Press reports on the EHSS I and EHSS II research projects

On 25 October, the “Flensburger Tageblatt” reported that Jacob Fielers from the architectural practice Cityförster had presented the latest planning status of the neighbourhood development to the City of Flensburg’s Design Advisory Board. During the presentation, the sequence of construction works and the expected completion of the neighbourhood in 15 years’ time were announced. The Cityförster architectural practice is collaborating on the master plan for the Hafen-Ost neighbourhood.

Both the Flensburger Tageblatt and the Flensborg Avis reported on 16 and 17 June on the second public consultation event for the future of Hafen-Ost, held on 15 June. At the event, planners presented the new draft of the master plan for the new neighbourhood and discussed it with interested members of the public.

In an article on tiny houses published on 21 May, the Flensborg Avis features an interview with Michaela Christ (NEC) on her assessment of tiny houses from a sustainability perspective. According to her, this form of housing does not contribute to reducing resource consumption, as these detached structures take up a relatively large amount of space.

On 10 August, the “Flensborg Avis” reported on the ‘sufficiency’ walking tour of Flensburg, which people can undertake individually using the Actionbound app. During the 1.5-kilometre walk, participants gain a better understanding of the concept of sufficiency and view the city from a sufficiency perspective. Levke Mahrt (NEC) helped to develop this walking tour.

On 7 January, *Schleswig-Holstein Magazin* reported on the Hafen-Ost urban development project, citing it as a model project for sustainable neighbourhoods that serves as an example for other towns. In particular, the article highlights the potential for reducing land sealing. Those quoted include Michaela Christ (NEC) and Henning Brüggemann (Mayor and Treasurer of Flensburg).

On 14 January, the German Association of Cities publishes a press release on the latest publication from the EHSS project: “How can less be enough? Sufficiency as a strategy for sustainable urban development”. It highlights in particular how the neglected sustainability strategy of sufficiency can be effectively implemented in urban development.

On 18 January, *Architekturblatt* reports on the latest publication under the headline “Cities in the fight against resource consumption and climate change: How can less be enough?”, highlighting in particular the potential of sufficiency-based sustainability strategies in urban development.

Under the title “Cities in the fight against resource consumption and climate change”, *UmweltDialog* highlighted the EHSS project’s publication on 22 January, describing the course of the interdisciplinary research project and the underlying research questions.

Under the title “Housing: Flensburg’s fight against land wastage”, the NDR’s Kulturjournal will report on 25 January on the housing shortage in Flensburg and sustainable solutions. Both Flensburg’s mayor, Hennig Brüggemann, and Bernd Sommer from the NEC will have their say.

On 25 January, the SHZ will also report on the project: “Study from Flensburg explains: Why frugality helps combat climate change”.

Under the title “News from the World of Science: Sufficiency as a Strategy for Sustainable Urban Development”, the innovation platform Zukunftsstadt reported on the EHSS research project on 24 February.

In its “News from the World of Science” section, the Postwachstum blog presented the EHSS project on 3 March under the title “Sufficiency – A Strategy for Sustainable Urban Development”, highlighting it as an innovative research project for sustainable urban development.

On 9 January, the *Flensburger Tageblatt* published an article entitled “New Paths at Hafen-Ost” about the EHSS project, with a particular focus on the imminent launch of the special public participation initiative.

On 12 January, the Wochenschau Flensburg highlighted the public city dialogue, which is being supported by the interdisciplinary EHSS research project.

MoinMoin also reported on 15 January on the “Hafen-Ost real-world laboratory” and described the process of the public participation format in great detail.

On 18 January, the Flensburger Tageblatt reports under the headline “A slightly different city dialogue” on the kick-off event for citizen participation in shaping a sustainable future for Hafen-Ost.

On 20 February, the Flensburger Tageblatt reported once again on the participation format of the city dialogue on Hafen-Ost.

Under the headline “City and University: How does less become enough?”, the Flensburger Tageblatt reported on 26 October on the transdisciplinary EHSS research project and highlighted the upcoming digital closing conference, at which the project’s findings will be presented to the public.

On 14 November, Spiegel Online published an article entitled “Less is hard. The battle against urban sprawl” on sustainable urban development practices, using the Hafen-Ost project in Flensburg as an example. Both Michaela Christ (NEC) and Henning Brüggemann (Mayor and Treasurer of Flensburg) are quoted in the article.

Under the headline “The City Becomes a Laboratory”, the Flensburger Tageblatt reported on 12 February on the progress of the research project and highlighted the start of the project’s practical phase, which involves a real-world laboratory in Flensburg.

On 6 July, the Weser Kurier published an interview with Bernd Sommer on sufficiency-oriented urban development.

In its news section on 4 October, the Flensburger Tageblatt referred to a public panel discussion organised by the EHSS project on the topic of citizen participation in urban planning processes.

Under the headline “When the common good matters”, Bernd Sommer and Svend Wippich were interviewed in the Flensburger Tageblatt’s Monday interview on 7 October on the topics of sustainability and the economy for the common good.

Under the headline “City invites public discussion”, the Flensborg Avis on 28 December highlighted a three-day public engagement event organised by the EHSS research project in January 2020. A sufficiency-oriented urban neighbourhood is to be developed in the Hafen-Ost regeneration area. Flensburg’s residents are invited to walk the site together with representatives from the city administration, politics and academia, and to develop and discuss ideas for sustainable design in various formats.

In the March issue of the magazine 54°Nord, Thomas Jüngling comments on the research project in an article entitled “Politics that lets you breathe”. The article provides a detailed overview of the concept of sufficiency and the project’s objectives. It also features an interview with Mayor Henning Brüggemann.

Under the headline “Norderstraße without parked cars”, our media partner, the Flensburger Tageblatt, reported on 31 May on the current progress of the project.

“Is it possible? Saving the world without making sacrifices” is the title of the article in which our media partner, the Flensburger Tageblatt, reported on the panel discussion held on Wednesday 13 June at Phänomenta Flensburg.

As part of the discussion series “Talking to the Left” on the independent radio station Kombinat Hamburg (FSK), a programme on the topic of “Degrowth through Sufficiency” took place on 29 June. Project staff member Leon Leuser discussed sufficiency and sufficiency policy with Andrea Vetter from Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie e.V. and Alexej Punjanski, a Master’s student in Professional Public Administration at the University of Bremen.

“Why does the car need a view of the water?” is the title of an interview conducted by Carlo Jolly of the Flensburger Tagblatt with Michaela Christ. In the interview, which appeared on 23 August, Michaela Christ discusses current approaches to a more sustainable Flensburg from the perspective of the research project.

The Flensburger Tageblatt reported on this in advance on 15 November 2017 under the headline “Funding for major ‘environmentally friendly city’ project”. The project is presented in more detail in a further article entitled “Flensburg researches against growth” in the 16 November edition.

The Flensborg Avis, a newspaper published in both Danish and German, summarised the project’s content following the press conference in its 16 November edition under the headline “City of Flensburg and University launch urban development project”.

Based on a dpa report, Tagesspiegel Background (“Cities arm themselves with research against climate change”), Focus Online (“Well-being without growth?”) and wetter.de also reported on the project’s launch.

In issue 04/17 of the scientific journal GAIA, Andreas Schmidt reports on the launch of the funding programme under the title “City of the Future: Research for climate-resilient, socio-ecologically just and liveable cities”. Our EHSS project is described there as one of the projects within the funding programme.