Ecornet Berlin - "Wissen.Wandel.Berlin": Transdisciplinary research for a social and ecological metropolis

Metropolises like Berlin are facing immense ecological and social challenges in the 21st century. Climate change and resource consumption, but also demographic change and the upheavals caused by digital transformation demand new forms of economic activity and coexistence. Ecological and social issues must always be considered together: Necessary adaptations to protect the climate must be designed in a socially acceptable way, and new business models and innovations must not further damage the environment. The green and dynamic metropolis of Berlin offers all the prerequisites for taking on a pioneering role in this area. In this sense, the research project aims to set the course for the socio-ecological transformation in Berlin and to use the city’s innovation potential.

In the project “Wissen. Wandel. Berlin. – Transdisciplinary Research for a Social and Ecological Metropolis”, the research association Ecornet Berlin is developing recommendations for action with outstanding significance for Berlin’s sustainable urban development in the three thematic areas of climate change social, sustainable management and digital transformation. In this unique project, which bundles the knowledge and research competences of five Berlin institutes of transdisciplinary sustainability research, impulses for a social-ecological future of the metropolis Berlin are being developed.

The project “Heat turnaround in public non-residential buildings” is part of the Cluster climte change social. It is led by the department Energy Efficiency & Energy Transition and is being carried out in cooperation with the Öko-Institut. The digital transformation cluster includes the project Data Governance and Regulation for a Sustainable Berlin, which is being carried out by the Environmental Law & Participation Department in cooperation with the IZT and the Ecologic Institute and is managed by the Öko-Institut.

“The project Wissen. Wandel. Berlin. – Transdisciplinary Research for a Social and Ecological Metropolis” is carried out with the financial support of The Governing Mayor of Berlin -Senate Chancellery Higher Education and Research