Master's Thesis AR · Summer Semester 2021 · Nicole Stadler

Transformation processes are shaping almost every city in Bavaria. The Regensburg region benefits from strong economic growth, accompanied by continuous population increase. As a result, the demand for land for housing, commercial uses, infrastructure, and open spaces continues to rise. With available land becoming increasingly scarce, competition for space intensifies and pressure on the landscapes between the city and its surrounding municipalities continues to grow. This calls for a new approach to these transitional landscapes.

While southern Regensburg is largely defined by economic development and tourism, the northern part of the region has yet to establish a distinct spatial identity. It is often perceived as a suburban extension of the city, despite its exceptional landscape qualities. The thesis therefore develops a future-oriented landscape vision for northern Regensburg, combining spatial strategies, planning approaches, and pilot projects that address the relationship between city and countryside. Its objective is to make the landscape more visible, strengthen its attractiveness, and reinforce the connections between the city and its surrounding region.

The project begins with a comprehensive understanding of the different landscape types and their specific characteristics. Northern Regensburg lies at the intersection of several distinct natural landscapes, including the Upper Palatinate and Bavarian Forests, the Franconian Jura, and the Lower Bavarian Hills. Despite their diversity and high recreational and ecological value, these landscapes are fragmented by transport infrastructure, municipal boundaries, and other spatial barriers that limit their accessibility and coherence.

To improve access to the landscape, the thesis proposes a new hierarchical network of paths centred on two main routes that connect northern Regensburg along north–south and east–west axes. The network improves orientation within the landscape while making its diverse spatial qualities more accessible and legible. Characteristic landscape features such as escarpments, forest edges, and watercourses, together with prominent buildings and urban skylines, serve as orientation points and shape the spatial experience along the routes.

Along these routes, new connections between the city and the surrounding landscape are established. Through the enhancement of existing open spaces and carefully targeted landscape interventions, the thesis creates a series of so-called “landscape pearls”. These become places of identity and important destinations within the network, contributing to the long-term enhancement and visibility of the region's landscape qualities.

Rather than understanding the landscape as a dividing element between municipalities, the thesis redefines it as the connective structure of a polycentric region. Improved orientation and legibility make the landscape more accessible, understandable, and identity-forming. At the same time, it becomes the spatial framework for future settlement development. Sensitive landscape areas are permanently protected, settlement edges are clearly defined, and future development is directed towards suitable locations. Densification and the transformation of existing settlement areas play a key role in promoting land-efficient and sustainable regional development.