Samuel Mössner | Universität Münster (original) (raw)

Papers by Samuel Mössner

Springer eBooks, Aug 25, 2015

Ende der 1990er Jahre ruckte die Quartiersebene (wieder) in den Blick von Politik und Wissenschaf... more Ende der 1990er Jahre ruckte die Quartiersebene (wieder) in den Blick von Politik und Wissenschaft. Diese (Neu-)Ausrichtung war bedingt durch die Erkenntnis, dass „die Folgen der okonomischen und gesellschaftlichen Veranderungen am Ubergang ins 21. Jahrhundert“ (Kronauer/Vogel 2002: 1) vor allem in den Quartieren „wie in einem Brennglas“ (ebenda) bundelten. Nicht alle Menschen konnten von den Restrukturierungen stadtischer Arbeitsmarkte gleichermassen profitieren. Und durch die nicht-Integration in den (lokalen und geregelten) Arbeitsmarkt, nicht-Eingliederung in stabile, soziale Beziehungen und die Ausgrenzung gegenuber politischen Beteiligungsstrukturen verstarkten sich Exklusionsprozesse, in deren Folge Personen nicht nur raumlich an den Rand der Gesellschaft gedrangt wurden (Bohnke 2006).

Sub\urban, Jul 29, 2013

Die Darstellung aktueller neoliberaler Politik, wie sie im Beitrag von Margit Mayer dargelegt wir... more Die Darstellung aktueller neoliberaler Politik, wie sie im Beitrag von Margit Mayer dargelegt wird, gilt zumindest im Bereich der kritischen Stadtgeographie als eine Art Common Sense. Mit ihren Ausführungen trifft Margit Mayer daher auf breite Zustimmung. Interessant scheint es, die von ihr ausgeführte Konzeption von Neoliberalisierung auf ein konkretes, empirisches Beispiel anzuwenden, z. B. auf die Frage nach den Widersprüchen und Logiken nachhaltiger Entwicklung von Städten, die in der Literatur als Kritik am vorherrschenden "sustainable urban development" (vgl. Béal 2012; Krueger/Gibbs 2007) formuliert werden. Nicht nur in großen Metropolen, sondern auch in Klein-und Mittelstädten wie Freiburg i. Br. kann der von Margit Mayer dargelegte Prozess der Neoliberalisierung städtischer Politiken beobachtet werden. Die Herausforderung besteht dann darin, die Kritik gerade auch auf vermeintlich positive Entwicklungen, wie das Bemühen um eine Reduktion von CO2 in städtischen Agglomerationen, anzuwenden. Ich möchte meinen Kommentar zu Margit Mayers Beitrag daher gern am Beispiel der "Green City" Freiburg ausführen, um a) das große empirische Potential der von ihr verwendeten Konzeption von Neoliberalisierung aufzuzeigen und davon ausgehend b) nach der Krise des politischen Systems zu fragen. Ausgehend von den frühen Umwelt-und sozialen Bewegungen der 1970er Jahre, die erfolgreich die Errichtung eines AKWs im Umland der Stadt verhinderten, entwickelte sich in Freiburg ein komplexes System nachhaltiger Stadtentwicklungsprozesse und-ansätze, die u. a. ab Mitte der 1990er Jahre zur Errichtung des Öko-Quartiers Vauban und letztlich Anfang der 2010er Jahre zur weltweit ersten Umwandlung eines Gebäudes des sozialen Wohnungsbaus der 1970er Jahre zu einem Passivhochhaus führten. Die aus den sozialen Kämpfen stammenden "grünen" Werte und Forderungen gelten heute als gesellschaftlicher Konsens der Stadtpolitik. Sowohl in ihrem Image als auch belegt durch wissenschaftliche Studien (vgl. Newman et al. 2009) scheint die Stadt Freiburg Ökologie, Ökonomie und Soziales erfolgreich zu einer grünen Stadtpolitik zu vereinen, die auf einer breiten partizipatorischen Basis aufbaut. Neben der technischen Machbarkeit stehen im Zentrum des Nachhaltigkeitsverständnisses Neoliberalisierung als Gesellschaftskrise Kommentar zu Margit Mayers "Urbane soziale Bewegungen in der neoliberalisierenden Stadt"

DIE ERDE – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin, Oct 1, 2015

In recent years, sustainable urban development has emerged as a relevant but contested field in u... more In recent years, sustainable urban development has emerged as a relevant but contested field in urban studies. A broad and diverse literature has discussed sustainable development from various perspectives. Some authors have researched urban sustainability from a technocratic perspective, looking for technical and managerial solutions. Others have shed light on the political dimension of urban sustainable development in our times of urban neoliberalization. This branch of literature focuses on the problematic relationship between market-oriented growth on the one hand and aspects of equality and justice on the other hand, which come along with the idea of sustainability. This article argues that the professionalization and new forms of urban management, as well as a shift towards urban governance and citizens' participation have intensified consensual practices of urban regulation. Sustainable politics that have occurred in many cities around the world place emphasis on justice, tolerance and participation as the principal drivers for urban development. Empirical evidence shows, however, that these goals are subjugated to economic growth. Drawing on empirical work carried out in Freiburg, Germany-a city long hailed as a forerunner of urban sustainable development-this article promotes the opinion that the idea of 'sustainable development' in its current form is nothing more than an oxymoron, aimed and invented as a fuzzy concept in order to disguise the fundamentalist believe in growth that lies beyond such development.

Urban Studies, Jun 9, 2020

Drawing on empirical research carried out in the metropolitan regions of Freiburg, Germany, and C... more Drawing on empirical research carried out in the metropolitan regions of Freiburg, Germany, and Calgary, Canada, we reposition the sustainability policies of municipalities within a wider regional and relational framework. This perspective reveals significant epistemological blind spots in the localist and non-relational ontologies that undergird much of the urban sustainability discourse. While the city of Freiburg has garnered worldwide attention for its multi-faceted initiatives and achievements in sustainable urban development, these initiatives have yet to be coherently addressed in the wider Freiburg metropolitan region, leading to a variety of policies and practices in the hinterland that run counter to Freiburg's 'green city' objectives. In a parallel fashion, the city of Calgary incorporated significant sustainability principles in its 2009 Master Development Plan and Transportation Plan-'Plan-It'-yet such principles have not been taken up on a regional scale. Despite substantial differences in size and developmental history, both cities exhibit a profound disconnection from their regional contexts with regard to sustainable development policies and politics. In both metropolitan regions, conventional growth politics are still paramount. A significant conflict emerges between 'sustainable' central cities seeking a 'sustainability fix' to their fiscal, environmental and quality of life problems, and more remote jurisdictions seeking to attract investment through low tax regimes and limited development regulation-what we label a 'counter-sustainability fix'. These contrasting and dialectically related policies have substantial consequences for the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, calling into question policies that promote 'sustainability in one place'.

Policy Press eBooks, Jul 10, 2019

This chapter critically approaches the role of academic knowledge. This plays a crucial role in t... more This chapter critically approaches the role of academic knowledge. This plays a crucial role in the process of development, identification, and evaluation of the so-called ‘best-practices’ of urban planning worldwide. The chapter takes this focus in order to problematise the normative force that academic knowledge can have and argues that it may contribute to the post-politicisation rather than to contest and reframe practices of urban planning. To substantiate the arguments, the chapter draws on the city of Freiburg in Germany. Despite its severe problems and challenges related to social justice and social equality, this city is widely hailed as a best-practice for sustainable urban development in much of the contemporary academic literature on this issue.

Springer eBooks, Sep 5, 2015

Aus sozialgeographischer Perspektive ist es interessant zu beobachten, wie Menschen innerhalb von... more Aus sozialgeographischer Perspektive ist es interessant zu beobachten, wie Menschen innerhalb von Gesellschaften – in sozialer, aber auch in raumlicher Hinsicht – ihren Platz finden bzw. wie ihnen dieser Platz zugewiesen wird. Wie und weshalb kommt es zu einer Herausbildung von sozialen Gruppen und wie vollziehen sich Prozesse der sozialraumlichen Ausdifferenzierung? In diesem Kapitel soll gezeigt werden, wie eine sozialgeographische Perspektive dazu beitragen kann, Mensch und Gesellschaft in deren wechselseitigen Bezugen zur raumlichen Umwelt zu untersuchen. Zunachst werden einige Grundbegriffe der Sozialgeographie vorgestellt. Anschliesend werden Entwicklungslinien und theoretische Perspektiven der Sozialgeographie skizziert, bevor anhand einer Reihe von Beispielen nachvollzogen werden kann, wie es zur sozialen Differenzierung kommt und welche Rolle dabei raumbezogene Aspekte spielen.

Policy Press eBooks, Jun 1, 2019

VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften eBooks, 2009

In fünf Quartieren in Mailand wurde zwischen den Jahren 2003/2004 ein integriertes Entwicklungspr... more In fünf Quartieren in Mailand wurde zwischen den Jahren 2003/2004 ein integriertes Entwicklungsprogramm initiiert, betitelt als „Quartiersvertrag “(Contratto di Quartiere II) 1. Ziel dieses nationalen Förderprogramms ist die Verbesserung der allgemeinen, sozialen ...

Regional Studies, Dec 8, 2015

Mössner S. Sustainable urban development as consensual practice: post-politics in Freiburg, Germa... more Mössner S. Sustainable urban development as consensual practice: post-politics in Freiburg, Germany, Regional Studies. This article starts with the premise that eco-cities are and reflect political processes. Consequently, eco-city models are not objective manuals to a more sustainable urban world, but depend from political context. Drawing on empirical insights from the sustainable urban development in Freiburg, Germany, this article first traces the political process of modelling urban sustainability, and then shows how consensus-building appears as a political strategy whose aim is to depoliticize sustainable urban development and to relocate political decisions made in this context outside societal debate. The article contributes to a perspective that highlights the political dimension of urban sustainability.

Local Environment, Jan 27, 2014

ABSTRACT The solar settlement (Solarsiedlung) in Freiburg, Germany, has been widely hailed as an ... more ABSTRACT The solar settlement (Solarsiedlung) in Freiburg, Germany, has been widely hailed as an eco-city or green city neighbourhood and a blueprint for sustainable urban development. However, as there is a noticeable lack of critical analysis of what constitutes Solarsiedlung as an “eco-city”, this paper studies narratives and practices of sustainable urban development. First, we look at Solarsiedlung as a best-practice model – a narrative that was produced and perpetuated by architects, urban planners, investors and academics celebrating this neighbourhood as a technologically leapfrogging, economically sound and socially integrated project. Second, we explore the everyday practices and lived experience of the residents in Solarsiedlung. Bringing together these two perspectives, we contribute to a more comprehensive understanding and critical reading of the interplay between the ecological, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development as seen from different viewpoints. Findings indicate that Solarsiedlung as a best-practice model is embedded in growth-oriented neoliberal strategies that are in conflict with the everyday practices and lived experience of the residents. Our findings put into question the widely assumed transferability of best-practice models in sustainable urban development.

Quaestiones Geographicae, Dec 1, 2014

This paper approaches the global city concept from a local perspective taking into account the po... more This paper approaches the global city concept from a local perspective taking into account the political action of local elites in times of urban neoliberalisation. Drawing on the empirical research carried out in Frankfurt (Main), we argue that the very beginnings of the global city formation were less a result of global processes superseding local ones, as is often argued, but rather emerged out of local political action contested by local protests. In the first part, we will revisit the global city concept and contrast it against a critique of urban neoliberalisation. The second focuses on reviewing the history of urban restructuring in the Frankfurt Westend during the 1960s and 1970s. We suggest that the transformation of the Westend into a "strategic site of global control" (Sassen 2011) has been constructed as a narrative in order to legitimise local forms of real estate speculation, marketisation of commodification. Our paper tries to unfold the logics and strategies of such neoliberal urbanisation by critically reflecting upon historical events since the 1960s.

Regions Magazine, Dec 1, 2015

Environment and Planning A, Jul 17, 2017

Urban areas are increasingly recognized as strategic sites to address climate change and environm... more Urban areas are increasingly recognized as strategic sites to address climate change and environmental issues. Specific urban projects are marketed as innovative solutions and best-practice examples, and so-called green cities, eco-cities and sustainable cities have emerged worldwide as leading paradigms in urban planning and policy discourse. The transformation of cities into eco-cities (Kenworthy, 2006; Roseland, 1997) is often based on big data and-widely varying-indicators that should proof the success of urban climate governance (Bulkeley, 2010). The European Commission with its 'Green Capital' program, Britain's 'Sustainable City Index', France's 'EcoCite´' scheme, the US-American's 'Greenest City' ranking developed by WalletHub's, the US and Canada 'Green City Index' sponsored by Siemens-these programs are all examples of public and private initiatives aimed at identifying and ranking the 'greenest' city or cities according to a competitive rationality. They are mostly quantitative approaches, based on 'hard' and 'scientific' indicators that allow cities to be compared according to their efforts in sustainable urban development. Using these indicators, cities worldwide have increasingly promoted sustainability initiatives in order to position themselves advantageously on the global scene (Chang and Sheppard, 2013; Cugurullo, 2013; Swyngedouw and Kaika, 2014; While et al., 2004). These urban ranking efforts tie into the fact that sustainability has become a metaconsensual policy term (Gill et al., 2012), resting upon broad support from diverse sectors of society. Promoted at first as a way of bringing forward an ecological urban agenda connected to social development, sustainability has lost much of its transformative potential. By now, even car manufacturing in Germany, oil pipelines in Alberta, Canada and nuclear power plants worldwide are being politically justified with reference to sustainability and climate change prevention. Despite controversial national positions regarding the processes, pace and extend of implementing environmental policies-a divergence that became very evident, for example, during the 2009 United Nations

Policy Press eBooks, Jul 10, 2019

transcript Verlag eBooks, Nov 5, 2021

Standort, Jul 23, 2019

Zusammenfassung Angesichts eines seit Jahren tiefgreifenden Strukturwandels in Schleswig-Holstein... more Zusammenfassung Angesichts eines seit Jahren tiefgreifenden Strukturwandels in Schleswig-Holstein stehen die Regionen vor besonderen Herausforderungen. Im Wettbewerb um Arbeitsplätze, Fachkräfte und EinwohnerInnen sollen sie attraktiv gestaltet werden. Der Regionalentwicklung wird hierbei eine entscheidende Rolle zugeschrieben, um die endogenen Potenziale der Regionen herauszuarbeiten. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, dass diese Aufgabe-so einfach sie in der Theorie klingen mag-in der Praxis weniger eindeutig greif-und umsetzbar ist. Von im Laufe der Zeit veränderten Rahmenbedingungen der Regionalentwicklung ausgehend werden die Komplexität der Zusammenhänge sowie die Grenzen der Handlungsmöglichkeiten anhand zweier Beispiele aus Schleswig-Holstein aufgezeigt.

Geographische Zeitschrift, 2012

Frontiers in Sustainable Cities

In the discursive battle about the big and important ideas, some topics are considered more impor... more In the discursive battle about the big and important ideas, some topics are considered more important than others and more likely to mobilize society. More recently, marine plastic pollution has become a key topic for environmental movements. In this study, we aimed to contribute to a more detailed understanding of how specific issues of sustainability are brought forth. Conceptually, we argue that recourse to relational theories from science and technology studies might help to strengthen the conceptualization of social movement research. By drawing on the concept of “boundary objects”, we extend the range of social movement approaches in order to better understand how the process of framing is put to work materially. The focus on boundary objects can therefore explain the selective formation of environmental discourses and policies when applied to the field of environmental protection and sustainability.

Geographische Zeitschrift

Springer eBooks, Aug 25, 2015

Ende der 1990er Jahre ruckte die Quartiersebene (wieder) in den Blick von Politik und Wissenschaf... more Ende der 1990er Jahre ruckte die Quartiersebene (wieder) in den Blick von Politik und Wissenschaft. Diese (Neu-)Ausrichtung war bedingt durch die Erkenntnis, dass „die Folgen der okonomischen und gesellschaftlichen Veranderungen am Ubergang ins 21. Jahrhundert“ (Kronauer/Vogel 2002: 1) vor allem in den Quartieren „wie in einem Brennglas“ (ebenda) bundelten. Nicht alle Menschen konnten von den Restrukturierungen stadtischer Arbeitsmarkte gleichermassen profitieren. Und durch die nicht-Integration in den (lokalen und geregelten) Arbeitsmarkt, nicht-Eingliederung in stabile, soziale Beziehungen und die Ausgrenzung gegenuber politischen Beteiligungsstrukturen verstarkten sich Exklusionsprozesse, in deren Folge Personen nicht nur raumlich an den Rand der Gesellschaft gedrangt wurden (Bohnke 2006).

Sub\urban, Jul 29, 2013

Die Darstellung aktueller neoliberaler Politik, wie sie im Beitrag von Margit Mayer dargelegt wir... more Die Darstellung aktueller neoliberaler Politik, wie sie im Beitrag von Margit Mayer dargelegt wird, gilt zumindest im Bereich der kritischen Stadtgeographie als eine Art Common Sense. Mit ihren Ausführungen trifft Margit Mayer daher auf breite Zustimmung. Interessant scheint es, die von ihr ausgeführte Konzeption von Neoliberalisierung auf ein konkretes, empirisches Beispiel anzuwenden, z. B. auf die Frage nach den Widersprüchen und Logiken nachhaltiger Entwicklung von Städten, die in der Literatur als Kritik am vorherrschenden "sustainable urban development" (vgl. Béal 2012; Krueger/Gibbs 2007) formuliert werden. Nicht nur in großen Metropolen, sondern auch in Klein-und Mittelstädten wie Freiburg i. Br. kann der von Margit Mayer dargelegte Prozess der Neoliberalisierung städtischer Politiken beobachtet werden. Die Herausforderung besteht dann darin, die Kritik gerade auch auf vermeintlich positive Entwicklungen, wie das Bemühen um eine Reduktion von CO2 in städtischen Agglomerationen, anzuwenden. Ich möchte meinen Kommentar zu Margit Mayers Beitrag daher gern am Beispiel der "Green City" Freiburg ausführen, um a) das große empirische Potential der von ihr verwendeten Konzeption von Neoliberalisierung aufzuzeigen und davon ausgehend b) nach der Krise des politischen Systems zu fragen. Ausgehend von den frühen Umwelt-und sozialen Bewegungen der 1970er Jahre, die erfolgreich die Errichtung eines AKWs im Umland der Stadt verhinderten, entwickelte sich in Freiburg ein komplexes System nachhaltiger Stadtentwicklungsprozesse und-ansätze, die u. a. ab Mitte der 1990er Jahre zur Errichtung des Öko-Quartiers Vauban und letztlich Anfang der 2010er Jahre zur weltweit ersten Umwandlung eines Gebäudes des sozialen Wohnungsbaus der 1970er Jahre zu einem Passivhochhaus führten. Die aus den sozialen Kämpfen stammenden "grünen" Werte und Forderungen gelten heute als gesellschaftlicher Konsens der Stadtpolitik. Sowohl in ihrem Image als auch belegt durch wissenschaftliche Studien (vgl. Newman et al. 2009) scheint die Stadt Freiburg Ökologie, Ökonomie und Soziales erfolgreich zu einer grünen Stadtpolitik zu vereinen, die auf einer breiten partizipatorischen Basis aufbaut. Neben der technischen Machbarkeit stehen im Zentrum des Nachhaltigkeitsverständnisses Neoliberalisierung als Gesellschaftskrise Kommentar zu Margit Mayers "Urbane soziale Bewegungen in der neoliberalisierenden Stadt"

DIE ERDE – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin, Oct 1, 2015

In recent years, sustainable urban development has emerged as a relevant but contested field in u... more In recent years, sustainable urban development has emerged as a relevant but contested field in urban studies. A broad and diverse literature has discussed sustainable development from various perspectives. Some authors have researched urban sustainability from a technocratic perspective, looking for technical and managerial solutions. Others have shed light on the political dimension of urban sustainable development in our times of urban neoliberalization. This branch of literature focuses on the problematic relationship between market-oriented growth on the one hand and aspects of equality and justice on the other hand, which come along with the idea of sustainability. This article argues that the professionalization and new forms of urban management, as well as a shift towards urban governance and citizens' participation have intensified consensual practices of urban regulation. Sustainable politics that have occurred in many cities around the world place emphasis on justice, tolerance and participation as the principal drivers for urban development. Empirical evidence shows, however, that these goals are subjugated to economic growth. Drawing on empirical work carried out in Freiburg, Germany-a city long hailed as a forerunner of urban sustainable development-this article promotes the opinion that the idea of 'sustainable development' in its current form is nothing more than an oxymoron, aimed and invented as a fuzzy concept in order to disguise the fundamentalist believe in growth that lies beyond such development.

Urban Studies, Jun 9, 2020

Drawing on empirical research carried out in the metropolitan regions of Freiburg, Germany, and C... more Drawing on empirical research carried out in the metropolitan regions of Freiburg, Germany, and Calgary, Canada, we reposition the sustainability policies of municipalities within a wider regional and relational framework. This perspective reveals significant epistemological blind spots in the localist and non-relational ontologies that undergird much of the urban sustainability discourse. While the city of Freiburg has garnered worldwide attention for its multi-faceted initiatives and achievements in sustainable urban development, these initiatives have yet to be coherently addressed in the wider Freiburg metropolitan region, leading to a variety of policies and practices in the hinterland that run counter to Freiburg's 'green city' objectives. In a parallel fashion, the city of Calgary incorporated significant sustainability principles in its 2009 Master Development Plan and Transportation Plan-'Plan-It'-yet such principles have not been taken up on a regional scale. Despite substantial differences in size and developmental history, both cities exhibit a profound disconnection from their regional contexts with regard to sustainable development policies and politics. In both metropolitan regions, conventional growth politics are still paramount. A significant conflict emerges between 'sustainable' central cities seeking a 'sustainability fix' to their fiscal, environmental and quality of life problems, and more remote jurisdictions seeking to attract investment through low tax regimes and limited development regulation-what we label a 'counter-sustainability fix'. These contrasting and dialectically related policies have substantial consequences for the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, calling into question policies that promote 'sustainability in one place'.

Policy Press eBooks, Jul 10, 2019

This chapter critically approaches the role of academic knowledge. This plays a crucial role in t... more This chapter critically approaches the role of academic knowledge. This plays a crucial role in the process of development, identification, and evaluation of the so-called ‘best-practices’ of urban planning worldwide. The chapter takes this focus in order to problematise the normative force that academic knowledge can have and argues that it may contribute to the post-politicisation rather than to contest and reframe practices of urban planning. To substantiate the arguments, the chapter draws on the city of Freiburg in Germany. Despite its severe problems and challenges related to social justice and social equality, this city is widely hailed as a best-practice for sustainable urban development in much of the contemporary academic literature on this issue.

Springer eBooks, Sep 5, 2015

Aus sozialgeographischer Perspektive ist es interessant zu beobachten, wie Menschen innerhalb von... more Aus sozialgeographischer Perspektive ist es interessant zu beobachten, wie Menschen innerhalb von Gesellschaften – in sozialer, aber auch in raumlicher Hinsicht – ihren Platz finden bzw. wie ihnen dieser Platz zugewiesen wird. Wie und weshalb kommt es zu einer Herausbildung von sozialen Gruppen und wie vollziehen sich Prozesse der sozialraumlichen Ausdifferenzierung? In diesem Kapitel soll gezeigt werden, wie eine sozialgeographische Perspektive dazu beitragen kann, Mensch und Gesellschaft in deren wechselseitigen Bezugen zur raumlichen Umwelt zu untersuchen. Zunachst werden einige Grundbegriffe der Sozialgeographie vorgestellt. Anschliesend werden Entwicklungslinien und theoretische Perspektiven der Sozialgeographie skizziert, bevor anhand einer Reihe von Beispielen nachvollzogen werden kann, wie es zur sozialen Differenzierung kommt und welche Rolle dabei raumbezogene Aspekte spielen.

Policy Press eBooks, Jun 1, 2019

VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften eBooks, 2009

In fünf Quartieren in Mailand wurde zwischen den Jahren 2003/2004 ein integriertes Entwicklungspr... more In fünf Quartieren in Mailand wurde zwischen den Jahren 2003/2004 ein integriertes Entwicklungsprogramm initiiert, betitelt als „Quartiersvertrag “(Contratto di Quartiere II) 1. Ziel dieses nationalen Förderprogramms ist die Verbesserung der allgemeinen, sozialen ...

Regional Studies, Dec 8, 2015

Mössner S. Sustainable urban development as consensual practice: post-politics in Freiburg, Germa... more Mössner S. Sustainable urban development as consensual practice: post-politics in Freiburg, Germany, Regional Studies. This article starts with the premise that eco-cities are and reflect political processes. Consequently, eco-city models are not objective manuals to a more sustainable urban world, but depend from political context. Drawing on empirical insights from the sustainable urban development in Freiburg, Germany, this article first traces the political process of modelling urban sustainability, and then shows how consensus-building appears as a political strategy whose aim is to depoliticize sustainable urban development and to relocate political decisions made in this context outside societal debate. The article contributes to a perspective that highlights the political dimension of urban sustainability.

Local Environment, Jan 27, 2014

ABSTRACT The solar settlement (Solarsiedlung) in Freiburg, Germany, has been widely hailed as an ... more ABSTRACT The solar settlement (Solarsiedlung) in Freiburg, Germany, has been widely hailed as an eco-city or green city neighbourhood and a blueprint for sustainable urban development. However, as there is a noticeable lack of critical analysis of what constitutes Solarsiedlung as an “eco-city”, this paper studies narratives and practices of sustainable urban development. First, we look at Solarsiedlung as a best-practice model – a narrative that was produced and perpetuated by architects, urban planners, investors and academics celebrating this neighbourhood as a technologically leapfrogging, economically sound and socially integrated project. Second, we explore the everyday practices and lived experience of the residents in Solarsiedlung. Bringing together these two perspectives, we contribute to a more comprehensive understanding and critical reading of the interplay between the ecological, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development as seen from different viewpoints. Findings indicate that Solarsiedlung as a best-practice model is embedded in growth-oriented neoliberal strategies that are in conflict with the everyday practices and lived experience of the residents. Our findings put into question the widely assumed transferability of best-practice models in sustainable urban development.

Quaestiones Geographicae, Dec 1, 2014

This paper approaches the global city concept from a local perspective taking into account the po... more This paper approaches the global city concept from a local perspective taking into account the political action of local elites in times of urban neoliberalisation. Drawing on the empirical research carried out in Frankfurt (Main), we argue that the very beginnings of the global city formation were less a result of global processes superseding local ones, as is often argued, but rather emerged out of local political action contested by local protests. In the first part, we will revisit the global city concept and contrast it against a critique of urban neoliberalisation. The second focuses on reviewing the history of urban restructuring in the Frankfurt Westend during the 1960s and 1970s. We suggest that the transformation of the Westend into a "strategic site of global control" (Sassen 2011) has been constructed as a narrative in order to legitimise local forms of real estate speculation, marketisation of commodification. Our paper tries to unfold the logics and strategies of such neoliberal urbanisation by critically reflecting upon historical events since the 1960s.

Regions Magazine, Dec 1, 2015

Environment and Planning A, Jul 17, 2017

Urban areas are increasingly recognized as strategic sites to address climate change and environm... more Urban areas are increasingly recognized as strategic sites to address climate change and environmental issues. Specific urban projects are marketed as innovative solutions and best-practice examples, and so-called green cities, eco-cities and sustainable cities have emerged worldwide as leading paradigms in urban planning and policy discourse. The transformation of cities into eco-cities (Kenworthy, 2006; Roseland, 1997) is often based on big data and-widely varying-indicators that should proof the success of urban climate governance (Bulkeley, 2010). The European Commission with its 'Green Capital' program, Britain's 'Sustainable City Index', France's 'EcoCite´' scheme, the US-American's 'Greenest City' ranking developed by WalletHub's, the US and Canada 'Green City Index' sponsored by Siemens-these programs are all examples of public and private initiatives aimed at identifying and ranking the 'greenest' city or cities according to a competitive rationality. They are mostly quantitative approaches, based on 'hard' and 'scientific' indicators that allow cities to be compared according to their efforts in sustainable urban development. Using these indicators, cities worldwide have increasingly promoted sustainability initiatives in order to position themselves advantageously on the global scene (Chang and Sheppard, 2013; Cugurullo, 2013; Swyngedouw and Kaika, 2014; While et al., 2004). These urban ranking efforts tie into the fact that sustainability has become a metaconsensual policy term (Gill et al., 2012), resting upon broad support from diverse sectors of society. Promoted at first as a way of bringing forward an ecological urban agenda connected to social development, sustainability has lost much of its transformative potential. By now, even car manufacturing in Germany, oil pipelines in Alberta, Canada and nuclear power plants worldwide are being politically justified with reference to sustainability and climate change prevention. Despite controversial national positions regarding the processes, pace and extend of implementing environmental policies-a divergence that became very evident, for example, during the 2009 United Nations

Policy Press eBooks, Jul 10, 2019

transcript Verlag eBooks, Nov 5, 2021

Standort, Jul 23, 2019

Zusammenfassung Angesichts eines seit Jahren tiefgreifenden Strukturwandels in Schleswig-Holstein... more Zusammenfassung Angesichts eines seit Jahren tiefgreifenden Strukturwandels in Schleswig-Holstein stehen die Regionen vor besonderen Herausforderungen. Im Wettbewerb um Arbeitsplätze, Fachkräfte und EinwohnerInnen sollen sie attraktiv gestaltet werden. Der Regionalentwicklung wird hierbei eine entscheidende Rolle zugeschrieben, um die endogenen Potenziale der Regionen herauszuarbeiten. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, dass diese Aufgabe-so einfach sie in der Theorie klingen mag-in der Praxis weniger eindeutig greif-und umsetzbar ist. Von im Laufe der Zeit veränderten Rahmenbedingungen der Regionalentwicklung ausgehend werden die Komplexität der Zusammenhänge sowie die Grenzen der Handlungsmöglichkeiten anhand zweier Beispiele aus Schleswig-Holstein aufgezeigt.

Geographische Zeitschrift, 2012

Frontiers in Sustainable Cities

In the discursive battle about the big and important ideas, some topics are considered more impor... more In the discursive battle about the big and important ideas, some topics are considered more important than others and more likely to mobilize society. More recently, marine plastic pollution has become a key topic for environmental movements. In this study, we aimed to contribute to a more detailed understanding of how specific issues of sustainability are brought forth. Conceptually, we argue that recourse to relational theories from science and technology studies might help to strengthen the conceptualization of social movement research. By drawing on the concept of “boundary objects”, we extend the range of social movement approaches in order to better understand how the process of framing is put to work materially. The focus on boundary objects can therefore explain the selective formation of environmental discourses and policies when applied to the field of environmental protection and sustainability.

Geographische Zeitschrift