Christoph Laimer studied political science and philosophy. He is the founder and editor in chief of dérive – Society for Critical Urban Research, the co-curator of urbanize! – International Festival for Urban Exploration, and a member of the cohousing project Bikes and Rails, the International Network for Urban Research and Action (INURA), and habiTAT, an Austrian non-profit cooperative housing company modelled after the German Mietshäusersyndikat.