The SFB short film:

About property in transition and the work of the SFB.

This film is the work of Catharina Göldner and Katharina Hamann.

The members of the Collaborative Research Centre in summer 2023

Image: Marlen van den Ecker

Welcome to the website of the Collaborative Research Centre TRR 294 "Structural Change of Property"!

The Collaborative Research Centre pursues the goal of investigating the fundamental structural change of property that could be observed at the latest since 1989. The Collaborative Research Centre contains a total of 23 subprojects at eight locations in Germany: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Sprecher*innenhochschule), Universität Erfurt, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Leibniz-Institute for Research on Society and Space, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Technische Universität Darmstadt.

While private property has gained in importance worldwide since 1989 under conditions of increasing concentration and deregulation, the resulting property system has proved to be both crisis-prone and highly controversial in the face of new economic, political and technological challenges. It isn't challenged only by the global financial and economic crises, but also by political conflicts over the appropriation, distribution and containment of private property, as well as by the dynamics of the knowledge and bio-economies, which are linked to alternative concepts of common property, shared use and free access to resources.

News

Annual Conference "Problematic Objects of Property": Registration now open

From November 4-6, our annual conference will take place in Jena. Everyone is welcome. Admission is free.

See here for the program and registration

New quarterly source

Drawing on the collected materials relating to the debate on the German Civil Code of 1900, Niclas Jucknischke examines the legal and political debates surrounding property during this period, particularly with regard to the institution of foundations. The source illustrates the “genuine property paradox: the law on foundations extends the owner’s rights to virtually no limit – and thereby simultaneously restricts the property rights of future generations.”

To the quarterly source

New publication!

Under the title "Living in Berlin. Between Commercialisation and Socialisation”, Lisa Vollmer, together with Andrej Holm and Matthias Bernt, has edited an anthology published by transcript Verlag. The contributions provide an overview of the key players and areas of activity in Berlin’s housing provision, housing policy developments over the last 30 years, and current challenges.

Click here for the boock (open access)

Summary report of the Germany Monitor 2026 published

At the end of September, Marion Reiser, together with the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany, Minister of State Elisabeth Kaiser, presented the summary report of the Deutschland-Monitor 2026. This year’s focus is on ‘How achievement-oriented is Germany?’, with the topics of property and wealth also playing a role: ‘Many respondents see wealth, connections and social background as genuinely important factors influencing opportunities for social advancement, even though, in their view, these factors should be given significantly less weight.’ 

More information

New blog post online!

A new blog post entitled “The Austrian Fundamental Right to Property in the Climate and Biodiversity Crisis” has just been published. In it, Paul Hahnenkamp explains how, in Austrian case law, private utility has become central to the fundamental right to property, and raises the question of whether, in times of pressing crises, an alternative understanding of the fundamental right to property is possible.

 

To the blog post

New Dossier: Property and Democracy

A new dossier on the topic of property and democracy has just been published. The dossiers bring together relevant media appearances and a wide range of publications from the SFB, with a focus on easily accessible formats such as blog posts, newspaper articles, interviews, and podcasts. The new dossier contains contributions on the current crisis of democracy and the distribution of property and wealth. They aim to illustrate how patterns of ownership shape political participation, social power relations and the scope for democratic action.

To the Dossier

Sylka Scholz receives René-König-Lehrbuchpreis

Sylka Scholz received the award for her introductory work "Männlichkeitsforschung" (2025). In it, she demonstrates that the social construction of masculinity has traditionally been underpinned by access to resources, the labor market, and property. Processes of precariousness resulting from structural change threaten these material foundations of male identity.

To the News archive...

Events

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Rosensäle; Jena

International Annual Conference "Problematic Objects of Property – Form, Materiality, Politics"

At the conference in Jena, we will discuss tensions that arise in the formatting of property objects, result from their specificity and are at stake in political disputes.

read more...
Kino am Markt; Jena

Movie series "Property in view"

On November 17, the documentary Safari (2016) will be shown.

read more...
Haus Dacheröden; Erfurt

Experiences of Transformation – German-German Memories of the 1990s in Film and Literature: “Verriegelte Zeit”

The year 1989 transformed life in East and West Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, and the transformations following 1990 are associated with very different experiences and, accordingly, a diverse range of memories among Germans from both parts of the country. Looking back today, the fundamental upheaval of the political system, the end of the familiar social fabric, and the institutional property order of East Germany are imagined in very different ways. In this joint film series organized by the Collaborative Research Center “Structural Change in Property” and the Cluster of Excellence “Imaginamics,” we would like to examine the major and minor consequences of 1989. The series opens with the film "Verriegelte Zeit" (1990) by Sibylle Schönemann. The director will be present that evening for a discussion with the audience.

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Universität Erfurt; Erfurt

Umkämpfte Demokratie

The conference in Erfurt focuses on democracy as a practice that has evolved over time and is, at the same time, a subject of contention. It explores how democratic systems came into being, what conflicts have shaped them – and how these conflicts continue to this day.

read more...
To the complete schedule of dates...

An overview of the most important events of the Collaborative Research Center is available here.