IPS (International Planning Studies), TU Dortmund - IPS - TU Dortmund

Welcome to the IPS research group!

Find out more about our teaching and research dealing with urban change and planning across the globe!

At the International Planning Studies (IPS) research group, we emphasise diverse perspectives on urbanization and spatial planning across the world. IPS focuses on infrastructure, mobility, housing, and governance.

Headed by Prof. Dr. Sophie Schramm, IPS is also responsible for the international Master's degree program SPRING.

News and events

Workshop in Dakar on the topic "Ordinary Infrastructures – African Articulations of Urban Infrastructures beyond the Other"

An interdisciplinary roundtable workshop entitled "Ordinary Infrastructures" addresses urban infrastructures in African cities.

Roadside stalls selling plastic jerry cans in the Kariokor area in Nairobi

New publication by Sophie Schramm on the topic of awkward animals

The article addresses how wild boars and raccoons in Hagen and Wuppertal question existing orders of urban space.

Our research group welcomes visiting scholar Philipa Birago Akuoko from Ghana

Philipa Birago Akuoko is a human geographer from Ghana who will be conducting her research in our department over the next two years.

There is a market in the global south. There are people walking around with goods on their heads, balancing them

Call for scholars thinking, reading, and writing about urban inhabitation differently

Dr. Paroj Banerjee, Dr. Ishita Chatterjee, and Dr. Raffael Beier are hosting a seminar series focusing on “non-dominant inhabitation,” which is…

Sophie Schramm gives a lecture for the SchnupperUni on the topic "Urban Water Landscapes of Africa: Diverse Infrastructures, Technologies and Practises Beyond Planning"

As part of the SchnupperUni, Sophie Schramm will give a lecture on the topic of "urban water landscapes of Africa" on 21.08.2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:0

The picture shows a woman leaking water from a faucet into a container outside.

New publication by Raffael Beier

The article analyses how political actors mobilize a moral discourse to criticize practices of renting and selling state-subsidized housing by the…

The picture from South Africa shows RDP houses in Lehae, Johannesburg. In the background you can see a 1 floor building and in the foreground are two children

New publication by Raffael Beier

The article deals with the lived experiences of non-occupation and secondary mobility in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A field with many plots of land for sale

Raffael Beier secures the Seminar Series Award of the Urban Studies Foundation (USF)

Raffael Beier received together with his colleagues a funding through the USF Seminar Series Award 2025-2026.

Laundry hanging between houses in public space on ropes

Doctorate at IPS research group

The Research group of International Planning Studies (IPS) of the Department of Spatial Planning at TU Dortmund University is seeking to fill a…

three persons

Sophie Schramm and Deljana Iossifova give a lecture on urban infrastructure - as part of the seminar for urban research

Sophie Schramm and Deljana Iossifova share findings from their empirical research on urban infrastructure.

event poster

Here you can find archived news and events.