The research focus  deals with mutual influences of community, collaborative and cooperative organizations and egalitarian, common good-oriented and sustainable urban development. The focus is on cooperative places of living and working and the urban spaces surrounding them. The German-speaking region (DACH region) is the main area of investigation, but the broader European and international context are also of interest to our research and teaching. We investigate which public and private actors cooperate and collaborate and how they organize themselves and negotiate space, and how this is reflected in spatial structures. Starting points of the investigation are collaborative initiatives and urban development processes, as well as ideas in general on how resources can be shared more equitably. A special interest is the role of the family as a focal point of different generations as well as, on the built environment the innovative conversion of existing buildings and infrastructures.