Professor Talja Blokland is leading the project "The World in My Street: Resources and Networks of City Residents". It examines how increased spatial mobility affects social network relationships and their spatial arrangements, how spaces are constituted in social networks, and whether and how these spaces can be used as resources by the residents. From the perspective of a sociology of social inequality, the project asks how, under the conditions of increased mobility and translocal experiences, social networks are developed, created and transformed, and how their resources are used to manage or improve one's own life situation.

The project led by Prof. Steffen Mau "The Limits of the World: Processes of Dismantling and Rebordering in a Global Perspective" explores the connection between the organisation of territoriality, the circulation of persons and institutional orders. In contrast to early assumptions about the loss of meaning of borders, this project provides a complete coverage of all borders, where two state territories meet.

The physical quality of all these borders will be systematically described with the complete elimination of all border fortifications and control installations, punctual control at crossing stations, securing the border by patrols, the existence of fence and shut-off systems up to the presence of high walls with few and strongly controlled transition points. Building on this census, qualitative case studies of strongly fortified and militarised boundaries will be carried out. The aim of these case studies is to take a close look at determining factors for the foreclosure nature of territorial borders and their effect on border crossing, interaction and mobility.

Further information:

DFG Press release
http://www.dfg.de/en/service/press/press_releases/2017/press_release_no_48/index.html

Spatial analysis of current transformation processes, TU Berlin
https://www.pressestelle.tu-berlin.de/menue/tub_medien/publikationen/medieninformationen/2017/november_2017/medieninformation_nr_2082017/parameter/en/

Berlin University Alliance news
https://www.berlin-university-alliance.de/en/news/items/20171127-sfb-dfg-berlin.html