“Sustainable Municipalities and Cities – Collaborative Inner Development as the Key”
On 17 June 2025, the BrokeringSpaces Conference took place in Vienna under the theme “Sustainable Municipalities and Cities – Collaborative Inner Development as the Key.”
The EU project BrokeringSpaces (funded by the Interreg Alpine Space Programme) is carried out in cooperation with partners from Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland. The project develops innovative and feasible transformation scenarios that support sustainable land management and spatial decision-making at all governance levels.
The conference was organised by the Austrian Federal Chamber of Architects and Chartered Engineering Consultants (BKZT) in cooperation with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Department of Landscape, Water and Infrastructure; Institute of Spatial Planning, Environmental Planning and Land Use – IRUB). The event focused on the topic of inner development from various perspectives.
The conference was moderated by Ernst Rainer (Chair of the Federal Expert Group on Urbanism and Spatial Planning / BSA), who facilitated an in-depth exchange between experts from research, planning, and municipal practice.
All presentations can be viewed HERE:
1. Speakers
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Gernot Stöglehner, Inner development as a key strategy for soil, climate and biodiversity protection
Head of the Department of Landscape, Water and Infrastructure, IRUB, BOKU Vienna -
Matthias Amann, Philanthropy in urbanism – financing development in Bavaria
Director of the Directorate for Construction, Bavarian Ministry of Housing, Construction and Transport, Munich -
Olaf Heinrich, Municipal profiling and strategic inner development based on the example of Freyung
Mayor of Freyung, Germany -
Robert Krasser, ISEK in Salzburg – theory and practice
SIR – Salzburg Institute for Spatial Planning and Housing -
Gernot Kupfer and Ernst Rainer, ISEK – action profile
Federal Expert Group on Urbanism and Spatial Planning, Federal Chamber of Chartered Engineering Consultants -
Markus Schadenbauer, Revitalising city centres using the example of Hohenems
Managing Director, Schadenbauer Projekt- und Quartiersentwicklungs GmbH -
Nico Jenny and Hannes Ganahl, Designing village centres from a project development perspective using the example of the Municipality of Göfis
Jägerbau GmbH, Bludenz -
Katharina Zeller and Magdalene Schmidt, Opportunities for urban development in Merano – Vision M
Katharina Zeller, Mayor of Merano, Italy
Magdalene Schmidt, Member of the Municipal Commission for Spatial Planning and Landscape, Merano -
Elias Molitschnig, Federal strategies for building culture
Head of Department, Sector IV – Art and Culture, Department IV/B/4, Federal Ministry for Housing, Art, Culture, Media and Sport, Vienna
2. Closing Session
The event concluded with a special version of the documentary “The Automobile Man – Society on the Wrong Track and Possible Solutions” (directed by Reinhard Seiß, 2024, 90 min.), created specifically for the symposium.
Director Reinhard Seiß attended the screening and participated in a discussion with the audience.
3. Expert Survey
During the conference, a Mentimeter survey on the BrokeringSpaces project’s key research questions was conducted among participating experts.
The survey was carried out by the University of Innsbruck and will be incorporated into the project’s analytical work.
