SONa

Cities are subject to constant change. The Corona pandemic and its impact on society and the economy have brought to the fore further demands for the management of limited space in urban areas. Concerns that city centers could lose their function are manifold and ubiquitous - both in local urban development strategies and across cities. In the project "City Centers as Places of Sustainable Consumption – Post-Corona Times as an Opportunity for Future Consumer Cultures" (SONa), project participants are therefore exploring the role of sustainable consumption in promoting sustainable urban development. The project aims not only to maintain or enhance the quality of stay in city centers and town centers, but also to establish and strengthen sustainable consumption patterns locally at the same time. The project focuses on the purchase of products and services in trade and commerce in city centers as well as on other areas of need such as mobility, housing, leisure activities and work.

The Wuppertal Institute is leading the project and is working on the work packages for the systematic analysis of the status quo, the implementation and scientific monitoring of two pilot projects in urban areas, and the political recommendations. For the cooperation with municipalities and cities, they use the concept of transformative research in real-world laboratories. In pilot projects, interventions on sustainable consumption and inner-city (re)revitalization will be implemented.  Finally, the process and the results will be evaluated in terms of transfer, dissemination and policy recommendations, as well as in terms of the sustainability potential in the municipality and the region.