Openness is at the center of current societal debates when issues of belonging, security and resource distribution are being negotiated. In the light of insecurity and uncertainty regarding future developments, current societal debates point towards new lines of conflict regarding „openness“ and „closure“ within urban areas. Openness has interlinked dimensions: the physical openness of space, institutional openness, the openness of social, economic and ecological systems, and responsiveness to future change.

“OFFENE STADT: Theorien, Perspektiven, Instrumente” is a  joint inter- and transdisciplinary research project by TU Braunschweig, TU Dortmund and the German Institute of Urban Affairs, in cooperation with the Senate of the City of Berlin and supported by a renowned advisory board, and funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation.