Controllers for systems with spatially distributed parameters are often designed on the basis of an approximation model. Doing so, the neglected system dynamics might have a negative impact on the closed-loop behavior. This dissertation presents several approaches to deal with this undesired effect in a systematic way. These address continuous-time as well as discrete-time compensators with particular low order. The considered system class covers a variety of linear parabolic, hyperbolic, and biharmonic systems with spatially distributed inputs and outputs, as well as a class of time-delay systems. The dynamics of these systems and the closed-loop behavior are represented on the basis of state space models. The applied functional analytic tools are explained in detail.