatial dimensions of heritage within this process will be investigated, which includes: the evolution of cultural landscapes, shifting living conditions, agriculture`s impact on landscape, the relationship between city and periphery, and the challenges of a climate-friendly transformation of infrastructural systems and settlement structures for all kinds of urban and regional planning. It therefore transverses urban and regional studies, urban and landscape design, planning sciences, as well as cultural heritage studies. Strong connections exist to social and political issues, institutional and governance frameworks and power structures that are fundamental determinants of transformation processes.

Thematic Focus Areas

• The urban and neighbourhood scale of heritage conservation and management
• Heritage as a topic of regional planning, development, and transformation
• The regional scale of heritage conservation and management
• Mobility and transport planning issues surrounding heritage preservation and development
• Infrastructural aspects of the preservation and development of heritage; infrastructure as cultural heritage
• Heritage as an issue in urban and regional transformation processes (demographic and climate change, adaption of infrastructures to climate change, social and economic crises …)
• Social and political science topics of relevance cultural heritage: power, institutions, conflicts, participation, justice and governance
• Urban and landscape design issues concerning heritage
• Implications of intangible, digital, natural, and other forms of heritage in urban and regional transformation processes

The management of World Heritage sites is supposed to meet UNESCO’s standards of economic, social, ecological and cultural sustainability. However, these four spheres of sustainability may conflict with each other, as the practice of World Heritage management and use frequently shows. In particular, the economic exploitation of tangible heritage can be at the expense of social and ecological sustainability. A central issue is the fact that World Heritage, because it has increasingly become a marketed product, is less and less treated as a cultural good. This has significant consequences, especially for the management of World Heritage sites. The balancing act between the tight and strict conservation regulations and the demands on use and accessibility, which World Heritage site managers have to satisfy, is becoming increasingly difficult. This also applies to the goals of UNESCO to involve all so-called stakeholders in nomination and management processes, as well as to the communication between stakeholders, and their training and efforts in capacity-building. Regarding communication between different actors of World Heritage, the role of conflict-mediation becomes increasingly important and represents a promising approach in the field of heritage management to focus on. Research projects in this area, for instance on the potential and limits of participatory approaches, on conservation-compatible urban and regional planning, or on the development of “affordable” housing options, are an interdisciplinary challenge. All conflicts and potential innovative solutions shall be examined taking into account future macro- or micro-economic, ecological and demographic developments. Innovative management structures and concepts shall be developed on the basis of participatory approaches, and shall be combined with modern urban planning concepts, for instance in relation to historic city centres.

Thematic Focus Areas

• Conflicts between the necessity to protect historic sites and usage demands of local communities and mass tourism
• Enhancing the participation of local communities in the protection and use of tangible cultural heritage
• Research on new strategies of UNESCO for achieving a more balanced World Heritage list – challenges of serial transnational nominations, cultural “routes” etc.
• Research on new concepts of sustainable development concepts of public private partnership, entrepreneurship, Elenor Ostrom and the Commons
• Impact of migration on the cultural heritage of mobile and sedentary population groups
• Impact of migration and globalisation on cultural diversity
• Research on cultural diversity in concepts of sustainable development
• Research on the relation between cultural conservation and cultural development in sustainable development programs
• Research on the mitigation of unsustainable industrial cultural impacts within heritage site management frameworks which are based on principles of sustainability

This focus area is concerned with the problem of safeguarding cultural values embodied in buildings, monuments, places and all types of urban structures compromised by armed conflict.

The destructive effects of war, and particularly the deliberate targeting of cultural assets, constitute an exceptional challenge for Heritage Conservation. The general principles of retaining cultural significance by continuous care and by minimal intervention may seem of little use when one is faced with catastrophic and wide-spread damage. Experience since World War II has shown that post-war rebuilding of historic cities has, all too often, resulted in a 'Second Destruction' even more intense than the first, with valuable fabric and structures removed to make way for wholesale rebuilding, often on a much larger scale and on different street patterns. Furthermore, archaeological fabric that is sometimes thousands of years older than anything visible above ground has often fallen victim to such rebuilding schemes. All these activities have frequently destroyed or seriously reduced the cultural identity and spirit of historic places.

Thematic focus areas

• Cultural heritage in postwar recovery
• Postwar reconstruction and the recovery of cultural heritage
• Destruction of cultural assets by war and its impact on group identities
• Safeguarding of archaeological layers in places under rebuilding
• Safeguarding and preservation of ruins
• Documentation and assessment of war-damaged cultural heritage
• Disaster and risk management for heritage sites
• Sociocultural aspects of destroyed cultural heritage