During the Hamburg Sustainability Week 2026, two events presented the SURE – Sustainable Development of Urban Regions funding initiative and showcased how research, digital tools, and participatory approaches can advance sustainable urban development.
On 29th of June 2026, the SURE Facilitation and Synthesis Research team at the HafenCity University, Hamburg hosted the interactive workshop “Discovery Tour – Urban Sustainability Around the World”. Citizens from Hamburg and the wider metropolitan region engaged with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) in a playful, hands-on manner – linking global SDG ambitions to the objectives of the SURE project. Playing an interactive card game, they explored how cities worldwide use the SDGs to address shared challenges such as climate adaption, resource scarcity, sustainability and fast growth. Linking the card game to the SURE atlas (an interactive touch-table tool) made the different collaborative SURE projects as well as the research findings immediately accessible, visualising connections between Hamburg and Southeast Asia. Attendees were able to explore how these cities approach similar problems and to identified lessons that could be transferred to Hamburg, as well as contributions Hamburg could offer to the global conversation
On 1st of July 2026 the SURE Facilitation and Synthesis Research team was part of the “Nachhaltigkeits-Werkstatt” titled “Digital und Nachhaltig – Selbstorganisiert und informiert Zukunft gestalten. Conducted by the HCU Digital City Science (DCS) in cooperation with the Patriotische Gesellschaft von 1765 – Themengruppe Zukunft digitaler Kommunikation, the three-hour workshop focused on data-driven participatory urban development and addressed key challenges facing Hamburg, including flood resilience, resource efficiency, and infrastructure needs. As one of four projects, SURE and the SURE atlas were bridging the gap between high-level policy discussions and everyday citizen experience, fostering new ideas and local transformation initiatives while demonstrating how digital technologies can support transparent and democratic planning processes.
Together, these two events provided a coherent and impactful presentation of the SURE funding initiative, enabling attendees to test concrete solutions and develop practical approaches that could be implemented locally. Participants explored urban complexity and discovered how participatory methods can support data-driven urban development. Both events were marked by strong participation and constructive interaction, emphasising that sustainable development is a shared task requiring collaboration across sectors and borders.
Photos (c)Hamburg Sustainability Week
