Dr.habil. Luis Inostroza

The Institute of Geography at the Ruhr-University Bochum is receiving applications for the Double Degree Master Programme `Transformation of urban Landscapes (TuL)´. TuL focuses on the present and future challenges in developing sustainable metropolitan regions and facilitates the necessary professional competence to cope with those challenges in both growing and shrinking regions. The Master Programme consists of four semesters and will partly be taught in Shanghai at the Tongji University, College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) (semesters three and four). The course language is English. Deadline for applications is 15 July. If you have further queries, please feel free …

I am a great fan of Thomas S. Khun. I genuinely believe that to advancing science, paradigmatic changes are fundamental. We certainly need to revolutionise our conceptual foundations to deepen our understanding of a complex reality in a challenging world. This is a key to face the current ecological crisis. I am a great fan of Leopold as well. I profess that living organisms have the right to live regardless their capacity or potential to benefit humans. They have the ethical right to exist. To my understanding, we humans do not have any tuition/safekeeping on living things or nature, to …

We have been developing research in central European cross-border landscapes, particularly in Upper Silesia between Poland and Chequia, for a couple of years. We believe that this region is an interesting case for applied comparative studies focusing on spatial and landscape development. In this recently published article entitled “Ecosystem services deficits in cross-boundary landscapes: spatial mismatches between green and grey systems” we applied the technomass indicator and the NDVI to assess deficit in ecosystem services demand and supply.

I am really happy to share this brand new piece dealing with one of my favourite topics. The material productivity of ecosystems, as an entangled metabolism across space and time, which was published as open access in Sustainable Cities and Society (Elsevier). “The circularity of the urban ecosystem material productivity: the transformation of biomass into technomass in Southern Patagonia”

Between 12-18 June 2017 we held a session on Urban Heat Island at the WMCAUS2017 conference. The conference proceedings are now available online here. Here is the title and the link to our proceedings: Urban Heat Island Effect on the Energy Consumption of Institutional Buildings in Rome Key Parameters for Urban Heat Island Assessment in A Mediterranean Context: A Sensitivity Analysis Using the Urban Weather Generator Model Natural Ventilation: A Mitigation Strategy to Reduce Overheating In Buildings under Urban Heat Island Effect in South American Cities Enjoy!

As a result of the RegioResources conference held in Lugo, Spain in October 2017 we have four exciting articles recently published in CASES. These articles belong to a Special Issue managed by Dr. Emilio Diaz, professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Thank you very much, Emilio, for this beautiful work! Mapping landscape units in Galicia (Spain): A first step for assessment and management? Eduardo Corbelle-Rico / José María Tubío Sánchez Sustainable landscape management based on cultural ecosystem services Igone Palacios-Agundez / Lorena Peña / Ibone Ametzaga-Arregi / Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz / Miren Onaindia Lake Garda lemon houses (Italy): …