Ulrich Berding, Dr.-Ing., trained as a landscape architect at Leibniz University Hannover, and holds a doctorate from RWTH Aachen University. He worked on the research project entitled “STARS – Urban Spaces in Fields of Tension. Plazas, Parks, and Promenades Between Public and Private Activities”, funded by the German Research Foundation, has taught in Aachen for many years, and was co-founder of stadtforschen.de, an office community for research, organization and communication relating to urban planning.