Capacity of Railway Infrastructure and Possible Density Thresholds for Future Settlement Development in Central Switzerland

A considerable part of the existing settlement area reserves of around 60% are located in the small and mid-sized communities of Switzerland. The project investigates whether the existing formal and informal planning instruments are suitable for high-quality development according to the minimum strategy of 'internal development before new development' and if the relevant stakeholders can apply these instruments.
Essentially, the project concentrates on questions of the existing instruments, stakeholders, organisational forms and their effects on a high-quality settlement development. The project continues the approach and results of two previous important research projects: the SNF project “Playing with density” (Spielräume für Dichte) and Chances and Challenges for the SBB.
As the backbone of public transport in Switzerland, the railway corridors on the national and regional level and railway stations on the local level form the core of the analysis. First results from the project, Chances and Challenges for the SBB, show that there are still large land reserves for settlement development in the areas close to railway stations in small and mid-sized communities.
A long-term goal of the project is sustainable settlement development with emphasis on the development of internal land reserves in combination with railway infrastructure strategies. In the short term, the existing planning instruments and the interaction between the relevant players will be examined.
This project was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).

Project duration
April 2016 - March 2018