The talk takes place in the frame of the international conference “StadtLand—from Thuringia to a Planetary Perspective,” jointly hosted by the International Building Exhibition (IBA) Thuringia and the Sino-German research project Urban Rural Assembly (URA).

The conference forms part of the exhibition Stadtland—Learning from Thuringia in the iconic Eiermann building in Apolda, where the IBA presents the results of its decennial project development process. Since 2019, the URA project has been conducting research on the development and planning of urban-rural regions in eastern China and Thuringia. Ongoing planetary urbanization and interconnection require a “Stadt-Land” perspective—one that focuses on the interrelationships and material cycles within larger territories, including both urban and rural areas. In this context, the “rural” areas become a critical resource for a more circular and climate-friendly future development. The Stadt-Land perspective thus calls for new societal practices fostering solidarity in the use of land, in addition to more resource-efficient construction and economic activities. To this end, IBA and its local partners have implemented model projects in Thuringia, while URA has investigated the rapid socio-spatial transformation processes which characterise an urban-rural region in the Chinese province of Zhejiang. Both projects work with “living labs” which support the development of strategies and tools for future change.

The conference opens new avenues of thought and action—from the current urbanisation tendencies in Thuringia and numerous other regions worldwide, to spatial visions and planning strategies toward sustainable urban-rural interrelations.