About us
The RC21 Conference 2026 in Vienna is being organised by a team from the Department of Sociology and the Research Platform “The Challenges of Urban Futures” at the University of Vienna, led by Yuri Kazepov.
Local Organising Committee
Yuri Kazepov
Profile
Yuri Kazepov is a Professor of Urban Sociology at the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Vienna). He is the Principial Investigator and Speaker of the research platform “The Challenge of Urban Futures”. His research interests address the territorial dimension of social policies in a comparative perspective, multilevel governance arrangements, social and environmental sustainability, school-to-work transitions. On these topics he carried out extensive research at European level in different policy domains. For his publications see the u:cris portal. He served as president of the Research Committee 21 on Urban and Regional Studies of the International Sociological Association (2010-2014), was a founding board member of ESPAnet Europe, the Network for European Social Policy Analysis (2002-2008) and founded and co-chaired ESPAnet Italy (2009-2011) and co-founded ESPAnet Austria (2016).
Tatjana Boczy
Profile
Tatjana Boczy is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology at the University of Vienna and is interested in comparative urban and regional research, eco-social change and the further development of mixed methods. She holds a doctorate in social sciences in the field of sociology, a master’s degree in social and political theory and a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Her master’s thesis on the topic of smart cities was awarded the prize for outstanding theses by the Austrian Sociological Association. In her dissertation, she conducted a comparative study of neoliberal changes in the local welfare system between 2008 and 2023, using the example of labour market policies in urban and rural territories of England and Austria.
Lisa Kilgus
Profile
Lisa Kilgus studied fashion design at the University of Art, Linz. After several years in the cultural industry, working in film and theatre, she is currently studying the bachelor´s programme in sociology at the University of Vienna and supports the research platform “The Challenge of Urban Futures” as an administrative assistant.
Miriam Aistleitner
Profile
Miriam Aistleitner holds a B.A. in Transcultural Communication, with the working languages English, Czech and German, and an M.A. in Specialized Translation and Language Industry from the University of Vienna, with forays into literary translation. Besides doing stints as freelance translator and copy editor, she has worked in adult education, teaching German as a foreign language, and as an in-house copy editor for a primary education publisher.
Josephine Paschen
Profile
Josephine Paschen completed her bachelor’s degree in Global Studies at the University of Maastricht and is currently doing her master’s degree in sociology at the University of Vienna. She is working at the research platform and the working group for sustainability at the department of sociology. Among her interests are global inequalities, economic sociology and socio-ecological transformations.
Josephine Paschen completed her bachelor’s degree in Global Studies at the University of Maastricht and is currently doing her master’s degree in sociology at the University of Vienna. She is working at the research platform and the working group for sustainability at the department of sociology. Among her interests are global inequalities, economic sociology and socio-ecological transformations.
Henning Jostes
Profile
Henning Jostes completed his bachelor‘s degree in Sociology and Communication Science at the University of Münster and is currently doing his master’s degree in Journalism and Communication Science at the University of Vienna. He works at the research platform “The Challenge of Urban Futures” and is responsible for the platform’s online communication. His main areas of interest in sociology include migration, populism and social inequality.
Henning Jostes completed his bachelor‘s degree in Sociology and Communication Science at the University of Münster and is currently doing his master’s degree in Journalism and Communication Science at the University of Vienna. He works at the research platform “The Challenge of Urban Futures” and is responsible for the platform’s online communication. His main areas of interest in sociology include migration, populism and social inequality.
Nora Eybl
Profile
Nora Eybl holds a bachelor’s in political science and is studying for a master’s in the teaching education pro-gramme for German and Geography and Economic Education at the University of Vienna. As student assistant, she supports Prof. Yuri Kazepov in teaching-related matters. She also works as a project assistant at the Research Platform “The Challenge of Urban Futures”. Her research interests include urban governance, socio-ecological transformations and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Nora Eybl holds a bachelor’s in political science and is studying for a master’s in the teaching education programme for German and Geography and Economic Education at the University of Vienna. As student assistant, she supports Prof. Yuri Kazepov in teaching-related matters. She also works as a project assistant at the Research Platform “The Challenge of Urban Futures”. Her research interests include urban governance, socio-ecological transformations and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Advisory Board
