German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu)

The German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) is the largest urban research institute in the German-speaking area. Difu is a highly respected partner for municipalities across the country for research as well as knowledge transfer.

Our topics include mobility, sustainable urban development, housing, climate and environmental protection, land use and smart city. With regards to sustainable urban mobility, we work with cities on topics such as parking, SUMPs, on-demand services, public transport, bike sharing to name just a few. We are the established knowledge hub on cycling and have lead capacity building programmes on cycling for 15 years thanks to the „Fahrradakademie“. Difu is a member of several advisory boards to the National Transport Ministery, i.e. on „climate protection in the transport sector“ and on „cycling“.

Difu is strongly tied to the German national city association (Deutscher Städtetag) and as a publicly funded research institute we feel responsible for the common good. Our research focuses specifically on the needs of cities and we advise municipalities on all challenges they face today and in the future.

They have been involved in Park4SUMP, PROSPERITY, PUSH&PULL, and SPECIAL (Spatial Planning and Energy for Communities in all Landscapes) (IEE Europe)

You can find out more on their website, or follow them on Twitter.