Mathias Jehling

Mathias Jehling is a Professor at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Acting Director of the Institute of Regional Science. He works at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) as a Research Associate in the Department of Spatial Information and Modeling. His research spans land use policy, urban morphology, settlement structure analysis, transport networks, and the energy transition.

• Education: Doctorate at KIT (2007-2008), ERASMUS at University of Aberdeen (2004-2010), Dipl.-Ing. at TU Kaiserslautern
• Current Projects: SubDense (2022-2025), DFG Form follows policy (2023-2026), GI-SP (2022-2024), SNF GoverDENSE (2020-2024)

His research combines institutional theory with spatial analysis to study suburbanization, urban densification, and climate adaptation. Methodologically, he employs GIS, remote sensing, and comparative case studies across Europe and globally. Key themes include the interplay between policy frameworks and physical urban form, with a focus on justice and equity perspectives in planning.

Scientific awards include the 2017 Reinhard Baumeister Prize for his dissertation work on suburban structures. He has published extensively on topics including:

• Densification dynamics and governance
• Land ownership impacts on urban development
• Climate adaptation planning tools
• Comparative European land policy
• Low-density residential area expansion
• Intercommunal cooperation in land use

Jehling's work involves collaborations with TU Dortmund, University of Liverpool, IGN France, Université Gustave Eiffel, and Swiss National Science Foundation partners. He contributes to journals like Land Use Policy, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, and Urban Studies, while maintaining affiliations with the International Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights.