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How can we achieve diverse, beautiful and productive landscapes? What interests come into play? How can all parts of society participate in landscape-related decisions in an appropriate and fair way? And what do sustainable landscapes look like?

Assessing, planning and sustainably developing landscapes has political and social dimensions. It involves conflict as well as issues of democracy, equity, participation, and power. Therefore, the field of 'Landscape Planning and Communication' addresses social science aspects of planning and decision-making processes in the field of landscape planning, spatial development and nature conservation.

Currently, the department deals with the following topics:

• Participation and communication in planning processes, e.g. in regard to city-regional landscapes, the revitalization of statutory landscape planning at the local level or the relations between spatial planning and populism in energy policies
• Social-ecological transformations and global justice in the context of nature conservation and landscape development, including the implications for identities and subject positions of planning professionals
• Relations between humans and non-human nature, for instance with regard to controversies about economic terms such as Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital.

The department is also responsible for all GIS courses in the Faculty of Architecture, Urban Planning, Landscape Planning.