PhD position 2 (65%) The social health and well-being benefits of urban oases under climate change

22.12.2021, Wissenschaftliches Personal

StOasenWandel: Investigating the socio-ecological significance of urban green spaces under climate change
Project background: This research project “StOasenWandel” is interested in the socio-ecological significance of small green spaces – what we call urban oases (Stadtoasen) – in our growing, increasingly warmer cities. Small green spaces can have a high overall impact in climatic, biophysical, ecological, and social-health characteristics of cities. We want to understand the structure, function and significance of urban oases so that we can create new oases and protect current valuable oases.

The research will investigate:

• How urban oases locally support temperature regulation (e.g. via vegetation structure) and human health and wellbeing (e.g. via nature experience) in cities, particularly in the context of climate change.
• What citizens want from their urban oases in the context of climate change and desired health benefits.

The research project is comprised of social and ecological sub-projects with 1 researcher (PhD candidate) position each. The subprojects (and researchers) will be working together closely to support an interdisciplinary understanding.

Who we are:

You will work closely with three research groups at the Technical University of Munich:

• Professorship for Urban Productive Ecosystems (Monika Egerer)
• Professorship for Forest and Agroforest Systems (Peter Annighöfer)
• Chair of Forest and Environmental Policies (Michael Suda)

What we offer:

• An innovative and lively working environment at the university and campus Access to modern facilities and infrastructure at a strong research department
• Scientific exchange, flexibility, independence and self-responsibility
• Extensive options of vocational training (meetings, workshops, conferences)
• A chance to receive your doctoral degree
• TV-L E13 (65%), initially limited to 3 years

The researcher will investigate the health benefits of urban oases and what citizens want from their urban oases in the context of climate change and health. The researcher will propose how urban oases can be developed for these benefits, also working closely with city planners, public health officials and green space managers. The job will be mainly associated with the Professorship for Urban Productive Ecosystems in Freising, DE, but will be jointly supervised.

Anforderungen:

The candidate we are looking for ideally is:

• Motivated to elucidate complex social-ecological processes that underly mechanisms driving human well-being in urban green spaces
• Eager to integrate basic and applied research to improve the management of urban green spaces for people and climate resilience
• Methodological knowledge of sociology, urban ecology, survey development or mixed quantitative-qualitative methods in social research
• Interested in using interdisciplinary approaches e.g. citizen science in your PhD

Job requirements:

• Excellent diploma or master’s degree in related field
• Excellent communication skills and public engagement
• German-speaking with very good knowledge of English
• Pronounced scientific and writing skills are a benefit

Starting date:

01.04.2022 (part-time 65%, fixed-term for 3 years)

Interested?

Please send your application with:

(1) a 2-page letter of interest including a short outline of career goals and research experience;

(2) a detailed CV; and

(3) contact information of two referees.

Please send these documents in the form of one single pdf-file (StOase_02_surname_forename_appldoc.pdf) by Friday, 21.01.2022 to
Prof. Dr. Monika Egerer ([email protected]).

Questions regarding project or position?

Please contact: Prof. Egerer and/or Prof. Suda or visit our webpages for more information on our research groups and the kind of work we do:
http://upe.wzw.tum.de/ & https://www.ep.mgt.tum.de/en/wup/home/
[email protected] and [email protected]

The position is suitable for disabled persons. Disabled applicants will be given preference in case of generally equivalent suitability, aptitude and professional performance.

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Kontakt: [email protected]