CH-2.3 :: Inner development of residential areas

Relevance of the issue and justification of the need for research:
Inner development and compact building are laid down as requirements in the new Spatial Planning Act. However, compact building must not damage the quality of life of inhabitants. Dense residential areas must therefore be well designed and should include attractive open spaces and recreation areas. Many inhabitants have a ""not in my backyard"" mentality. This makes research on the acceptance of compact building very important. Moreover, the question arises which residential areas shall still be allowed to grow outwards and which shall be slated for internal development only. In this field research on burden sharing is needed. The concrete implementation of compact building also poses a challenge.
Specific research topics and knowledge gaps:
Land management
• Inner development and preservation of the quality of life: Show how a residential area can be developed internally without reducing the quality of life of the inhabitants.
• Acceptance of compact building: Understand why the acceptance of compact building is higher in certain areas and where those areas are. Show how compact building must be planned so as to be accepted by the population.
• Decision criteria for inner development: Define decision criteria which help to decide where compact building is and where it is not to take place. Show how to decide fairly which residential areas have to limit themselves to inner development in the future (developing approaches on burden sharing).
• Implementation of inner development: Develop instruments and examples that demonstrate how compact building can be carried out. Municipalities and cantons lack information on how particularly rural detached-housing areas can be densified. Better support for municipalities and cantons, rather than research, is needed here.
Documents:
• Website of New Urban Quality, National Research Programme NRP 65 (running): (Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), 2015b)
• Gesundheit fördern, Landschaft gestalten. Gesundheitsressource Landschaft: Wie sich in Gemeinde-, Stadt- und Quartierentwicklungen dieses Potenzial nutzen lässt: (Stiftung Landschaftsschutz Schweiz & naturaqua PBK, 2015)
• Website on Pilot Programmes Sustainable Spatial Development (Modellvorhaben Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung): (Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung (ARE), 2015)
• Modellvorhaben Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung: Nutzungspotentiale für eine Siedlungsentwicklung nach innen: (Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung (ARE), 2013)
• Bundesgesetz über die Raumplanung (Raumplanungsgesetz, RPG) vom 22. Juni 1979 (Stand am 1. Mai 2014): (Bundesversammlung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, 2014)
• Website on the Project Raum+: (ETH Zurich, 2015)
Stakeholders:
• network, national/regional/local authority, NGO, business/industry, workshop participants