Mobilising knowledge at the science-policy interface: ‘Humanity on the Move’

In this chapter, I discuss the interplay of urban theory and practice in the context of the science-policy interface: a space of mutual engagement of research and related practices in the urban arena. My case study analyses the work of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (Wissenschaftlicher Beirat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen, WBGU), most notably its 2016 report on global urbanisation (WBGU 2016). By presenting the big narrative of the planet becoming entirely urbanised, there is a certain positivism and essentialism underlying this report that fails to acknowledge political conflict and what went wrong in the past. This contradicts the lofty political ambitions of the advisory council. I conclude that the WGBU’s policy advice and consultation is limited because it does not consider the murky and messy nature of politics and, thus, does not provide sufficient orientation for practice. This case study therefore illustrates the difficulties and problems when research and practice interact.