This is the archive of the website of the Chair of Urban Development at the Technical University of Munich where Alain Thierstein served as Full Professor from 2005 to 2024. During this period, the chair’s research and teaching focused on urban and regional spatial development. Cities and regions were not understood as static, physical entities, but as relational spaces shaped by dynamic networks of flows—of firms, knowledge, and people. Core guiding principles included impact orientation, inter-scalarity, systems thinking, and a relational understanding of space. These concepts informed both teaching and research across a range of topics: from hub airports, high-speed rail stations as key nodes within knowledge economy networks, to star architecture and its role in repositioning cities, as well as numerous case study cities examined in studios and research projects. This work has engaged with architects, urbanists, geographers, economists, landscape architects, mobility experts, sociologists, and computer scientists, reflecting a strongly multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach.
Alain Thierstein remains active in debates on urban development and can be followed on LinkedIn under Alain Thierstein | LinkedIn.
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.
2016-2019 Star Architecture, Multinational Design Firms, and the Urban Transformation of European Cities Seminar Series at the Villa Vigoni. Menaggio, Italy
Forschung |
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 design, engineering and planning firms are intricately involved. The aim of this workshop series is to investigate this contested practice from various perspectives, which are currently still fractured between architecture, urban studies, geography, sociology, economics and tourism studies.
The seminar series gathers at the Villa Vigoni in Menaggio, Italy, once a year for a period of three years, experts in architecture, urban planning, urban and economic geography. The objective is to discuss the urban implications of the global trend of flagship architecture development and the specific effects over European cities, with particular reference to medium sized cities.
The seminar series will result in a book which features chapters by the workshop participants and is published by Springer Nature. Expected release date is autumn of 2019.
Researchers: Alain Thierstein, Nadia Alaily-Mattar, Diane Arvanitakis, Johannes Dreher
Cooperation Partner: Davide Ponzini (Politecnico di Milano), Maria Gravari- Barbas and Francesca Cominelli (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University)