SUSTAINABLE SUBURBIA (SUSI)

Comparative Analysis of the Socio-Spatial Development of Suburban Areas—Germany and Poland in the Context of Multiple Crises (SuSi)

NEWS/ Current Project Progress

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Topic

Suburban areas are an essential component of the interplay between urban and rural environments and have developed into important locations for work and residence in the 20th and 21st centuries. Nevertheless, suburban areas are often considered unsustainable in terms of social and environmental aspects and are associated with problems such as urban sprawl, increased traffic, environmental pollution, high infrastructure costs, social isolation, as well as segregation and intercultural conflicts.

Against this backdrop, the project aims to compare current suburbanization processes in Poland and Germany. The goal is to compare the spatial and social factors, stakeholders, and perspectives of suburban governance in Polish and German suburban communities. We aim to identify both common and locally specific political, market-based, and socio-economic factors and to understand how they shape the conditions of suburbanization in Polish and German metropolitan regions in the context of the polycrisis. In doing so, we will also examine conflicting objectives in the transition toward sustainability.

Project Duration

January 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028

Funding

This externally funded project is supported by the German-Polish Science Foundation.

Project Partners

Prof. Dr. Katarzyna Kajdanek, Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław // Principal Investigator (PI)

Dr. Dawid Krysiński, Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław

JProf. Dr.-Ing. Marcus Hübscher, Institute of Geography, Dresden University of Technology