Prof. Dr. Florian Koch is a Professor of Real Estate Management, Urban Development, and Smart Cities at the HTW Berlin , within the Business School . He has held this position since April 2018 and serves as co-speaker of the HTW Research Cluster 'Sustainable Smart Cities' . His research focuses on urban sustainability, smart cities, and the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in urban contexts, with a strong emphasis on social innovation, governance, and transdisciplinary approaches. His research interests include urban sustainability transformations , climate change adaptation , resource efficiency , urban governance , and co-design processes for municipal sustainability strategies. He investigates how cities can become more socially and ecologically sustainable through policy, technology, and community engagement, particularly in the face of digitalization and spatial competition. His recent articles demonstrate a consistent trend in analyzing the intersection of SDG implementation , urban governance , and sustainability transformations . Key themes include the development of monitoring systems for urban sustainability, the social and political dimensions of smart city technologies, and the role of cities as transnational climate actors. His work often employs comparative and transdisciplinary methodologies, drawing on case studies from Germany, Colombia, and other international contexts. Transferpreis 2021 der HTW Berlin Prof. Koch actively collaborates with various stakeholders, including municipal administrations (e.g., Treptow-Köpenick), housing companies, civil society organizations (e.g., Familienzentrum Wrangelkiez), and other research institutions such as the University of Vienna, University of Kassel, and Universidad del Norte in Colombia. He has led numerous funded research projects on topics like urban sharing economies, SDG monitoring, and sustainable urban development. He also contributes to science communication and policy advice, serving on expert councils and as a reviewer for major academic journals and funding bodies.
