Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Between vision and reality: event-led green infrastructure planning and ecological imaginaries

Kremer, Sira Alicia LU (2026) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM02 20261
LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Abstract
Green infrastructure (GI) has become a central instrument of post-industrial urban renewal, yet the gap between its visionary ecological promises and on-the-ground outcomes remains underexplored. This thesis examines that gap in the German Ruhr area, where sustainable urban development has been pursued through three successive event-led strategies: the IBA Emscher Park, the Green Capital of Europe Essen, and the GI Strategy Ruhr Metropolis. Drawing on urban political ecology and ecological imaginaries, and combining expert interviews with document analysis, the research finds that festivalization dynamics have consistently privileged short-term visibility over ecological continuity, and that GI has been progressively reconfigured as a tool... (More)
Green infrastructure (GI) has become a central instrument of post-industrial urban renewal, yet the gap between its visionary ecological promises and on-the-ground outcomes remains underexplored. This thesis examines that gap in the German Ruhr area, where sustainable urban development has been pursued through three successive event-led strategies: the IBA Emscher Park, the Green Capital of Europe Essen, and the GI Strategy Ruhr Metropolis. Drawing on urban political ecology and ecological imaginaries, and combining expert interviews with document analysis, the research finds that festivalization dynamics have consistently privileged short-term visibility over ecological continuity, and that GI has been progressively reconfigured as a tool for regional branding rather than a collective ecological right. As ecological issues recede from political agendas, the structural
conditions producing this gap urgently require attention (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kremer, Sira Alicia LU
supervisor
organization
course
MESM02 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
urban political ecology, green infrastructure, ecological imaginaries, event-led development, sustainability science
publication/series
Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
report number
2026:009
language
English
id
9230426
date added to LUP
2026-06-04 11:47:29
date last changed
2026-06-04 11:47:29
@misc{9230426,
  abstract     = {{Green infrastructure (GI) has become a central instrument of post-industrial urban renewal, yet the gap between its visionary ecological promises and on-the-ground outcomes remains underexplored. This thesis examines that gap in the German Ruhr area, where sustainable urban development has been pursued through three successive event-led strategies: the IBA Emscher Park, the Green Capital of Europe Essen, and the GI Strategy Ruhr Metropolis. Drawing on urban political ecology and ecological imaginaries, and combining expert interviews with document analysis, the research finds that festivalization dynamics have consistently privileged short-term visibility over ecological continuity, and that GI has been progressively reconfigured as a tool for regional branding rather than a collective ecological right. As ecological issues recede from political agendas, the structural
conditions producing this gap urgently require attention}},
  author       = {{Kremer, Sira Alicia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
  title        = {{Between vision and reality: event-led green infrastructure planning and ecological imaginaries}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}