Two research groups structure the work at the chair.

Architecture, Spatial Dynamics and Urban Transformation

Our research is focused on how architecture, understood both as discipline and as outcome of practice, contributes to spatial dynamics triggering fundamental changes to urban conditions. We often find our research implicated in critically probing how the urban as a socio-cultural, economic and spatial condition can be designed. Underlying the work of our group is an emphasis on the particular epistemological practices of architecture, where design as a cognitive tool connects futures thinking with systems thinking. Multi-scalar impact consideration of architecture guides our research, whether it is about star architecture and the repositioning of cities, the interplays between architecture and media, analyzing the changing patterns of spatial use with a focus on corporate locations or the role of spatial design methods in urban transformation processes.

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Land Use, Infrastructure, Spatial Transformation

The research group "Land Use, Infrastructure, Spatial Transformation" deals with three constitutive elements of spatial development and their interactions: (1) the abstract-general legal and political framework for land use, (2) the spatially concrete structuring Influences of public and private infrastructures, and (3) the transformative actions of private actors - households and companies - in relation to space. The three corresponding, overarching research topics of land policies and planning, infrastructure and economic geography stand for the basic competencies and interests of the researchers involved in spatial development on different scales. Their intersections result in research priorities and thus concrete research projects, publications and courses. The research topics are also understood against the background of the process of increasing digitalisation and the goal of resource-efficient and socially balanced spatial development, which can be applied to all research topics.

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Participation in departmental research collaborations

Research Projects

Topic: Without policy intervention, property developments often lead to a loss or reduction of biodiversity by reducing the amount of available habitat for species and disrupting important ecological processes. Given the importance of biodiversity in the provision of essential ecosystem services, along with its socio-economic and recreational values, the Sustainable…

New transport infrastructure projects are usually subject to a benefit-cost analysis prior to their construction. Such analyses are expected to guarantee an efficient use of public funds. However, the method of these analyses has been criticized for a long time. Primarily, because the “Standardisierte Bewertung“(German term for standardized evaluation) of public…

Topic: In the last decades, airports have launched diversification strategies and their surroundings host more and more firms typical of the knowledge economy. However, there is a lack of research on European mid-sized airports. The chairs of this project have expertise in this field. They have also developed courses and workshops. On this basis, this project…

How does increased accessibility through high-speed rail influence the spatial structure, in particular the location of knowledge economy firms?

Image matters for cities. Architectural icons contribute to the image of cities. In a context of a growing mass circulation of photographs on the Internet, cities and urban players count on such circulation and viral effects for projecting a certain image of a city or an institution. However how can we describe the quality, quantity, speed and scope of the circulation…

Topic: The TIE Project (Transportation Innovation Ecosystems) analyzes the actors, networks, and environments of innovations in the domain of urban transportation, i.e., the conditions that enable change with regard to the way we move in our cities. It does so comparatively in three European cities: Budapest, Prague, and Munich. TIE is a term used here to describe the…

What are the current and potential impacts of digital transformation on urban spatial organization? How does the networking of value chains, availability of digital mass data, automation and digital customer interfaces affect current urban spatial organization? How will new possibilities enabled by Augmented Reality, Image recognition and Internet of Things transform…

Topic: The project examines the evolution of the functional urban hierarchy given by intra firm networks of the knowledge economy with a particular focus on the financial and economic crisis in 2008 and 2009. Several factors play a crucial role in the adjustment processes of cities and regions. Since the 1990s the knowledge economy is gaining importance and is now…

Topic: The Chair of Spatial Development participates with Prof. Dr. Alain Thierstein in the team of the project leader STAT-UP Statistical Consulting & Data Science GmbH, Munich. The project combines field test and research. Data collection is no longer the domain of science and statistical offices. Sensors, apps and websites generate masses of data. Big-data…

Thema Englisch: Throughout the world, cities are increasingly developing iconic buildings, museums, infrastructures or public spaces not only for their actual functions, but also for marketing and branding their respective city image, for attracting tourism and boosting media attention. In this process of urban transformation, star architects and multi-national…

Topic: The explorative location study of the Chair of Spatial Development and the office STUDIO | STADT | REGION shows that the establishment of the Swedish furniture store IKEA in the city centre of cities like Munich offers great opportunities. The results of the study show that IKEA's plans are compatible with the requirements of densely populated cities with a…

Topic: The project investigates new spatial potentials between commercial and urban development in a cross-comparison of good and innovative practice examples of European urban regions. The focus is particularly on space-saving concepts with a densification and mixture of commercial uses. The practical examples of other urban regions will be examined for their…

Topic: Locations - cities, municipalities - are not sustainable by their own strength and size alone, but through their intelligent linkage and partnership with other locations. It is not the size of a city that is decisive, but its functional significance and interdependence. The focus is therefore shifting to the networking of companies, mobility and other services…

Topic: The study aims to develop long-term perspectives for the further development and supplementation of existing public transport services and the associated infrastructure in the County of München. The study looks at a long-term horizon (2030 to around 2050). In doing so, analytical foundations as well as strategic development approaches for the long-term…

Topic: The spatial development strategy, which is located at the scale between the land use plan and the regional plan, is intended to be an informal and inter-municipal planning instrument that acts as a guideline for action for settlement development (especially living and working), for open space development and for the development of mobility in the future and…

Only research projects in english are displayed here. For more research projects of the chair please see the German version of this page.