Transformation of cities and landscapes – Geoinformatics

Urbanization

We study urbanization processes and their societal and spatial consequences, exploring how and why metropolitan regions, cities and towns grow and transform. We focus on analysing the spatial restructuring of people and enterprises, mobility patterns, socio-spatial inequities and strategic urban planning, to discuss the implications for urban resilience and to develop theory and methodologies.

Rural transformation

We analyse key drivers of rural transformation such as changing agricultural structures, climate change, rural-urban connections, social values, and political and economic structures from local to global scale. We analyse the spatial impact of these transformations on landscapes and land use, settlements, rural livelihoods, and ecosystem services from peri-urban to remote rural locations.

Spatial inequality

We examine the socio-economic geographies of inequality, focusing on the processes that create uneven spatial distributions of, and access to, resources such as employment, education, services, and public spaces. We analyze and elucidate the processes that drive spatial inequality and inequity across different geographical scales and contexts, highlighting their underlying factors.

Governance, policy analysis and strategic planning

We study the implication and drivers of change in governance regimes and how these are reflected in policy development and planning processes. We analyse processes at all relevant scales, with a strong focus on relations between actors, and the implication of policy and strategic planning for the sustainability of future decision-making.

Mobility

We are interested in a variety of topics related to urban mobility including the latest trends in land use and travel behaviour in cities; urban and transport policies for effective and rapid transition to sustainable mobility; environmental and societal impacts of transport; accessibility, mobility justice, and mobility impacts on livelihoods. Further, we are interested in emerging transport modes and novel methods for urban mobility studies such as GIS, PPGIS, remote sensing, AI, and virtual reality.

Geodata and GIS

We are expert users of a variety of Geodata and GIS methods within research and teaching. We develop and apply advanced techniques for spatial data analysis and spatial planning. We focus on the theoretical perspectives and the practical applications, and we aim to provide new insights into the development challenges of urban and peri-urban regions. Special areas of attention for our work are rapidly expanding cities, land use dynamics, climate change, and changes in urban accessibility and mobility patterns.

Ongoing research projects

The research group is engaged in projects that are funded through national and international grants. Most of the projects are carried out in cooperation with other research institutions and organizations. The list of projects is organized chronologically, with the most recent projects first:

• Common meeting places as drivers of social mobility in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods (2021-2028, funded by Realdania, Lokale og Anlægsfonden, and UCPH). http://ign.dk/meeting_places/ Contact: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen
• The role of rural-urban linkages for enhanced climate resilience in rural Tanzania (RUL4CLI) (2022-2027, funded by Ministry of foreign affairs of Denmark). https://ign.ku.dk/english/rul4cli/ Contact: Søren Bech Pilgaard Kristensen
• Governance arrangements for the provision and maintenance of social infrastructures at the neighbourhood level in the Baltic Sea region (GASO). (2023-2025, financed by The Swedish Institute). Contact: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen
• Τhe European Living Lab on designing sustainable urban mobility towards climate-neutral cities (ELABORATOR) (2023-2027, funded by the EU – Horizon Europe), https://www.elaborator-project.eu/ Contact: Kostas Mouratidis Contact: Kostas Mouratidis
• The complex interlink of safeguarding water availability and quality to mitigate and adapt to hydroclimatic extremes in Europe (INTERLAYER) (2024-2027, Water4All partnership co-founded by EU). Contact: Thomas Balstrøm
• Ageing Regions: Turning liabilities into opportunities for regional development (2024-2027, funded by Riksbankens Jubileums Fond, Sweden), Contact: Høgni Kalsø Hansen
• The future prospects for competitive professions in rural areas. (2024-2025, Funded by Landdistriktspuljen) Contact: Høgni Kalsø Hansen
• Multifunctionality in the new Danish forests (2025, funded by Promillefonden). Contact: Thomas BalstrømI BELONG: Interventions in the Built Environment targeting LOneliness in youNG adults. (2025-2027, funded by Dutch Research Council (NWO)) Contact: Kostas Mouratidis
• Behind the glamorous fine-dining scene of Copenhagen: precarity and exploitation of skilled and unskilled, native and migrant labour (2025-2027, funded by The Institute of Human Geography) Contact: Nikos Kapitsinis
• MInimize coSts and mAximize Benefits in the transitionary European regional Labour markets (ISABEL) (2025-2028, funded by the EU – Horizon Europe) Contact: Nikos Kapitsinis

Recently completed research projects

• Climate Change Resilience in Urban Mobility (CLIMACCESS) (2018-2024, funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs). https://ign.ku.dk/english/climaccess/ Contact: Lasse Møller-Jensen
• CoffeeVision - managing deforestation and climate resilience of coffee (2020-2023, funded by Nordic Climate Foundation). Contact: Anne Gravsholt Busck
• Sea-level rise and coastal flooding in Denmark: past, future, and policy (2020-2024, funded by GeoCenter Denmark). Contact: Anne Gravsholt Busck
• Making people walk more in small Norwegian cities (WALKMORE) (2020-2024, funded by the Research Council of Norway), https://www.toi.no/project-walkmore/ Contact: Kostas Mouraitidis
• Social sustainability as a new driving force in local community development (SOSLOKAL) (2020-2024, funded by the Research Council of Norway) https://www.sunnekommuner.no/kunnskapslaboratoriet/sosial-baerekraft Contact: Kostas Mouratidis
• e-Aegean ResLab Project (2021-2023, funded by the e-Aegean R&D Network). Contact: Nikos Kapitsinis
• Gender (im)balance in the Danish geosciences. When and where do we lose talent? (2021-2023, funded by Geocenter Danmark) https://ign.ku.dk/balance-i-geofagene/ Contact: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen

Urban transformations

• Barriers and potentials for developing socio-economic just, equal, and sustainable cities
• Urban regeneration and housing development
• Liveability, subjective well-being, and everyday life in urban neighbourhoods
• Mixed housing, social integration, and local social networks
• Urban challenges of new mobilities, firm locations, and employment structures
• The development of social, economic, and environmentally sustainable cities
• Processes behind contemporary urban growth and urban socio-economic distress, e.g. densification, gentrification, and segregation
• Urban transformation and temporary urbanism
• Place branding and place identity in contemporary cities
• Resilience and transformation of second tier cities and small towns
• Common meeting places as drivers for social integration
• Uneven implications of (economic) crises
• Territorial stigmatization of disadvantaged citizens and neighbourhoods
• Life chances and social mobility in contemporary cities
• Just city development and the right to the city
• Social infrastructure and planning for urban care
• Inclusive cities, feminist urban planning, and developing cities for all, e.g. age-friendly cities
• Climate justice and environmental justice in urban transformations
• Local social movements and actions of degrowth
• Mobility justice and sustainable mobility transitions in urban areas
• Societal impacts of urban transport policies

Rural transformations

• Liveability in rural and peri-urban areas
• Societal consequences of unequal regional development between rural and urban areas
• Relocation of educations and/or government jobs and how it relates to regional development
• Upskilling, reskilling and the future of peripheral production and/or job markets
• European agriculture - From 'productivism' to 'post-productivism'
• The economic impact of multifunctional agriculture
• Multifunctionality and rural development
• Structural development in Danish agriculture and its implications
• Contemporary and historic changes in the land system
• Drivers of land use change at local to global scale
• Making space for renewable energy plants in rural areas of Denmark
• Nature management in rural areas

Regional development

• Relocation of educations, firms and government jobs and how it relates to regional development
• Counter-urban migration.
• Green transition, renewable energy and regional development
• Strategical planning and development of urban centres in small and medium sized towns
• Unequal regional development
• Transformation of regional labour markets – and Work from home
• Regional resilience against external shocks
• Political economy approaches to uneven geographical development
• Spatial restructuring of production, industry and employment
• New geographical inequalities and divides
• The geography of human capital and uneven regional development
• Challenges and opportunities of an ageing labour force for regional development

Governance and planning

• Potentials and challenges in planning with public participation and multilevel governance
• Temporary use as a strategic planning tool
• Planning for climate change adaptation
• Implications for climate changes adaptation strategies, e.g. relations between the utility sector and municipalities
• National parks, Nature national parks or Geoparks as planning instruments - potentials and challenges
• Planning for renewable energy – the challenges of ‘not in my back yard’ principle
• Climate adaptation in local governance – Institutional opportunities and barriers in Danish municipalities
• Planning within a smart city regime
• Demographic changes and restructuring of the societal model
• Civic society vs the welfare regime
• A fair and equitable transition to climate mitigation
• Urban socio-economic implications of climate change
• Planning for regional, urban and rural resilience

Geodata and GIS

• GIS-based analysis of urban mobility
• Transport geography and GIS
• GIS-based analysis of the 15-minute city
• GIS-based spatial statistical modelling
• Analysis of socio-spatial inequalities with GIS
• Mobility challenges of rapidly growing cities in Africa
• Green and/or inclusive mobility and transport
• GIS and Geodata applications in Danish planning
• Mapping and classification of urban areas using satellite imagery
• Deep-learning methods for mapping ‘auto-constructed’ urban areas
• Climate change mitigation planning

Bachelor theses (2022-2024)

• Ambitionen om 'Den blandede by' (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Det atypiske arbejdslivs omfang og betydning for det danske arbejdsmarked (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Effekten af digitaliseringsstrategier for virksomhedslokalisering og social polarisering i Danmark (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• En undersøgelse af strategisk planlægning i danske landsbyer (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Fællesskaber i forandring - et casestudie af lokale fællesskaber på Ærø (supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Implementeringen af fuldt digitaliserede planer i den danske planlægningspraksis (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Is Milwaukee Gentrifying? Examining Neil Smith’s rent gap theory in the Riverwest neighborhood using IPUMS census data (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Kattegatforbindelsens betydning for Samsøs endogene udvikling, stedbundne ressourcer og fremtidige udvikling (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Klimaplanlægning i danske kommuner (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Kortlægning af potentielle placeringer af solcelleanlæg og vindmøller I Tårnby kommune (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Kønsulighed i offentlig transport - Tryghed i Københavns Metro (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Muligheder og forhindringer for udviklingen af tiny houses i Danmark (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Retfærdighed i kommunernes klimaplanlægning (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Uncovering the Lost Village of Torup - A Field Case of Tisvilde Hegn and the Great Sand Catastrophe (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen, Lars Nielsen)

Master theses (2022-2024)

• A GIS-based Method for Implementing the Stormwater Three Step Approach for Oslo (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Assessing Bluespot Depths in Central Denmark's Road Network and the Impacts of Flooding on Emergency Transport (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Assessment of an Automated GIS Model in Estimating Above-Ground NbSsw Potential for Roof Runoff (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Beyond the immediate problem - Exposing the underlying roots to the problem of Danish non-profit housing estates and proposing multi-scalar and progressive solutions (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Coastal floodings in Ghana: A GIS-based risk assessment of the sea level rise and storm surges (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Combining bluespot modelling and risk assessment to identify stormwater management solutions (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Copenhagen and the work towards carbon neutrality - A study of the CPH 2025 Climate Plan (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Deprived neighborhoods and the list of ghettos - A case study of how problems in deprived neighborhoods in Denmark are approached and how the list of ghettos affects the areas (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Detecting and Enhancing Urban Ecological Corridors through Network Analysis for CSRD and ESRS E4 Reporting (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Disparities in walkability and socioeconomic factors in greater Copenhagen: Spatial patterns and implications (Supervisor: Kostas Mouratidis)
• Economic Resilience during the Covid-19 Crisis (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Effects of extreme weather events on dengue outbreaks (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Effects of urban flooding on transportation accessibility and residents commuting under heavy rainfall events: A study in KMing, Yunnan province, China (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Everyday Life; place identity in a new urban neighborhood (Supervisors: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen & Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Identifying building passages and basement entrances to improve stormwater modeling (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Identifying optimal locations for new cycling and pedestrian pathways in a network using GIS Analysis (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Implementation of an infiltration and sewer system add-on to the Arc-Malstrøm screening model (Supervisor: Thomas Balstrøm)
• Inclusive Urban Planning for Young Women Exploring the possibilities and challenges of achieving inclusivity for young women in the inner city of Copenhagen, enhancing their sense of place and sense of wellbeing (Supervisors: Høgni Kalsø Hansen & Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Investigating Household Electricity Demand Patterns: A Temporal and Spatial Analysis using Geocoded Smart Meters (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Is there environmental injustice faced by immigrants from non-western countries in Copenhagen? (Supervisor: Kostas Mouratidis)
• Making Collaborative Planning Spatially Tangible: An Automated Python-based GIS Tool for Planners (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Mapping Pistes and Off-pistes Using Dronoe Derived Imagery and Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Mixed tenure housing - a solution to deprived areas? Illustrated by a case study from Tingbjerg (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Navigation Preferences in a Multi-Level Indoor Environment and their Implementation in Route Planning for Navigation Aid, Based on an IndoorGML Model (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Next (Re)generation of urban development (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Population Ageing and Local Labor Markets in Germany (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Relocation of public sector jobs in Denmark - a case study of The Agency for Governmental Administration in Hjørring (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)
• Socioeconomic Changes in Larger Cities Causes and Challenges in the 21st Century (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Spatial Inequality of Green Space Exposure in Copenhagen: a Novel Composite Index Based on Accessibility, Combined with Visibility and Availability (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• Spatial properties of urban emergency response strategies during flooding disasters (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• The Danish Government's relocation of public sector jobs - does it matter, or is it all talk? (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• The impact of flooding on vehicles Estimating the mobility loss in Accra, Ghana (Supervisor: Lasse Møller-Jensen)
• The Resurgence of Greater Copenhagen: Socioeconomic Changes from the Transformation Towards the Knowledge Economy (Supervisor: Høgni Kalsø Hansen)
• Understanding the impacts of Airbnb rentals and the influence of community - A case study (Supervisor: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen)