In the Alpine valleys, usable land is naturally limited - so it is no wonder that conflicts over land use and function occur time and again. In addition, the scarce areas are used by different users: housing, agriculture and tourism make demands on the land. Climate change is further exacerbating the conflict over land use. How can municipalities manage to distribute the available land fairly, avoid further soil sealing and give ecosystem services the space they need? 

A team of seven partners from Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Slovenia is tackling this issue over the two-year project period. The BrokeringSpaces project is part of the Interreg Alpine Spaces programme. 

BrokeringSpaces: Let's negotiate the ground, not seal it! 

At the beginning of the project, the existing spatial planning instruments are first collected and analysed. However, the instruments are often limited to certain levels and functions, such as building and environmental legislation at local level - there is usually no co-operation with other levels.  

With the help of interviews conducted in pilot regions on the basis of a defined guideline, the first step is to find out what the awareness of land use conflicts is like. What is the situation regarding land consumption? How does the municipality pursue local development? How does it deal with the preservation of open spaces and vacant properties? What historical knowledge has been passed down about possible natural hazards? Is there a particular building culture that may have an influence on settlement development? How can building culture be reconciled with the needs of a modern society? What legislation is the municipality subject to when it comes to spatial planning? Which interest groups are involved in spatial utilisation conflicts?  

The transformation scenarios and guidelines developed in BrokeringSpaces should be transferable to other institutions. For cooperation at local, regional, national and European level and a sensible spatial planning policy that takes into account the needs of all groups involved as well as nature. After all, climate change requires the creation of more space for ecosystem services and the improvement of the quality of natural resources.  

Climate change as a driver  

Climate change is prompting our society to give nature more space in order to utilise ecosystem services. However, our society's ever-increasing demands for personal space, space for peace and quiet in nature, intensified agriculture, mobility and the level of personal services also require space. To date, there has been no comprehensive framework for spatial planning legislation and there is often no co-operation between the groups involved. 

The project aims to initiate constructive change and create new solutions for the negotiation processes surrounding the precious commodity of land. As part of the project, the partners will also focus on developing capacity-building measures for planners on the topic of integrated urban development (IUDC).