Research Group Urban Structure and Policy (USP)

The research group "Urban Structure and Policy" aims at fostering the integration of approaches of geoinformatics and planning science at IOER’s Research Area Spatial Information and Modelling (FB M). We contribute to the creation of empirical and conceptual knowledge for a transition towards sustainable urban form. The group develops approaches to integrate and contextualise spatial information with the aim to address causal relations between urban structure and policy.

Integrating
The group aims at a constant discussion on concepts, approaches and methodologies to test the capabilities of urban analytics to make structures and processes readable for analysis in the field of land policy. Land policy encompasses public policy for public planning and land management and their application through actors. Beyond public planning, this draws the attention to the importance of private property on land. Regarding urban structure, we focus on the topics of no-net-land-take and densification policies as examples for sustainable urban development.

Contextualising
Land policies, which frame spatial planning and land management, are constantly adapted to address societal goals for sustainable urban development. However, how these policies and instruments are applied by actors and ultimately change urban form remains to be further explored. This requires approaches of spatial analysis that contextualises urban dynamics within a land policy framework. We develop micro-scale approaches that cover polycentric, functionally interlinked city-regions to measure and assess spatial dynamics. We integrate social and environmental dimensions of urban structures and processes, which are relevant for decision making in urban and regional planning.

Inferring on causality
The group focuses on the methodological challenges to infer on causal relations between policy and urban structure. We address the basic assumption that urban form reflects societal rules and practices and, thus, land policies. The complex nature of urban morphologies and actors applying and adapting land policies, requires to further develop mixed-method approaches to identify cause-effect relationships in space. The research group aims at unlocking the potentials of an integrative approach that brings together complementary approaches to explanation and conception of causation of quantitative and qualitative research.