On the one hand, the research focus deals with the technical elites' ideas of the future and technological utopias and the technocratic modernisation discourses they initiated. The emergence of an expertise with a high claim to interpretation will be considered as a pan-European phenomenon and the numerous transnational exchange relationships will be analysed. On the other hand, it is also important to shed light on those dissenting voices that spoke of "limits to growth" early on in their cross-border interdependencies. The focus is thus dedicated to the emergence of a reflexive modernity in the European context and examines the Europe-wide circulation of ideas about the future, the transfer of images and criticisms of progress and the communicative interactions between national public spheres. The debates on the changing character of an urbanised society and the transformation of (metropolitan) urban space will also be at the centre of the investigation.