How it began
OIKODROM – The Vienna Institute for Urban Sustainability is a private research institute founded in 1994, working at the interface of scientific research, art and participation.
Since over 20 years, OIKODROM leads and contributes to large, medium and small scale projects in various geographical contexts – from Europe to China and the MENA region – in the field of sustainability education and research, sustainable urban planning and regional development as well as inclusive governance and citizen participation.
We follow a concept of sustainability and create mental and physical spaces to generate future images and strategies for human settlements where desirable change can come about. We develop new formats for sustainability education both in the academic context and for and with civil society, with the aim of connecting different communities to create systemic knowledge. We contribute to the systemic knowledge production and to the participatory implementation of sustainability processes.
Approach: interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, multicultural research
Research Fields: Sustainability education and research, urban and regional planning and development, inclusive governance and citizen participation, visual sociology, gender studies, interdisciplinary generation of knowledge, scenario making
Methodology
– Assessments on societal and environmental systems– Inter- and transdisciplinary work at the interface of scientific research, art and participation
– Combining local and scientific expert knowledge to assure sustainability-oriented solutions
– Sociological analyses with stakeholders on desirable future scenarios