Karin Wiest

Karin Wiest is a Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig, affiliated with the Department of Theory, Methodology and History of Geography. Her work focuses on comparative urban research, migration dynamics, housing markets, and socio-spatial inequalities in post-socialist cities. She leads the Research Group on 'Geographies of Belonging and Difference' and has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed articles and edited volumes since 1993.

• Key Roles: Project Manager, Co-Editor of Geographische Rundschau, Board Member of the German Academy for Regional Studies (AGR)
• Research Themes: Urban migration societies, housing policy, East German urban development, and gendered mobilities
• Major Projects: EEYRASPS (2020), SEMIGRA (2013), Adapt2DC (2015)

Her recent work analyzes spatial negotiations of belonging in multi-ethnic neighborhoods and the transformative roles of housing policies under crises. She has co-edited special issues on post-migrant urbanism (Geographica Helvetica 2020) and comparative social geography (Berichte 2022-2025).