Happy New Year: A New Research Centre at the Institute of Spatial Planning starting 2024 !

From the 1st January 2024 the Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Culture and Public Space will return as the 9th research unit (280-09) to TU Wien’s Institute of Spatial Planning. The research unit is directed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Sabine Knierbein. Since 2021, TU Wien’s new venia docendi in urban studies is connected to this research unit at the Faculty of Architecture and Planning. This venia also points to another institutional innovation as it symbolizes the first woman successfully applying to receive a venia docendi at the Institute of Spatial Planning as part of its 50years institutional history. In terms of contents, the unit contributes particularly political theory and cultural studies’ perspectives to explore patterns of urbanization on an international scale to the already existing bodies of social scientific knowledge at the Institute of Spatial Planning as regards socio-spatial praxis, empirical field work, methodology and theory . Two international educational and research projects are currently organized at the centre: An EU-financed Erasmus Mundus Design Measures (EMDM) Projekt called TACT-ICS as well as a research project called YOUTH which is funded by the Center for Society and Technology (CTS), alongside further project applications. In the realm of teaching, the research unit enhances the existing curriculum with further German- and English language courses at bachelor, master and doctorate levels.