AT-10 :: Demographic changes and urban land use

Urbanization and migration are evidently pressing societal challenges worldwide. Land consumption is an urgent topic (Environment Agency Austria 2013b). More attention for soil and land use is necessary due to competition in the usage. Adapted settlement structures for different age classes and generations with short walkable ways are social places that will sustain longer. The problematic nature of land use is that ideally more than one type of use is possible for the same area of land. The aim is to support different types of usage beside each other (living, working, agriculture, transport, energy generation, flood protection,...) (Stöglehner et al. 2011).
Demand
• How will climate change impact densely settled area and good quality soil with extreme rain events and erosion?
Land management
• What are (financial) incentives for the re-purpose of urban land?
• How can the problem for secondary residences be solved sustainably?
• Does Austria have potential to save or produce more energy on the given land?
• What should be the coefficient between green area and population density? How much park area is necessary to regenerate clean air for the city’s population?
Net impacts
• How can spatial planning tools be used to support inner development, mix of different uses and to avoid decentralised concentrations?
• Investigate socio economic drivers for re-zoning.
• What is the motivation for land use change?
• How can re-zoning be made less profitable and attractive?