Leonie Büttner

Leonie Büttner is a Research Scientist and PhD candidate at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany, working within the Department of Environmental Politics. Her research focuses on the intersection of digital transformation, urban sustainability, and environmental governance, with particular expertise in smart city development, energy and water politics, and urban infrastructure systems.

Her educational background includes an M.Sc. in International Area Studies from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (2015-2018) and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Leipzig (2011-2015). During her studies, she completed several relevant internships including at the Centre for Transformation Research and Sustainability in Wuppertal and the Office for Housing and Urban Renewal in Leipzig, and received a DAAD scholarship for research at EWHA Womans University in Seoul, South Korea.

Büttner's research examines how digital technologies reshape urban governance and sustainability transitions, particularly through her work on smart city governance frameworks, energy transitions in urban contexts, and the political dimensions of Sustainable Development Goals implementation. Her approach integrates perspectives from political science, urban studies, and environmental governance to analyze the complex relationships between technology, society, and environmental sustainability in urban settings.

Her publication record demonstrates growing expertise in analyzing urban sustainability transitions, with recent work examining smart city governance narratives in Germany, energy transitions in German and Indian contexts, and challenges in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Her research often employs comparative and qualitative methodologies to unpack the political dimensions of technological change in urban environments.

At UFZ, Büttner contributes to research projects including Governance of Sociotechnical Transformations (GoST) and research on sustainable management of global commons. Her work connects theoretical frameworks from political science with practical applications in urban sustainability governance, bridging academic research and policy-relevant insights for urban sustainability transitions.