5.6.2026, Paper “Transdisciplinary research program ‘City of the Future …’ – an initiative for sustainable urban development” published today
In the peer-reviewed journal “Cities & Health” (Taylor and Francis), the English-language paper “Transdisciplinary research program ‘City of the Future – healthy and sustainable metropolises’ – an initiative for sustainable urban development” was published today. Authors: Rainer Fehr, Claudia Hornberg, Stefan Zerbe / In der fachbegutachteten Zeitschrift “Cities & Health” erschien heute das folgende englisch-sprachige Paper: Transdisciplinary research program ‘City of the Future – healthy and sustainable metropolises’ – an initiative for sustainable urban development [Transdisziplinäres Forschungsprogramm ‘Stadt der Zukunft – gesunde und nachhaltige Metropolen’ – eine Initiative für nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung”]. Autor:innen: Rainer Fehr, Claudia Hornberg, Stefan Zerbe [14-13].
Abstract. Launched in 2010, a dedicated program aims to develop an integrative approach for Sustainable Urban Health in Germany. The backbone are junior research groups, jointly supported by researchers and practitioners. While the scientific results were largely produced by PhD students and postdocs, a modular infrastructure has evolved to foster transdisciplinary exchange with the practice of Urban Health and to ensure continuity. This includes annual conferences, a bilingual website, and a series of book publications. The program succeeded in the transfer of scientific findings into practice and in generating a range of diverse spin-off developments, underlining the program’s fertility and value.
Keywords. Sustainable urban health; integrative program; transdisciplinary; synergy; urban planning.
Article History. Received 4 August 2025 Accepted 21 April 2026.
To cite this article: Rainer Fehr, Claudia Hornberg & Stefan Zerbe (05 Jun 2026): Transdisciplinary research program ‘City of the Future – healthy and sustainable metropolises’ – an initiative for sustainable urban development, Cities & Health, DOI: 10.1080/23748834.2026.2666488
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2026.2666488
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Paper structure:
- Urban context
- Research program
- Research groups
- Annual conferences ‘City of the Future’
- Institute for Urban Public Health (InUPH)
- Project ‘Building bridges between scientific disciplines and societal sectors’
- Spin-off initiatives
- Discussion and outlook.
Figures and tables:
- Figure 1. Components of the research program ‘City of the Future’, funded by the Fritz and Hildegard Berg Foundation within the German Stifterverband since 2011.
- Figure 2. Flyers of the (bi-)annual conferences within the “City of the Future” program.
- Table 1. Research groups (particularly JuFo = Junior research groups) funded by the Fritz and Hildegard Berg Foundation (German Stifterverband) since 2011.
- Table 2. Completed (German-language) PhD dissertations within the Junior research groups funded by the Berg Foundation, in chronological order.
- Table 3. Ten Conferences within the ‘City of the Future’ funding program of the Berg Foundation since 2011, which were organised annually by the funded research groups or by members of the scientific advisory board.
- Table 4. Published volumes of the ‘Sustainable Urban and Regional Health’ series (with original titles and in chronological order).
Cf.:
- 18 Nov 2025, Φ Urban Health discussion paper: Invitation to discuss / Impulspapier StadtGesundheit: Einladung zur Diskussion
- 25-26 Nov 2024, Φ♣ Wattenscheid: 10. Konferenz Stadt der Zukunft – Gesunde, nachhaltige Metropolen
- 12 Jul 2024, Φ Sustainable Urban & Regional Health / Nachhaltige Gesundheit in Stadt und Region, in PH Newsletter
- 4 Apr 2024, Φ Edition „Nachhaltige Gesundheit in Stadt und Region“ / “Sustainable Urban and Regional Health” series – Open for proposals
- 2 Jan 2023, Φ Project „Building bridges”: part VI / Projekt „Brückenbau“: Teil VI
- 23 Dec 2021, Φ Nachhaltige StadtGesundheit: Ansatz zur Vernetzung von Medizin und Gesundheitswissenschaften
Human ecology and health 