Looking Inward: A focus on tourism, attractions, and quality of life in Columbus, Ohio and Dresden, Germany.

Professors
Dr. Jennifer Evans-Cowley (Ohio State University)
Professor Dr. Bernhard Mueller (Technical University, Dresden, Germany)
Dr. Olaf Schmidt (Technical University, Dresden, Germany)
Andreas Otto (Technical University, Dresden, Germany)

Course Topic

The 2006 Dresden exchange focused on issues that arise as tourism and downtown development change. The U.S. has a modern tradition of providing tourism attractions in order to encourage growth in revenue and employment. Both Germany and the United States have struggled with how to keep downtowns active. While the United States has a history of urban sprawl, the German development tradition has been historically different, though some sprawled development has begun on the outskirts of urban areas. Eastern Germany experienced closures of industries during the reunification and is seeking out opportunities to bring in new businesses and tourists to the community. Issues of how to keep downtown areas active remain critical as well, especially for urban residents, the elderly, the poor, the young, and those lacking personal automobiles.

We want to explore the relationships that cities in the U.S. and Germany have in order to promote regional sustainable development related to tourism. In so doing, we will examine various innovative approaches that have been employed such as tourism attractions, cultural tourism, downtown revitalization, as well as policy considerations of American and German planning.

Dresden Trip Log (.pdf)