How to create municipalities worth living in
Housing is an important topic for all municipalities, especially with the necessary internal densification. But also leisure activities, school space, or the aging population are high on the agenda in many places. If the residents or businesses are involved early on, their own projects can be advanced with broad acceptance. If these five fields of action are taken into account, local needs flow into a project – be it a new project or a conversion:
Five fields of action
# 1 | Resolve usage conflicts
Public and private space is limited. Since 2010, municipalities have been set clear framework conditions with the BZO. At the same time, the individualization of society brings complex demands on a project. Regardless of whether it is the use of streets, a new school building, or the planning of parks or squares, it makes sense for municipalities to involve the various stakeholders early on.
# 2 | Design for and with users
No development without the involvement of future users and all affected non-users. Their involvement is not only useful, but often crucial for success. Today, pump tracks are being created in many places where perhaps a basketball or football field would have been created in the past. At the same time, it is often only small improvements that the users want – be it sun protection for a park bench or a barbecue area.
# 3 | Adapt dynamics
The needs of people are developing with ever greater dynamics. Therefore, it can be useful to evaluate existing offers again after five or ten years: be it through usage analyses, surveys, or interactive formats on site.
# 4 | Include digitization
People are increasingly accustomed to being able to inform themselves online, network, and also book offers. So why not use the possibilities that digitization brings? Today, it is already possible to arrange a barbecue via app and – if desired – reserve the barbecue area or a playing field.
# 5 | Network the neighborhood
What is already largely a reality in supra-municipal work at various levels (see the «Sarganserland» region in the blog here) is largely lacking at the local and neighborhood level. Little has changed there even with the end of Corona, although it was very visible how important a good neighborhood is. However, such initiatives only come to fruition when they are also supported.
Conclusion - for a growth with identity
The Swiss cities are growing – and with them their agglomerations. To prevent these from becoming anonymous places to live, investments in their identity are needed. To enable them to develop, the residents need to be involved. This includes making low-threshold contact and information offers that pick up all relevant stakeholders. If these are thematically or project-specifically networked with the specialists of the municipalities, the basis is laid for the future development to succeed as a lively municipality. This requires less money than the courage to set out together on the path.
Growth and change: What that means
Switzerland is growing – and the regions are moving closer together. Read about the challenges in the 1st part on the topic.