Professor Theo Kötter from the University of Bonn gave a lecture on urbanism, spatial and environmental planning

   On November 2, 2022, one of the best European teachers in the field of urban planning and land management, Professor Dr. Theo Kötter of the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics of the University of Bonn gave a guest lecture on modern concepts, directions and strategies of urban development, spatial and ecological planning of land use.

    The organizers of the meeting were the Faculty of Land Management of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine and the representatives of the program “Professional Dialogue on Land Issues” of the “German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD)” project.

    In total, more than 60 participants from 9 educational institutions joined the lecture. Head of the Faculty of Land Management, Taras Yevsyukov opened the event, emphasized the observance of safety rules during the meeting, and also noted that it is important to use European experience in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and to apply the latest technologies of energy efficiency and eco-building. In addition, it is crucial for future specialists in the field of geodesy, land management and urban planning to apply the best European practices, since Ukraine became a candidate for EU membership on June 23, 2022.
 

    Then Audrius Paura, a representative of the program “Professional Dialogue on Land Issues” of the “German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD)” project, was invited to speak. He introduced Professor Theo Kötter and talked about his academic and professional career, noting that since 2003, Dr. Theo Kötter has been working as a professor of urban planning and land management at the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics of the University of Bonn and teaches subjects such as “Development and modernization of cities”, “Land planning”, “Evaluation of land plots”, “Regional and rural development” and others. In addition, he is a member of a number of professional public organizations and associations, in particular, the Chairman of the Geodesy Committee of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, a member of the German Academy of Urban Planning and Land Planning, a member of the Academy of Spatial and Land Planning Research in Hanover, etc.

    Professor Theo Kötter covered such topics as “Sustainable development of cities: concepts, areas of activity and strategies” and “Sustainable land use: endless growth on depleting land?”

    At the end of each module, the participants took a test, which helped them assess their mastery of the material. Afterwards, the participants could address their questions to the lecturer or engage in a lively and interesting discussion.
    During the video conference, the listeners showed extraordinary activity and interest. For example, Andrii Popov asked whether the ecological component in Germany is a higher priority than the economic and social components in the formation of sustainable urban land use. In response, Professor Theo Kötter noted that there is a conflict of interest between all areas. Olga Pron raised the issues of the impact of the migration of Ukrainians who were forced to move during the military aggression on the sustainable development of German cities.

We express our sincere gratitude to professional translators Ihor Plashkin and Olena Konstantinova for simultaneous translation into Ukrainian and German. The next meeting with European specialists is scheduled for December 2, 2022.

Lyudmila Gunko,
Associate Professor of the Department of Land Use Planning