Lilli Katharina Rast

Lilli Katharina Rast is a Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS) within the "Contemporary History and Archives" research focus, serving as a research associate since May 2025. She is concurrently a doctoral student contributing to the Leibniz Association-funded project "Where the Rich Live: Mapping Villa Neighborhoods and Cultures of Wealth in Germany's Long 20th Century (RichMap)".

Her academic foundation includes a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Science in Geography from the University of Leipzig, complemented by a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from the Technical University of Berlin. International experience was gained through semesters at the American University of Beirut and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Her research synthesizes contemporary history with spatial analysis, examining how historical policies like the GDR home ownership program imprint physical urban landscapes and investigating the persistence of villa neighborhoods as wealth markers across Germany's 20th-century political transformations. Methodologically, she pioneers "thick mapping" techniques and citizen science approaches to integrate resident perspectives into historical spatial analysis.

Current work focuses on the RichMap project (2025-2028), which analyzes how German villa districts achieved and maintained elite status through political upheavals—particularly in Eastern Germany—using digital thick maps to visualize socio-spatial evolution of affluence.

Prior research experience includes assistantships at the University of Leipzig's Institute of Geography and IRS's "Politics and Planning" division, alongside practical engagement in citizen participation initiatives during her studies.