The management of renewable and non-renewable resources is a cental theme of human existence. Due to the high degree of urbanization in industrialised countries and high urbanization rates in emerging and developing countries, infrastructure systems are of central importance regarding the management of resources and environment. In order to ensure a sustainable development, research in this area must take into account both the spatial and temporal dimensions. Furthermore, the complex interdependencies require interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary cooperations. Future-oriented urban planning, for example, must provide concepts for mobility, energy supply, water supply and disposal, raw materials management, waste disposal and recycling, and groundwater protection. Concepts must not only be environmentally sensible, but also ecomically efficient and socially acceptable, and they must include rural areas in the cycle of resources in addition to urban settlement areas.
At the IWARU, an interdisciplinary team researches and develops concepts, products and services for a sustainable use and management of the environment.
