Dr. Juergen Kufner

Juergen is a certified mediator, an architect and a social scientist working in the fields of regional and town planning as well as urban design. A German native he has spent more than six years in international contexts including the UK, the USA and Switzerland.

Academically, he examines socio-political aspects of policy making and implementation. Currently, his research focusses on sociological explanations of planning conflicts, and how conflictual negotiations shape the relationships between private and public sector organizations, as well as the three-dimensional design of buildings and cities.

Juergen obtained his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The thesis was completed in 2012 in the Cities Programme 

(Department of Sociology) under the supervision of Professor Robert Tavernor. His research was supported by an Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Award as well as two LSE Research Studentships (for the Ph.D.) and a Fulbright Scholarship (for the M.Arch.).

Working as an architect in the UK, Switzerland and Germany he has also got significant experience in architectural practice. Juergen is the director of reinforce, offering services in the fields of participation, mediation and negotiation. 

Juergen is also a musician and a composer of minimalist music.

Areas of specialization

Participation and conflict resolution; Planning conflicts; Politics of urban and regional planning; Urban and regional visual aesthetics and conservation; Tall buildings

Areas of competence

Negotiation; Urban and regional planning; Urban and architectural design; Historic conservation; UNESCO World Heritage; sociology of conflict; qualitative research methods

Research focus

complex multi-party negotiation; societal transformation through planning conflict and consensus; Conflict and architectural and urban design