To content
Department of Social Sciences
Funded by the University Aliance Ruhr

Urban conflicts and property

Urban space is scarce, desired and in constant transition. But what are the factors that shape the faces of cities? And what role does private property play?

About the project:

The working group "Urban Conflicts and Property", led by Dr. Philipp Kadelke (TU Dortmund University), Dr. Jenny Künkel (University of Duisburg-Essen) and Dr. Nina Schuster (TU Dortmund University), focuses on the role of private property in conflicts over the use of urban space. Urban societies are facing a variety of recent challenges, such as housing shortages, land use conflicts, deficits in infrastructure and sustainability transformations. From a conflict theory perspective, we assume that not all voices in the city are heard equally, but that property owners (whether of land, residential or commercial real estate) have more opportunities to be heard. But what interests do they pursue? Are these interests always in opposition to those of non-owners? How can we trace the paths of power in the practice of configuring urban space? Our aim is a deeper understanding of these questions through empirical research, interdisciplinary networking and joint publications.

For a more detailed project description, please click here.

About the funding programme:

The PostdocLab program (based at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities in Essen) supports early career researchers from the University Alliance Ruhr. The program aims to provide financial support for cross-university working groups for a period of 18 months in order to pursue academic activities. Next to some empirical 

More information about the program can be found here

© College for Social Sciences and Humanities

Team

Project lead (TU Dortmund) Dr. Philipp Kadelke
Student assistant (TU Dortmund) Lorenzo Paciello

Presentations

2025 AG Stadtzukünfte (Heidelberg)  submitted
2025 DGS-Kongress (Duisburg) submitted
2025 Institut für Protest- und Bewegungsforschung (Bremen) planed