"Bitte wenden Sie!" - Herausforderungen und Chancen der Energiewende

“Please make the transition!” – Challenges to and opportunities for the energy transition The annual meeting of the ARL’s Young Professionals Forum from 6th to 8th October in Leipzig tackled the topic of the energy transition – when, where, how and why? The Young Professionals Forum, involving both academics and practitioners, met for three days of discussion about the complex transformation process of the energy transition, adopting various inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives. Presentationsand discussion groups considered not only technical, legal and planning aspects related to the development of infrastructure and the management and structuring of the energy transition, but also its significance for spatial development. The focus of the annual meeting was selected in view of the contemporary importance of the topic. “The transition” is a process intended to ensure a safe, environmentally friendly and economically successful future and as such involves a broad spectrum of social, planning and scientific challenges and opportunities that require more in-depth consideration and analysis. The following questions therefore provided starting points for the papers: >> Which fields of action are key for the implementation of the energy transition? >> What do the cities and countryside of the future look like? >> How do the various actors behave and how do they react to different technologies? >> Where and how do conflicts and competition emerge and how can resistance and acceptance be handled? These key questions represented the focuses of the annual meeting and were applied to a number of major themes: How smart is the city of the future?, New forms of mobility on the pole position, and “We say no!” – Public protests in the energy transition. The presentations and findings of the event may be found in the papers published here.