No abstract

We ask whether the WBGU report Humanity on the Move, as a major catalyst for urban sustainability science and agency, reproduces ways of thinking that could ultimately contradict the idea of a Great Transformation towards global sustainability. We contest the dominance of Western knowledge on cities and urbanization which shapes much of the report, even while the urban future is largely unfolding in the Global South. We suggest taking theories from the South into account, as they open up our understanding of both urban scholarship and sustainability science in general.

Sustainable rural development in Germany was examined by linking conceptual and applied aspects of the land and housing question, broadly considering the ownership, use, and regulation of land. In the state of Bavaria, a new interagency initiative aims to curb land consumption by persuading villagers to embrace rural infill development. The study explored the background debate leading up to the Space-saving Offensive (Flächensparoffensive), the resource providers involved, and the options for funding actual rural infill building and renovation projects. Here, space-saving managers and other resource providers actively promote the positive societal meaning of central infill sites in contrast to unsustainable land consumption. In addition to the communications campaign, planning, regulatory, and funding interventions round out the multi-level initiative, as described in this study. A modern barn reuse exemplifies the Bavarian bundle of resources, while demonstrating how modern village infill redevelopment also contests oversimplified notions of stagnant rural peripheries. The initiative’s focus on linking key resources and bolstering communications can be read as validation for a more social perspective on land consumption and village infill development.

Jennifer Gerend widmet sich in diesem Beitrag der Beziehung zwischen Regionalmanager:innen und Regionen. Das Ziel ist, zu verstehen, wie Regionen von Regionalmanager:innen (mit)gemacht werden und welche Instrumente (z.B. Fördermittelinstrumente) dafür genutzt werden - also: Wie wird regionalisiert?

No abstract