Tagungsankündigungen

Despite long histories of colonization, arctic and subarctic areas have (re)appeared as new resource frontiers of the 21st century. With the advancement of resource extraction and construction technologies as well as the increasing attention of developers, politicians and other stakeholders, new transportation and industrial infrastructures are imagined, planned and built. They physically change the landscapes by affecting local and indigenous land use practices and mobility regimes and boosting the growth of urban infrastructure and industrial settlements along its way. Large-scale infrastructure projects produce networks of human and non-human actors, including resource extraction companies, state bodies, NGOs and other interest groups, as well as tracks, rails, mines, financial and natural resources, etc. These constellations are formed and reconfigured in the process of negotiations about development plans, distribution of benefits, and access to resources and particular infrastructure services. In this panel we use the notions of “hard” infrastructures (rails, roads, pipes, ports, buildings) and “soft” ones (social institutions and groups, interactions and knowledge) in order to address co-production of material structures (of the built environment) and social networks. Questions we intend to explore may be related to the roles of state and private investors in infrastructure projects; benefits, “fly-over effects” and other impacts on local communities; practices of land use, mobility, and sociality induced by new infrastructures; and other material and affective interactions of humans with infrastructure. We invite papers in the fields of infrastructure and materiality studies, social impact assessments, STS or Actor Network Theory involving both present-day and historical investigations. While the regional focus of the panel is on arctic and subarctic regions, we actively encourage comparative studies in other “remote” areas, in the Global South and elsewhere.

Visualität ist in der Geographie ein wichtiges Thema: Karten, Modelle, Grafiken, Pläne und fotografische Dokumentationen sind Daten, die einerseits im Forschungsprozess erhoben werden, andererseits als Produkte geographischer Praxis

On the way to platial analysis: Can geosocial media provide the necessary impetus? Heidelberg University, Mathematikon, 20—21 September 2018

Die diesjährige 33. Tagung des Arbeitskreises Industriegeographie wird am 16. und 17. November 2018 im Wilhelm-Kempf-Haus in Wiesbaden-Naurod stattfinden.

Top 1: Von der Überblicksexkursion zur Spurensuche, vom Exkursionsprotokoll zur App? Aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Exkursionsdidaktik und bei Geländeübungen in der Hochschullehre Exkursionen und Geländeübungen gehören zum Standardprogramm des Geographiestudiums. Sie dienen der Vertiefung erlangten theoretischen Wissens und unterstützen den nachhaltigen Kompetenzaufbau und die Persönlichkeitsentwicklung bei Studierenden, was sowohl von Seiten der Fachwissenschaft als auch von der Fachdidaktik angestrebt wird. Es gibt aktuell eine Vielzahl von fachdidaktischen Studien und Forschungsarbeiten zur Exkursionsdidaktik. Es fehlt jedoch eine systematische Zusammenschau fachwissenschaftlicher

This panel critically explores the assumptions, triggers, catalysts and motivations for transformation in the contexts of coastal realms. We ask whether the concept of transformation is adequate to cope with the complexities of global social and environmental change and innovation, with aspirations for sustainable development set by the 2030 Agenda, but also with issues of power and representation across scale and social positioning as they manifest in coastal areas. Many coastal areas are characterised by a high and even growing population density and strong urbanization trends today. Growing coastal populations and global environmental change, including effects of climate change and coastal hazards, are responsible for human-environment relations that get more and more under pressure. Yet, coastal societies have perpetuated and fostered innovation through the centuries to cope with prevalent risks, if we think of coastal protection systems, Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), or “floating houses” as adaptation measures, amongst others. The 2030 Agenda addresses several aspects of coastal vulnerabilities and security in the context of sustainable development through its cohesive framework of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), even though coastal areas are explicitly mentioned in only two of the agenda’s 169 targets (SDG 14, targets 14.2 and 14.5). By that, the 2030 Agenda also lays a foundation for innovation and transformation in coping with coastal vulnerabilities and directing sustainable futures.

Call for Papers „Space and Poverty“, University of Salzburg, 13-14 September 2018   The Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research at the University of Salzburg (CEPR) organizes an annual conference since 2013. These conferences are interdisciplinary and open to all…

7.-9. Juni 2018, Lüneburg Handel und Verkehr sind eng miteinander verzahnt, und Standortsysteme im (Einzel-)handel können die Konfiguration von (städtischen) Verkehrssystemen weitreichend beeinflussen – gleiches gilt umgekehrt. Aktuelle Wandlungsprozesse zeichnen sich insbesondere vor dem Hintergrund zunehmender Digitalisierung ab. So differenzieren sich die Distributionsformen mit neuen IT-basierten Zustellsystemen aus. Onlineshopping steht dabei im Wettbewerb mit dem stationären Einzelhandel und initiiert zunehmende Transportströme (auch für Warenrückläufe). Angesichts dieser Entwicklung stellt sich die Frage, wie sich die Entwicklung im Einzelhandel auf das Verhalten der Kunden auswirkt – sowohl im Hinblick auf deren Einkaufsverhalten als auch bezüglich ihrer einkaufsbezogenen Mobilität. Was bedeutet dies wiederum für den Handel? Denn es entstehen gleichzeitig neue Absatzchancen und Standortlagen in Transiträumen (Bahnhöfe und weitere hochrangige ÖPNV-Knotenpunkte, Tankstellen), begünstigt durch knappe Zeitbudgets und ausgeprägtes Kopplungsverhalten der Konsumenten. Insgesamt bestehen zwischen Handel und Verkehr starke Interdependenzen, welche die Strukturen von Stadtlandschaften prägen. Es ist zu fragen, inwieweit der dadurch ausgelöste Wandel mit den Leitbildern stadtplanerischer Entwicklung, insbesondere der Nachhaltigkeit, übereinstimmt oder ihnen zuwiderläuft.

Digital platforms for urban tourism have not only given much more visibility to urban tourism itself but are also fueling its impact on urban policies, neighbourhoods and everyday lives. Housing rentals, for example through Airbnb, change the relationship between tourists and locals, guests and hosts and add a new dimension to the commodification of residential housing, leading to unanticipated and rapid transformations of entire neighborhoods. It is timely to recognize that urban tourism is useful as a lens to explore broader processes of urban change. In the recent debate, symptoms like increasing housing prices, an increasing focus on the exchange value for an increasing percentage of housing stock driven by digital platforms for short-term rentals are receiving much attention. However, we are convinced that it is time to move beyond the phenomenon of housing rentals and the buzzword sharing economy and to address the combination of urban politics, urban tourism and everyday (urban) realities that are reshaping and reshaped by this specific aspect of urban tourism. The digital platform is the interface between agents that barter for residential accommodation that has previously not been traded as a tourist commodity. These aspects have received relatively little systematic attention and analysis. We are missing comparative perspectives (e.g. cross-city comparison), in-depth studies on Airbnb and gentrification, displacement, and agency across social groups that engage and are affected by increasing Airbnb rental activities.