Excursion “Development of rural areas”

After a long break, due to the Coronalage, an excursion “Development of Rural Areas” could be offered again in 2022. Ten students from the TU Darmstadt were able to gain an exciting insight into different areas over three days. On the very first day, the Hessian Administration for Land Management and Geoinformation presented two corporate land consolidation procedures. The staff of the Office for Land Management (AfB) Limburg impressively explained the tasks and challenges associated with such a land readjustment procedure.

On the second day, public and private village renewal projects, various LEADER projects such as the Lahn-Wein-Stieg and the Obernhof/Weinähr vineyard consolidation were visited in the municipalities of Obernhof and Weinähr. The students were welcomed and accompanied by the mayors of the municipalities as well as representatives of the Rhine-Lahn district, the Local Action Group and the Service Centre for Rural Areas Westerwald-Osteifel. Through the direct local reference to the measures and the committed explanations of the actors, a good impression of the challenges but also the scope for action in rural areas and instruments for strengthening them could be gained. On the second day of the excursion, the public participation processes for the implementation and development of an urban development framework plan / development concept for the area of the Scheuern Foundation campus were also presented and explained.

On the third and last day, the Koblenz Waterways and Shipping Authority discussed the “Living Lahn” life project and demonstrated it in practice at a Lahn lock. Another highlight of the excursion was the visit to the LEADER project “Jugenstiltraum – Haus Monreal”, which is currently under construction. This was a good demonstration of the necessary enthusiasm on the one hand, but at the same time also of the coordination of public authorities, which is not insignificant. Finally, another village renewal project, the Balduinstein railway station, was presented and explained. Here, too, the students were shown the challenges and approaches to solving various issues, such as the protection of historical monuments.

Networking among the students was also strengthened with a joint barbecue in the evening. The exchange with students from the TU Dresden, which has been established for many years and is beneficial for students from both university locations, unfortunately had to be cancelled again this year due to an acute case of corona. We hope to see you again next year and would like to thank our colleagues at the TU Dresden for the excellent organisation. In particular, we would like to thank Mr Martin Schumann, lecturer at the TU Dresden and head of the upper land consolidation authority of Rhineland-Palatinate, who made this excursion possible in the first place.