This was the website of the Chair of Spatial Development. The new website of the Chair of Urban and Spatial Development is currently under construction and will be available shortly.
Neue Dissertation: The Dynamic Geographies of the Knowledge Economy in Germany: Where do firms & workers locate?

This dissertation examines the German knowledge economy over two decades and explores where firms and knowledge workers locate. It examines the spatial, relational and economic location decisions through three studies on firm location choices, the influence of the knowledge economy on employment growth and the (re-)location of workers. Using ERGM, Granger causality and origin-destination data analysis, it reveals how proximity, the type of knowledge, infrastructure and connectivity influence where firms and workers locate, thus, regional growth.
Project Documentation: "Landsberg am Lech - Ready for 2055?"

NEWS| 31.03.2025
Project Documentation: "Landsberg am Lech - Ready for 2055?"
Students from the Master's programs in Urbanism and Architecture worked for several months to look at the long-term development of the town of Landsberg. The aim was to design a long-term spatial strategy. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the region and a methodology for working with future trends, the next 30 years were examined. Four student teams each present a vision of the future for “Landsberg 2055” and use an overall strategy and specific spatial proposals to show possible development paths for the region and local stakeholders.
The four student teams focus on different topics and show different development paths for the year 2055. How can resilient land use, inclusive mobility and social cohesion be strengthened and interlinked to achieve sustainable growth? How can the prospects of young residents be improved and education and innovation become key catalysts for positive development? How can Landsberg become a municipality that leads by example through the consistent implementation of sustainable mobility, a liveable city center and a self-sufficient energy supply? And how can Landsberg carry today's qualities into the future in order to be “just as great, only better” in 2055?
Link to the digital documentation (PDF, ca. 70 MB) available on mediaTUM.
2022 Exploring the airport-city: airports’ diversification strategies, knowledge economy and the regeneration of business sites in a metropolitan context. State of the art and case studies of München and Tours
Forschung |
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 organizes:
- a scientific exchange between Bayern and France – in the form of joint seminars resulting in a joint publication in English;
- the further training of advanced students from Bayern and France at the Master level and PhD level.
Linking urban and regional economics and spatial planning, the following questions will be explored:
- What are the territorial effects of an airport on a metropolitan economy?
- How to develop synergies between the airport city and other sectoral and spatial components of a metropolitan economy?
- How can landside transportation infrastructure be used to spread the positive external effects of an airport to a wider metropolitan region?
The project will take the form of two seminars: one organised in München, the other in Tours. It includes the mobility of doctoral students. Master students will be involved as the seminars will be linked to two courses: the seminar ‘Airport Region of Munich’ (Technical University of München) and the workshop ‘Airport City: the Case of Tours’ (University of Tours).
An output of the seminars will be publications in English, hopefully filling the gap of research on European airport cities. Linked research in progress on the urban aspects of the knowledge economy will be discussed, in view of developing a future research project. Thanks to the support of BFH, the project will initiate a strong and sustainable collaboration in the field of research and education.
Researchers: Alain Thierstein, Fabian Wenner, Valentin Reinhardt; research group "Land Use, Infrastructure, Spatial Transformation"
Principal: Bayerisch-Französisches Hochschulzentrum
Cooperation Partner: Christophe Demazière, Polytech Tours – UMR CITERES, Université de Tours