The concept of the “Sustainable Municipality” is currently (again) making the rounds in many forums. This is not surprising given the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office: between 2010 and 2020, ten new municipalities attained the statistical status of a city. During the same period, three new agglomerations also emerged – Reinach (AG) and Mels-Sargans (SG) are particularly interesting here. This is because the two illustrate how Switzerland is continuing to grow together in the Mittelland region.
Growth without identity?
If the Swiss Mittelland region ultimately becomes an urban belt, the pressing questions for the agglomerations are what their identity is, what constitutes their quality of life, or how politics addresses the supra-municipal problems. From the users’ point of view, the first fields of action open up here. The last point becomes clear using the example of supra-municipal development using the example of Mels-Sargans.
City-country difference
According to current figures, around 74 percent of the Swiss population live in one of the new 52 agglomerations. It is interesting to note that urbanization is also progressing in these themselves. The core cities have continued to grow, while the population in the surrounding ring has remained constant overall.
The situation is different in the countryside. Only 14 percent of the population live here. Nevertheless, they still make up almost 50 percent of all municipalities and occupy almost 60 percent of the area. Nevertheless, the countryside is also growing, as the interactive map in the online magazine Watson impressively shows (click on the map for the article): Blue are all municipalities that have grown between 2013 and 2023.
Solutions for municipalities with a high quality of life
A municipality with a high quality of life develops in a balanced way in all areas – and not at the expense of a single area. These areas are society, the environment and the economy. They are often described as the pillars of sustainability and apply generally – i.e. to both urban and rural municipalities.
Framework for local concepts
The universal claim is a strength of the sustainability concept. The federal government uses it for its monitoring of sustainable development (Monet 2030). The practical focus is also reflected in the fact that these criteria have also been adapted by Regiosuisse or form the basis for urban sustainability compasses.
At the federal level, the 17 goals of sustainable development, which were adopted by the UN in 2012 for the 2023 Agenda, are now used for this purpose. They include energy, the economy and access to education and health. Although these have been developed as a universal guideline, they can be easily adapted to local conditions. From the perspective of participation, there are five fields of action:
- Field of action 1: Eliminate conflicts of use at an early stage
- Field of action 2: Develop places for users – together
- Field of action 3: Adapt dynamics
- Field of action 4: Include digitization
- Field of action 5: Network the neighborhood
Read the second part on the topic to find out what these fields of action look like in detail.
Fields of action for municipalities
How the growth and change of municipalities and regions can be shaped in five fields of action.
Sargans: Photo by Sandro Widrig on Unsplash
