Prof. Dr. Rieke Hansen
Prof. Dr. Rieke Hansen
Department of Open Space Planning
- Telephone
- +49 561 804-7047
- hansen[at]asl.uni-kassel[dot]de
- Location
- Gottschalkstraße 26
34127 Kassel
- Room
- Gottschalk 26, Raum 2110
Vita and Research Focus
Dr. Rieke Hansen took over the professorship for Open Space Planning on October 1, 2025 and is thus also head of the Department of Open Space Planning at FB06. She studied Landscape and Open Space Planning at Leibniz University Hannover and completed a traineeship in landscape conservation in North Rhine-Westphalia. She then worked in research and teaching at the Technical University of Munich and at RWTH Aachen University and completed her doctorate on the planning concept of "green infrastructure" in 2018. For the last six years, she has been a tenure-track professor for Open Space Planning and Ecological Urban Development at Hochschule Geisenheim University. Current research and development projects include the development of the "Urban Nature Toolbox" for the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and a guide for the implementation of "Urban Nature Plans" from the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. As a member of the "Scientific Advisory Board for Natural Climate Protection", she is active in policy advice. She is also a registered landscape architect with the Hesse Chamber of Architects and Town Planners.
Rieke Hansen plans to research and teach on issues relating to the further development of Open Space Planning and governance from a socio-ecological perspective. In particular, she will focus on the planning and design of urban green and open spaces in the context of sustainable urban development and possible contributions of Open Space Planning to socio-ecological transformation processes. The Department also deals with the use and appropriation of urban open spaces and the history of Open Space Planning. Another research focus is on human-animal relationships and the treatment of wildlife in spatial planning.
Since October 2025
Professor and Head of the Department of Open Space Planning at the University of Kassel
2019-2025
Tenure-Track-Professor for Open Space Planning and Ecological Urban Development at Hochschule Geisenheim University
2018-2019
Activity at the Chair of Landscape Architecture at RWTH Aachen University
2018
Doctorate on the planning concept of "green infrastructure"
2010-2018
Research and teaching at the Technical University of Munich at the Chair of Strategy and Management of Landscape Development
Traineeship in landscape conservation in North Rhine-Westphalia
Studied Landscape and Open Space Planning at the Leibniz University of Hanover
2025
- Enderich L., Hansen R., Noebel R., Kupilas B. (2025): Taking biodiversity into account in urban development. 978-3-89624-496-3
- Hansen R. (2025): Book review of: Kreutz, Stefan; Stokman, Antje (eds.) (2024): Transforming urban linear infrastructure landscapes. How streets and water bodies can become attractive and climate-adapted urban spaces. Spatial Research and Spatial Planning 83 (3) pp. 240 - 242. DOI: 10.14512/rur.3109
- Enderich L., Hansen R., (2025): Urban development and biodiversity. Planner (2) p. 46 - 47.
- Hansen R., Enderich L., Davis M. (2025): Urban nature plans as a strategy for German municipalities. 978-3-89624-497-0
- Hansen R., Enderich L., Davis M. (2025): Urban Nature Plan: Considering quality of life, climate and biodiversity together!.
- Romelli C., Anderson C.C., Fagerholm N., Hansen R., Albert C. (2025): Why do people visit or avoid public green spaces? Insights from an online map-based survey in Bochum, Germany. Ecosystems and People 21 (1) DOI: 10.1080/26395916.2025.2454252
2024
- Enderich L., Hansen R., Jeschek A., Senck M., Kupilas B. (2024): Making cities green and diverse.
- Hansen R., Enderich L., Davis M. (2024): Urban nature plan: thinking quality of life, climate and biodiversity together!
- Vatanparast E., Joibari S.S., Salmanmahiny A., Hansen R. (2024): Urban Greenway Planning: Identifying Optimal Locations for Active Travel Corridors through Individual Mobility Assessment. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 101 DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128464
- Hansen R., Kurths A., Meier M., Mattes A., Pütz G., (2024): Strengthening urban green infrastructure in municipalities.
2023
- Pauleit S., Hansen R., van Lierop M., Rall E., Rolf W. (2023): Green infrastructure and landscape. 978-3-658-42135-9
- Hansen, R., Bush, J., Okta Pribadi, D., Giannotti, E. (2023): Planning and maintaining nature-based solutions. 978 1 80037 675 5
- Hansen R., Pauleit S. (2023): Planning multifunctional urban green infrastructure for compact cities in Europe. 978-3-030-73089-5
- Hansen R., Mattes A., Meier M., Kurths A. (2023): Reorienting urban green infrastructure planning towards biodiversity. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 90 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128155
- Hansen R., Buizer M., Buijs A., Pauleit S., Mattijssen T., Fors H., van der Jagt A., Kabisch N., Cook M., Delshammar T., Randrup T.B., Erlwein S., Vierikko K., Nieminen H., Langemeyer J., Soson Texereau C., Luz A.C., Nastran M., Olafsson A.S., Steen Møller M., Haase D., Rolf W., Ambrose-Oji B., Branquinho C., Havik G., Kronenberg J., Konijnendijk C. (2023): Transformative or piecemeal? Changes in green space planning and governance in eleven European cities. European Planning Studies 31 (12) pp. 2401 - 2424. DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2022.2139594
- Hansen R., Kurths A., Meier M., Mattes A. (2023): Urban nature toolbox.
2022
- Albert C., Hansen R., Dehnhardt A., Deppisch S., Fürst C., Geißler G., Gerner N., Marzelli S., Poßer C., Rathmann J., Schrapp L., Schröter-Schlaack C., Warner B. (2022): The ecosystem services concept in spatial planning - ten theses. Spatial Research and Spatial Planning 80 (1) p. 7 - 21. DOI: 10.14512/rur.76
- Albert C., Hansen R., Warner B. (2022): Ecosystem services in spatial planning. Spatial Research and Spatial Planning 80 (1) p. 1 - 6. DOI: 10.14512/rur.204
- Deppisch S., Pyka A., Hansen R., Warner B., Albert C., Dehnhardt A., Fürst C., Geißler G., Gerner N., Marzelli S., Poßer C., Rathmann J., Schrapp L., Schröter-Schlaack C. (2022): Using ecosystem services in spatial planning.
- Kabisch N., Frantzeskaki N., Hansen R. (2022): Principles for urban nature-based solutions. Ambio 51 pp. 1388 - 1401. DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01685-w
- Hansen R., Dehnhardt A., Marzelli S. (2022): Transforming spatial planning through ecosystem services?. Spatial Research and Spatial Planning 80 (1) pp. 112 - 127. DOI: 10.14512/rur.58
2021
- Pauleit S., Hansen R., Pribadi D.O. (2021): Editorial: Transformative Urban Greening: Advancing Green Space Governance. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities 3 DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2021.735918
- Hansen R., van Lierop M., Rolf W., Gantar D., Šuklje Erjavec I. Rall E.L., Pauleit S. (2021): Using green infrastructure to stimulate discourse with and for planning practice: experiences with fuzzy concepts from a pan-European, a national and a local perspective. Socio-Ecological Practice Research 3 p. 257 - 280. DOI: 10.1007/s42532-021-00087-2
2020
2019
- Pauleit S., Ambrose-Oji B., Andersson E., Anton B., Buijs A., Haase D., Elands B., Hansen R., Kowarik I., Kronenberg J., Mattijssen T., Stahl Olafsson A., Rall E., van der Jagt A.P.N., van den Konijnendijk Bosch C. (2019): Advancing urban green infrastructure in Europe. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 40 pp. 4 - 16. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2018.10.006
- Pauleit S., Ambrose-Oji B., Andersson E., Anton B., Buijs A., Haase D., Elands B., Hansen R., Kowarik I., Kronenberg J., Mattijssen T., Olafsson A.S., Rall E., van der Jagt A.P.N., van den Bosch C.K. (2019): Advancing urban green infrastructure in Europe: Outcomes and reflections from the GREEN SURGE project. Elsevier pp. 4 - 16. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2018.10.006
- Buijs A., Hansen R., van der Jagt S., Ambrose-Oji B., Elands B., Rall E.L., Mattijssen T., Pauleit S., Runhaar H., Olafsson A.S., Moller M.S. (2019): Mosaic governance for urban green infrastructure: Upscaling active citizenship from a local government perspective. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 40 pp. 53 - 62. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2018.06.011
- Hansen R., Olafsson A.S., van der Jagt A.P.N., Rall E., Pauleit S. (2019): Planning multifunctional green infrastructure for compact cities: What is the state of practice? Ecological Indicators 96 p. 99 - 110. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.09.042
- Rall E., Hansen R., Pauleit S. (2019): The added value of public participation GIS (PPGIS) for urban green infrastructure planning. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 40 pp. 264 - 274. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2018.06.016
- Pauleit S., Andersson E., Anton B., Buijs A., Haase D., Hansen R., Kowarik I., Olafsson A.S., Van der Jagt S. (2019): Urban green infrastructure - connecting people and nature for sustainable cities. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 40 pp. 1 - 3. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2019.04.007
2018
- Hansen R., Born D., Lindschulte K., Rolf W., Bartz R., Schröder A., Becker C.W., Kowarik I., Pauleit S. (2018): Green infrastructure in urban areas: basics, planning and implementation in integrated urban development : final report on the R+D project "Green infrastructure in urban areas: basics, planning and implementation in integrated urban development" (FKZ 3515 82 0800). Bonn BfN, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation DOI: 10.19217/skr503 978-3-89624-240-2
- Davies C., Lafortezza R., Hansen R., Rall E., Pauleit S. (2018): Urban green infrastructure in europe: Is greenspace planning and policy compliant?. Land Use Policy 69 p. 93 - 101. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.08.018
2016
2015
- Rall E.L., Kabisch N., Hansen R. (2015): A comparative exploration of uptake and potential application of ecosystem services in urban planning. Ecosystem Services 16 p. 230 - 242. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.10.005
- Hansen R., Frantzeskaki N., McPhearson T., Rall E., Kabisch N., Kaczorowska A., Kain J.H., Artmann M., Pauleit S. (2015): The uptake of the ecosystem services concept in planning discourses of European and American cities. Ecosystem Services 12 p. 228 - 246. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.11.013
2014
- Haase D., Larondelle N., Andersson E., Artmann M., Borgstrom S., Breuste J., Gomez-Baggethun E., Gren A., Hamstead Z., Hansen R., Kabisch N., Kremer P., Langemeyer J., Rall E.L., McPhearson T., Pauleit S., Qureshi S., Schwarz N., Voigt A., Wurster D., Elmqvist T. (2014): A Quantitative Review of Urban Ecosystem Service Assessments: Concepts, Models, and Implementation. Ambio 43 pp. 413 - 433. DOI: 10.1007/s13280-014-0504-0
- Hansen R., Pauleit S. (2014): From Multifunctionality to Multiple Ecosystem Services? A Conceptual Framework for Multifunctionality in Green Infrastructure Planning for Urban Areas. Ambio 43 pp. 516 - 529. DOI: 10.1007/s13280-014-0510-2
2012
SHAPING URBAN NATURE TOGETHER
Event: Online Dialogs Ecosystem Restoration
Date: 23.09.2025
Location: online (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
URBAN NATURE PLANS AS AN INTEGRATED TOOL FOR GREEN SPACE PLANNING
Event: 2025 ECLAS Conference "agriCULTURAL landscapes"
Date: 08.09.2025
Location: Nitra (Slovakia)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
CO-GOVERNING URBAN NATURE - BETWEEN POLICY AMBITIONS AND LOCAL REALITIES IN GERMAN CITIES. SESSION 3K
Event: IALE 2025 European Landscape Ecology Congress
Date: 05.09.2025
Location: Bratislava (Slovakia)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND BIODIVERSITY IN URBAN AREAS
Event: ISOE Colloquium
Date: 24.07.2025
Location: Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
INTEGRATIVE GREEN SPACE PLANNING FOR REGENERATIVE URBAN NATURE
Event: Copenhagen Landscape Lectures
Date: 23.06.2025
Location: Copenhagen (Denmark)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
KEYNOTE ON THE TOPIC OF URBAN TREES ON BISHOP BLUM SQUARE IN GEISENHEIM
Event: TREES - Raising Environmental Awareness through Performing Arts
Date: 22.05.2025
Location: changing locations (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
BRINGING DIVERSE GREEN INTO THE COMMUNITIES
Event: BUGA Dialog
Date: 06.05.2025
Location: changing (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
URBAN NATURE FOR THE FUTURE: THINKING QUALITY OF LIFE, CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY TOGETHER
Event: Senckenberg Lectures
Date: 18.12.2024
Location: Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING URBAN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WITH THE URBAN NATURE TOOLBOX
Event: 37th German Nature Conservation Day (DNT)
Date: 26.09.2024
Location: Saarbrücken (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
CONSIDERING BIODIVERSITY IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT FUNDING - RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Event: German Ecological Society 53rd Annual Conference (GfÖ 2024)
Date: 11.09.2024
Location: Freising (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
THINKING CLIMATE ADAPTATION, QUALITY OF LIFE AND BIODIVERSITY TOGETHER: NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS AS AN INTEGRATED PLANNING APPROACH
Event: Naturally resilient: anchoring nature-based solutions in municipal climate adaptation concepts
Date: 07.05.2024
Location: online (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
WHO IS SHAPING THE CITY OF TOMORROW? A TREE CALLED DORKA, DIY PARKS AND THE QUESTION OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
Event: Geisenheim Science Tent at the "Besser als Nix! Festival" 2024
Date: 03.05.2024
Location: Geisenheim (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AS A DRIVER FOR QUALITY OF LIFE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE RUHR METROPOLIS
Event: Network Day Green Infrastructure Ruhr Metropolis
Date: 11.04.2024
Location: Essen (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN URBAN AREAS - FOCUSING ON BIODIVERSITY
Event: 10th Campus Conference on Landscape Development
Date: 15.03.2024
Location: Osnabrück (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
URBAN NATURE PLANS - IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY IN MUNICIPALITIES
Event: Designing with urban nature - now!
Date: 07.03.2024
Location: Leipzig (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
URBAN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN PRACTICE - APPROACHES FOR MORE URBAN NATURE
Event: 13th Urban Green Symposium
Date: 07.11.2023
Location: Berlin (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
MORE NATURE IN INTEGRATED URBAN PLANNING: BIODIVERSITY AS A TOPIC OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROMOTION
Event: 62nd German Congress of Geography
Date: 20.09.2023
Location: Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
DEVELOPING NETWORKED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: APPROACHES FROM THE URBAN NATURE TOOLBOX
Event: 62nd German Congress of Geography
Date: 20.09.2023
Location: Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, CLIMATE SAVERS, LIVING BEINGS - PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN TREES
Event: Between the Trees. Urban Green - Art - Design
Date: 14.04.2023
Location: Cologne (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
CLIMATE-ADAPTED OPEN SPACES
Event: Plan N - Exemplary Sustainable Building in Germany
Date: 16.02.2023
Location: Hamburg (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
URBAN NATURE IN INTEGRATED CITY PLANNING - HOW DO WE SUPPORT MUNICIPAL PRACTICE IN GERMANY?
Event: 7th International Conference of the Network URBIO - Urban Biodiversity & Design
Date: 29.11.2022
Location: Leipzig (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
TRANSFORMATIVE OR PIECEMEAL? CHANGES IN GREEN SPACE PLANNING AND GOVERNANCE IN ELEVEN EUROPEAN CITIES?
Event: 4th ESP Europe Conference
Date: 10.10.2022
Location: Heraklion (Greece)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
BETWEEN GREEN SPACE MAINTENANCE AND CARE FOR URBAN NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS - INSIGHTS FROM BERLIN
Event: 58th ISOCARP World Planning Congress
Date: 03.10.2022
Location: Brussels (Belgium)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
GREEN SPACE GOVERNANCE BETWEEN PARTICIPATION IN TOP-DOWN PLANNING AND CO-CREATION - EXAMPLES FROM ELEVEN EUROPEAN CITIES
Event: IALE 2022 European Landscape Ecology Congress: Making the future, learning from the past
Date: 11.07.2022
Location: Warsaw (Poland)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
TOOLS FOR CO-GOVERNANCE OF NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES
Event: IALE 2022 European Landscape Ecology Congress: Making the future, learning from the past
Date: 11.07.2022
Location: Warsaw (Poland)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
THE CLIMATE-FRIENDLY CITY: MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE URBAN TRANSITION TOGETHER
Event: Lecture series Global Challenges "Transformation processes in the Anthropocene"
Date: 28.06.2022
Location: Darmstadt (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURES - BETWEEN PANACEA AND GREEN WASHING
Event: Exchange of experience of the Engineering Ecology Association (IÖV)
Date: 30.09.2021
Location: Darmstadt (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
USING TRANSFORMATION POTENTIALS: INITIATING TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESSES IN SPATIAL PLANNING WITH THE CONCEPT OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Event: IOER Annual Conference 2021 "Space & Transformation"
Date: 23.09.2021
Location: Dresden (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
ON A PATH TO URBAN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE? CHANGES IN GREEN SPACE PLANNING APPROACHES IN SELECTED EUROPEAN CITIES BETWEEN 2014 AND 2020.
Event: Third World Conference of the Society for Urban Ecology "CITIES AS SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS"
Date: 07.07.2021
Location: Poznan (Poland)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
GREEN PLANNING IN TRANSITION?
Event: "Green in the City" research workshop
Date: 22.06.2021
Location: Berlin (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE - FROM THE GREEN FRAMEWORK AND GRAY POTENTIAL AREAS
Event: Online seminar "Tree protection, biodiversity and sustainable mobility - What design options do district committees have?"
Date: 20.05.2021
Location: Munich (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
DEVELOPING CITIES AND REGIONS FROM THE LANDSCAPE: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS AS NEW PLANNING CONCEPTS
Event: 5th Dortmund Conference "Rethinking Spaces - Planning in a Changing World"
Date: 17.02.2020
Location: Dortmund (Germany)
Adviser: Hansen, Rieke
PlaCES - Improving landscape Planning and design with Cultural Ecosystem Services in HEIs
https://hs-gm.hessenfis.de/converis/portal/detail/Project/16983633
Taking biodiversity into account in urban development funding - Recommendations for municipalities on taking biodiversity into account in urban development funding areas
https://hs-gm.hessenfis.de/converis/portal/detail/Project/10923468
Municipal climate protection with laser-based CO2 monitoring
https://hs-gm.hessenfis.de/converis/portal/detail/Project/10867570
Urban green infrastructure in practice - sample solutions and recommendations for action
https://www.bfn.de/projektsteckbriefe/urbane-gruene-infrastruktur-konkret-musterloesungen-und-handlungsempfehlungen