Difu - German Institute of Urban Affairs
Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik
The German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) is the largest urban research institute in the German-speaking area and provides research, further training and information to cities, municipalities, administrative districts, municipal associations and planning departments.
The independent Berlin-based Institute was founded in 1973 and has an environmental division in Cologne. Der Verein für Kommunalwissenschaften e.V. (Association for Municipal Sciences) is the sole shareholder of the research institute, which is run as a non-profit organization.