Geographies of Economic Ideation and Spatial Transformation (GEIST)

• Applicant: Dr. Tim Rottleb
• Subject Area: Human Geography
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 583973736

The network “Geographies of Economic Ideation and Spatial Transformation” (GEIST) builds on the currently emerging debate on so-called ideational economic geography and aims to contribute to establish this as a distinct, internationally visible field of research and to formulate a shared research agenda. GEIST is intended to lay the groundwork for research that examines how ideas, narratives, values and imaginaries of the future shape economic development and spatial transformation. At its core lies the question of how such ideational categories trigger, steer or hinder transformation processes in different economic spaces such as regions, cities and global production networks, and how these processes can be studied. GEIST starts from the assumption that current profound societal upheavals, such as digitalisation, socio-ecological transformation or processes of (re-/de-)globalisation, cannot be explained solely by material-structural factors such as investment, infrastructure or economic laws. Equally important are collectively shared ideas about how the world works or should work in the future, as well as interpretations of crises and opportunities that shape political decisions, corporate strategies and everyday practices, and that are at the same time embedded in historically and socially specific political-economic contexts. Such ideational dimensions have so far only been addressed selectively and in conceptually heterogeneous ways in economic geography. The network therefore brings together leading and early-career researchers from German-speaking countries and international partner institutions to systematically advance these approaches. In five thematically interlinked workshops, it will, first, clarify fundamental theoretical and epistemological positions, second, refine and operationalise key concepts such as imaginaries, narratives and visions, and, third, develop suitable qualitative and quantitative methods for the empirical analysis of ideational processes. Enabled by the institutional affiliations of the two applicants, two of the workshops will take place in Cottbus and in Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg), locations that themselves are undergoing or have undergone profound transformations. Concrete outputs include a special issue in a leading journal, specialised conference sessions, the preparation of a DFG research group proposal and – optionally – an international final conference. In doing so, GEIST contributes to a better understanding of transformation processes and provides academically grounded orientation for policy-making and civil society.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks