About me
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Othengrafen has been Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Faculty of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund University, since April 2019. Prior to this, he served as Junior Professor of Spatial Planning and Spatial Research with a focus on Regional Governance at the Institute of Environmental Planning, Leibniz University Hannover, from 2013 to 2019. Since 2023, he has been Vice Dean of the Faculty of Spatial Planning, as well as Chair of the Committee for Teaching and Learning and the Study Advisory Board.His research focuses on the analysis and design of urban and regional transformation processes, as well as on examining the opportunities and limitations of planning instruments for steering spatial development. His work combines fundamental and applied research, with a particular emphasis on governance and planning processes, planning cultures, and decision-theoretical approaches in municipal planning. A central aim of his research is to develop innovative strategies and instruments that support sustainable transformations of cities and urban regions and to improve their implementation in planning practice. This includes topics such as climate adaptation and climate resilience, sustainable mobility, the transformation of the built environment and planning culture, land-saving urban development, and issues of social cohesion and civic engagement.Methodologically, his work combines qualitative empirical social research with transdisciplinary and experimental approaches, including real-world laboratories, design thinking formats, and co-creative participatory processes. His research aims to reflect on established planning routines and institutional path dependencies and to develop new approaches for a more effective and adaptive planning practice, for example in the context of planning acceleration, digitalization, or the evaluation of sustainability goals in political planning processes.This expertise is reflected in numerous research projects addressing sustainable urban and regional development, transformation processes, and governance. These include “PlaKiZa – Planning for Climate-Neutral Cities as a Factor of Social Cohesion” (BMFTR, 2026–2029), “EKLIPS3plus1 – Efficient and Climate-Resilient Planning with Digital Twins” (BMFTR, 2025–2029), “NAWISWF – Sustainable Economic Areas in South Westphalia” (MWIKE NRW, 2024–2026), and the ERASMUS+ cooperation project “UPRUN – Urban Planning for Social Resilience in Urban Neighbourhoods” (EU, 2024–2026). Further projects address topics such as climate- and urban-compatible reuse of large-scale retail properties (“Existing Stock as a Resource”, BBSR, 2022–2025), the visualization of urban development measures using augmented reality (5GCityVisAR, MWIKE NRW, 2022–2024), and values and trade-offs in spatial planning (VALPLAN, DFG, 2021–2024).Through his work, Frank Othengrafen has extensive experience in analyzing planning and governance processes at the municipal and metropolitan levels, as well as in the empirical study of concrete planning processes and transformation strategies. His research contributes to bridging the gap between academic knowledge and planning practice, developing practice-oriented solutions for implementing sustainable transformations in municipalities.In addition to his research, he is active in numerous academic networks and committees. He is a member of the German Academy for Urban and Regional Spatial Planning (DASL), the Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IfR), and the Competence Field of Metropolitan Research (KoMet). He also serves on the editorial board of the European Journal for Spatial Development, is co-editor of the Yearbook City and Region, and is a member of the editorial team of the journal RaumPlanung. These roles reflect his strong academic engagement and long-standing contribution to contemporary debates on urban and regional development and the governance of spatial transformations.
