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Laser scan data, terrain models, land registers, land-use data – the academic, business and public sectors collect and compile data on a massive scale. And make it openly available. But how can the available data be used to generate added value for society and science – and not just by experts? The current spring series of the IOER Forum explores this question under the heading “Geodata – making it usable and accessible. Unlocking the potential for sustainable change”.

How can the transition to a climate-neutral city be achieved, and what role do knowledge-sharing and collaboration between numerous stakeholders from various sectors of urban society play in this process? For four years, the TRUST project has been addressing this question in the city of Görlitz. Under the leadership of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Transformative Urban Regeneration (IZS), people from Görlitz worked closely together on the project to make the city fit for the future. The experiences gained have been documented in various publications. These are intended to help everyone…

With “NEXtra – Resource Nexus for Sustainability Transformations”, the IOER, together with the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) and the TUD Dresden University of Technology, is offering a scholarship programme for doctoral students. The programme is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of the EPOS (Development-Related Postgraduate Courses) programme. Interested parties from the Global South can apply until 12 April.

Who uses the space – and how is this communicated digitally? A new analysis by the IOER, developed in close collaboration with Prof. Catrin Schmidt from the Institute of Landscape Architecture at TUD Dresden University of Technology, visualises over 66 million public social media posts from 15 years. The result is a high-resolution map of Germany that shows where locals relax and which destinations tourists like to visit. The map was published in the December issue of “Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung” (Nature Conservation and Landscape Planning). The underlying anonymised data is made…

In November 2025, Prof. Dr. David Manuel-Navarrete from the Arizona State University (ASU) visited the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) as a participant in the IOER Fellowship Programme. At ASU's School of Sustainability, David Manuel-Navarrete conducts research on inner-outer sustainability. This research explores how shifts in individual and collective mindsets can drive systemic change, integrating subjective transformations with structural actions to address complex environmental challenges. In this interview, he explains this research approach in more…

The journal “Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning (RuR),” published by oekom and co-edited by the IOER, is taking the next step on its golden path of publication practice. From 2026, it will be published as a Diamond Open Access journal.

What do the 96 research institutions of the Leibniz Association have in common with the goal of sustainability? A new ‘Sustainability Mission Statement’ makes the concept more tangible for the institutes, identifies courses of action and serves as a guide for the implementation process. It replaces the 2019 mission statement.

The joint funding of the IOER in Dresden by the federal and state governments is to be continued in the coming years. This is the recommendation of the Senate of the Leibniz Association based on the current evaluation of the institute by external experts. The Leibniz Senate published its statement on this matter after its meeting in Berlin on 3 December. The funding requirements can be reviewed again after the standard seven-year cycle.