InterGeo Event Considers Land Management Challenges

Housing shortages and rising property prices in urban areas, depopulation and energy revolution in rural areas — the contrasts couldn’t be greater. On Thursday, October 9, land management experts will come together at InterGeo to discuss key issues and potential solutions.

“The key to making rural areas viable in the long term is to work together. Citizen participation, shared usage strategies, cooperation between municipalities — boundaries are disappearing and it’s land development that makes this possible,” said Hartmut Alker, chair of the Federal and State Working Group on Sustainable Land Development.

In this context, the conference at InterGeo focuses on four major themes:

• Flood prevention using land management strategies.
• Housing shortages in urban areas, taking into account socially progressive land use and forward-looking area management.
• Competition for land during the energy revolution as a political issue and a challenge to engineers to find compatible and compensatory solutions.
• The future of rural areas is a broad topic that examines the “successful shrinking” and successful development of villages and rural areas.

“Developing strategies for the future of rural areas in the context of demographic change is of fundamental importance for Germany as a successful business hub. However, it is not yet given sufficient priority within society,” said Martina Klärle, executive director of FFin – Frankfurter Forschungsinstitut.

At the event, exhibitors will showcase a broad portfolio of tools and solutions for land management. Planning software, 3D simulations and high-resolution remote sensing data are prime examples of geodetic services in this field.

GSS at InterGeo. GPS World/GSS staff will be reporting from InterGeo October 7-9. The massive trade show, held this year in Berlin, is considered the world’s leading conference trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management. With more than 16,000 visitors from 80 countries, it is one of the key platforms for industry dialogue. Staff members attending include GPS World Editor and Publisher Alan Cameron, Survey/GIS Editor Eric Gakstatter, and Digital Editor Joelle Harms. All three are accepting meeting invitations for companies interested in discussing their products and services. Contact editor@gpsworld.com.