Welcome

I am a Danish Architect, scholar, Editor, and facilitator based in Berlin

I build

I build spaces where people and ideas can grow together. Through BLEIB – Urban Living, I bring architecture, research, and practice into conversation to explore how we can live more sustainably and inclusively in our cities. Building, for me, is never just about structures — it’s about creating relationships and conditions that allow communities, projects, and visions to take shape. With BLEIB, I help families optimize their living space so that they can stay in their neighborhood despite the changing living conditions and constantly increasing prices.

Get in contact if you and your family need help to develop new solutions for your flat independent from whether you are a renter or owner: hello@bleib-urbanliving.com

I FACILITATe

I facilitate encounters that make collaboration possible. Over the years, I have designed and moderated international conferences, workshops, and symposia on urban development and transdisciplinary research. Whether in a classroom, an urban lab, or a global research consortium, I create spaces that enable exchange — between experts, communities, and institutions — so that diverse voices can inform collective urban futures.

Please get in touch with me if you need support in facilitating participatory or co-productive processes related to urban topics. I also facilitate processes with the aim of publishing a common piece.

I write / edit

I write to connect knowledge and practice. My publications, including books and journal articles on participatory urbanism, co-production, and transformative research, reflect a continuous dialogue between theory and real-world experience. As co-editor of the Habitat-International series and guest editor of multiple international journals, I see writing and editing as a way to translate complex processes into shared understanding — shaping how we think about cities, collaboration, and change.

Topics I care about are accessibility of affordable housing in our cities, the way we live and co-exist with other species, how urban space is being shaped and negotiated and the future of our cities.

Check out my CV for a full list of publications.

FOKDAL, J., BINA, O., CHILES, P., OJAMÄE, L.& PAADAM, K. (eds.) (2021) Enabling the City. Inter- and Transdisciplinary Encounters.

FOKDAL, J., LEY, A. & MOUSTANDIJI, Y. (2021). Special Issue on Co-production of Knowledge in Urban Research and Practice.

HERRLE, P. & FOKDAL, J. (2011) Beyond the Urban Informality Discourse: Negotiating Power, Legitimacy and Resources.

FOKDAL, J., COLIC, R. and RODIC, D. (2020). Practice-oriented learning as a model to promote sustainable urban development.

SCHREIBER, F., FOKDAL, J. & LEY, A: (2023) A catalyst for innovation? A conceptual framework for analyzing the potential of urban experiments in innovating urban planning practices.

FOKDAL, J. (2019). Juggling legitimacies: Informal places for burials and worship in Hong Kong. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 43 (3): 582-588

I guide

I guide through research, teaching, and mentorship. As a professor and lecturer at universities in Germany and abroad, I have accompanied students and professionals in exploring new ways of understanding and shaping cities. My guidance is grounded in curiosity and care — encouraging others to question established frameworks, engage across boundaries, and cultivate critical and creative agency in the pursuit of sustainable urban transformation.

I also share my love for the city of Berlin by serving on local boards and by sharing my knowledge about the city and its development with visitors. Contact me if you are interested in a guided tour that focuses on how urban space is being shaped and negotiated in Berlin.