Spatial transformation – processes, strategies, research designs

Spatial transformation: Processes, strategies, research design
What can be understood by spatial transformation, how does it manifest itself and
what are the characteristics of transformation processes? This Research Report addresses
these questions and presents current research projects and approaches from
an academic and practical (planning) perspective.
A central point of reference is the concept of a ‘Great Transformation’, which stems
from an expert report by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). It
outlines the profound changes in the economy and society towards sustainability that
will become necessary in the future, describing them as a ‘Great Transformation’. Likewise,
social upheavals also manifest themselves in space, enabling spatial changes to
be understood as spatial transformations. However, on a detailed level it remains unclear
what is to be understood by spatial transformation processes and how they
manifest themselves.
Against the background of this need for (further) research, this Research Report addresses
concrete issues in the research and shaping of spatial transformation processes.
The aim is to systematise the largely unordered or disordered knowledge of
spatial transformation processes and to contribute to a common understanding of
the associated concepts, which can form the basis for further research and for the
steering of these processes.