Fe4ErsiGG
The aim of the IF-Bund innovation project "Remote sensing for the determination of settlement structure boundaries and territorial units"(FE4ErSiGG) was to realistically define settlement structures such as urban areas, conurbations, suburban areas and rural regions on the basis of spatial utilization patterns such as building and settlement densities using remote sensing methods. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) project, which ran for one year, was launched in December 2021 together with the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). Other partners involved were the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) and the BKG in an advisory capacity.
Up to now, settlement structures in Germany have been mapped using settlement structure data for administrative units such as municipalities and districts. However, this approach often provides inaccurate results due to the boundaries. For example, cities can only be differentiated from their surrounding areas to a limited extent in this way. In the FE4ErSiGG project, researchers from DLR, BBSR and BiB have therefore pursued an alternative approach: Instead of administrative data, various remote sensing data sets are used to generate consistent spatial units with which settlement structures can be described more precisely. For example, the number of inhabitants in urban regions and their surrounding areas should be determined more precisely. The results of the project contribute to a more precise analysis of social factors such as population changes, commuter relationships and suburbanization in a particular area based on this new territorial delineation. Such an analysis can therefore improve the basis for political and planning decisions.
