The Institute of Geodesy at Technische Universität Darmstadt and the Institute for the Future of Human Society at Kyoto University have signed a research cooperation agreement during the 2024 Joint Symposium on Global Health, organized by the University of Vienna. This agreement marks the first instance of collaboration between these two institutions in academic research.

The primary goal of this partnership is to establish a comprehensive research framework focused on infrastructure and land management and its effects on community mental health and opposition in Japan and Germany. The collaboration will explore the prevalent belief that Japanese planning policies and the German planning system, which emphasizes public participation and the protection of landowners’ rights, both face challenges in achieving consensus-building among rights holders, especially in the context of land readjustment.

The key representatives of this collaborative effort include Professor Yukiko Uchida and Senior Lecturer Igor De Almeida from Kyoto University, alongside Professor Hans-Joachim Linke and Postdoctoral Associate and Senior Lecturer Felipe Francisco De Souza from TU Darmstadt. This pioneering agreement signifies an important step in utilizing geostatistics and research methods in psychology. The main goal is to identify patterns and correlations in urban development practices, opposition, and mental health outcomes of communities affected by land readjustment processes in Japan and Germany.