Public Evening (in German): Sustainable Urban Development in Switzerland

The Engelberg Town Counselor Hubert Mathis welcomed the audience to the public evening event on “Sustainable Urban Development in Switzerland”. He said that urban growth also affects Engelberg. The handling of land resources becomes an increasingly important task for politics, according to him.

With the statement of Professor Vittoria Lampugnani from ETH Zurich “We have to develop new concepts for urban zones and unspoilt land”, he established the parameters for the subsequent discussion. “Every second, a square meter of productive land disappears in Central Switzerland. The building boom has left its marks.” This issue was discussed by experts during the public evening event in the Hotel Europe in Engelberg.
Roughly 200 people came to Engelberg to join the discussion on urban development. There were many open questions, ideas and proposals, but no panacea for spatial and urban development. Esther Girsberger, publicist from Zurich, competently chaired the discussion. Josef Estermann, former mayor of Zurich, explained that the pressure on Switzerland comes from 2900 planning agencies – i.e. the Swiss municipalities. Remo Galli, architect and former national counselor from Bern, showed himself convinced that Switzerland plans at a too small scale. For sustainable construction, areas for 5000 people are needed or zones that extend for two kilometers. For Colette Peter from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, it is important to include the population – of course in cooperation with appropriate professionals. Paul Federer, member of the governing counsel of the Canton of Obwalden, asked for consideration of the fact that not every municipality can turn land into construction land and that the cantons have clear parameters regarding land protection and maintaining quality of life. Thomas Kessler, urban planner from Basel, advocated fostering quality of life. It is not necessary to build new cities, but the current cities have to be further developed, he said.

During the subsequent aperitif, construction eyesores, land protection, densified building and commuter flows were intensively discussed. The team of the Hotel Europe was in charge of refreshment and offered a night cap.