Over the last three decades, spatial planning has managed to establish itself as an independent scientific discipline. Both units of the School of Spatial Planning and the Institute of Spatial Planning (IRPUD) work on numerous research projects.

Research priorities within the School include:

• concepts for sustainable spatial planning and development;
• large-scale spatial development, particularly in Germany and Europe;
• spatial planning in developing countries;
• implementation of planning;
• risk governance;
• spatial dimensions of gender studies;
• land use and transport;
• structural change in former industrial regions, particularly in the Ruhr Area;
• urban development and qualification of urban design; and
• social and environmental urban renewal.

Most of the research projects are financed by third-party funds. Fundamental research institutions are e.g. the European Commission, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; BMBF), the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung; BBR) or the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; DFG)  

Further important research activities at the School of Spatial Planning are dissertations and postdoctoral lecture qualifications.

In addition, the School of Spatial Planning and its units are involved in numerous national and international partnerships and networks. In addition to participation in joint research projects and study programmes, the School is involved in an increasing number of different alliances with national and international universities, departments and research institutes.

Institute of Spatial Planning at the Dortmund University of Technology (IRPUD)

The Institute of Spatial Planning at the Dortmund University of Technology was founded in 1974. It is the central research facility for the Faculty of Spatial Planning and the only scientific institute in Germany that covers such a wide range of research interests. The Institute aims at integrating different divisions of the Faculty through inter-disciplinary research projects. Research projects vary from theoretical and methodological basic research to practice-oriented forms of policy advice and integrating planning. The trans-disciplinary research approach links sectoral viewpoints, methods, and theories, and contributes to the development of an independent discipline of spatial planning.

The IRPUD Documentation Unit supervises the Faculty's series of publications on spatial planning (‘Dortmunder Beiträge zur Raumplanung’). These series publish among others doctoral theses, collections of papers on specific topics, research reports, and selected students’ papers.

Other units within the IRPUD are the Centre for Student and Project Affairs (SPZ), which is responsible for the preparation, supervision and documentation of the annual 26 student projects, the ICT Service Unit, and the Repro Centre, which provides technical services.