Thesis topics in connection with the project 'JUSTNature'

11.11.2024, Studentische Hilfskräfte, Praktikantenstellen, Studienarbeiten

The following are potential thesis or study project topics in connection with the action research project JUSTNature, where we are working closely with the City of Munich’s planning department.

The exact focus and methods can be adapted to each student’s research interests. The thesis may be written in English, however since this is qualitative, place-specific research in the city of Munich, German language skills are highly desirable in order to conduct interviews or surveys, depending on the exact methods selected.

If you are interested in one of these topics, please contact Eleanor Chapman eleanor.chapman@tum.de or Elizaveta Fakirova liza.fakirova@tum.de indicating which topics are of interest, and with a writing sample.

1. Care, conflict and justice in urban greening politics
Temporary urban greening experiments: are they capable of delivering genuine social benefits, such as a sense of community, connection with one another and with nature, and even a more democratic and equitable society? Or simply a waste of time and money? For urban greening projects to support a just socio-ecological transformation, planners and practitioners need to recognise their political context, along with corresponding power imbalances and conflicts between needs. In this regard, theories on justice, power and care (for other people and for more-than-human species) offer a framework for empirically analysing a process of planning, designing and caring for two temporary green space interventions in the city of Munich.
Possible methods: Case study analysis, document review, interviews (or survey), field diaries, observation.

2. Civil society engagement in nature-based solutions in Munich: current policies and opportunities for enhanced involvement
Which policies, regulations and guidelines regulate civil society to participate in shaping nature-based solutions at different stages (planning, implementation, and maintenance)? How do these documents enable or constrain involvement in decision-making? And what opportunities are there to increase participation?
Possible methods: desk research, document analysis based on a relevant theoretical framework, interviews or surveys with local stakeholders

3. Participatory urban greening beyond the usual suspects: arts and culture as tools to foster diverse engagement
What tools and methodologies from the art and cultural industries are currently used to engage different vulnerable actor groups in the planning, design, implementation and stewardship of urban green space? How could Munich's participation arrangements be reformed for better engagement?
Possible methods: Case study analysis, document review, interviews (or survey), analysis of successful case studies.

4. Greening experiments as catalysts for urban transformation
How can temporary greening interventions be transformed into permanent solutions which benefit different user groups and urban nature? Based on a greening experiment in Munich, what barriers and enablers can be observed? How can reflexive monitoring and evaluation support transformation?
Possible methods: Case study analysis, document review, interviews (or survey), field log, observation.

Kontakt: eleanor.chapman@tum.de and liza.fakirova@tum.de