The Austrian

Spatial Development Concept 2001

Abbreviated version

www.oerok.gv.at
The Austrian
Spatial Development Concept 2001
Abbreviated version
ÖREK 2001 – PREFACE

Spatial planning and spatial development are tasks carried out by the federal government, the
Länder and the municipalities in Austria, involving the complex issue of the assignment of com-
petencies. The federal government is the competent body for sectoral issues, the Länder have
the general competence for development planning under the General Provisions of the Austrian
Constitution. The execution of local spatial planning is the competence of the municipalities
according to the Provisions of the Austrian Constitution. Within the scope of private administra-
tion, local authorities may engage in planning activities and implement planning measures.

As early as in the 1960s, spatial planning was recognised as a joint task of the federal, Länder
and municipal governments. As a result, the "Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning
(Österreichische Raumordnungskonferenz, ÖROK)" was founded in 1971. At the time, one of
the main tasks assigned to ÖROK was the drafting of a spatial planning concept for Austria. This
task was accomplished for the first time in 1981; ten years later a revised version, the "Austrian
Spatial Planning Concept 1991" was published.

In drafting the "Austrian Spatial Development Concept 2001" (ÖREK 2001), the former version
was completely revised with a special focus on the integration of Austria into the European
Union and on the enlargement process as well as on the issues of securing Austria’s qualities as
business location in a globalised economy and the growing significance of cross-border co-operation.

The revision work for the ÖREK 2001 was organised with the objective of making the process
as open as possible and to enable the broad participation of all partners (federal government,
Länder, municipalities, social and economic partners) as well as all interested experts. This
approach entailed a lengthy work and discussion procedure, and the outcome of these efforts
was the draft of the ÖREK 2001 completed in spring 2001. After an intensive finalisation phase,
the top-level body of officials of ÖROK, the Commission of Deputies, adopted the draft ÖREK
2001 in December 2001 and recommended the proposal to the Political Conference at which
the concept was adopted in April 2002.

The "Austrian Spatial Development Concept 2001" is a document arrived at by the consensus
of all the ÖROK partners. It is not binding, but is rather intended to serve as guidance and is
therefore a recommendation and orientation for all parties involved in planning work with a
spatial impact. Thus, ÖREK 2001 will only have a meaningful impact if it is fully accepted by the
actors involved in Austrian spatial development and spatial planning policy. The approach applied
involved a ver y broad range of participants in the preparator y phase with the aim to achieve
broad acceptance. ÖREK 2001 has been designed to play a pivotal role in achieving sustainable
spatial development in Austria.

Vienna, April 2002

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 CHANGED FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY 6

1.1 The European integration process 6

1.2 The globalisation of the economy and society 6
1.3 Labour market flexibility 6
1.4 Societal changes 6
1.5 Spatial developments 8
1.6 Guidelines and principles 9

2 SIX PRIORITY THEMES FOR AUSTRIAN SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY AT THE

OUTSET OF THE 21ST CENTURY 10

2.1 Austria as a business location in Europe 10

2.2 Sustainable use of natural resources 12
2.3 Balanced regional development and social integration 14
2.4 Mobility and traffic: opportunities, moderation and excesses 16
2.5 Urban regions: dynamic development and need for guidance 20
2.6 Rural regions: a variety of challenges and development opportunities 22

3 CURRENT REQUIREMENTS – A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF PLANNING 25

3.1 Planning relates to everyone: sensitivity and mobilisation of the population for
planning issues 25
3.2 Planning: from the product to the process 26
3.3 The mobilisation of synergy effects through cooperation 26
3.4 A reorientation of the relationship between spatial planning and regional
development policy 27
3.5 Focus on the spatial impact of sectoral policies through legal norms,
planning and assistance schemes 28

5
 CHANGED FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS the possibilities for the global exchange of
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST information.
CENTURY
• A stronger international division of
The European integration process labour, the elimination of barriers at the
national level and technological develop-
The overall conditions for spatial develop- ment have increased the mobility of the
ment in Austria have changed fundamen- production factors of labour and capital,
tally due to Austria’s accession to the EU while qualitative location features are
in 1995, the further development of the gaining significance and becoming decisive
Union itself and its plans for eastward in the competition of the regions.
enlargement:
Labour market flexibility
•Major economic, security and foreign
policy decisions must now be accorded The changes in the global economy are
with the European partners. having an impact on the framework
conditions for the labour market:
• The single market and monetar y union
have made the exchange of goods and • Easing of social legislation and business
services across national borders easier, organisation regulations. Emergence of
and the international division of labour new forms of occupation, increase in part-
has been further advanced. time work and average duration of
employment with a firm decreases.
• The accession of the Central and East
European Countries (CEEC) is another • Decrease of traditional ties to locations
challenge facing the European Union. that result from belonging to specific
firms. Increasingly mobile population.
• The increasing interdependence of
European states in the sphere of politics, Societal changes
economics, social and ecological affairs
has heightened the awareness of the need The relationships between space and
to coordinate spatial development at the society are changing. This development
European level. requires substantial adjustment efforts, as
all institutions and social security systems
The globalisation of the economy and are directly affected.
society
• In Austria – as in many other industriali-
The process of internationalisation and sed countries – the population is growing
globalisation of the economy and society only at ver y low rates.
is progressing irrespective of European
integration. • Higher life expectancy and sinking birth
rates are resulting in an aging population:
• The markets for capital and goods are A declining number of young people contrast
expanding. with the growing number of older people.

• The new information technologies are •The decreasing size of average house-
reducing physical barriers and broadening holds and higher demands on living

6
standards are leading to sustained high • By contrast, the emergence of an opposite
settlement pressure despite a population trend of a stronger identification with
that is growing only slightly. one’s immediate living environs, own
town or city quarter, and own region has
• Population growth depends on internatio- been observed.
nal migration due to the low birth rates.
This has led to an ever increasing number • Leisure time and recreation are beco-
of multi-cultural societies in Europe. ming increasingly important for individual
lifestyles. In "areas of confrontation" tradi-
• The variety of lifestyles and forms of tional life forms may conflict with new
living as well as the growing mobility of forms of leisure time activities.
the population are causing people to lose
touch with their immediate living space • Traditional shopping behaviour is increa-
and traditional social ties. People are singly being displaced by a shopping
increasingly more willing to spend experience perceived as an adventure. In
different life phases in different places. procuring goods and using services, it is

Finnland

Island Schweden

Norwegen

Estland

Lettland

Litauen
Dänemark

Irland
Weißrußland

Vereinigtes Königreich
Niederlande
Polen
Deutschland
Ukraine
Belgien
Tschechische Rep.
Luxemburg
Slowakei
Moldawien

Österreich
Frankreich Ungarn Rumänien
Schweiz
Slowenien
Kroatien

Bosnien-
Herzegowina Serbien-
Montenegro
Bulgarien

Italien

Mazedonien

Albanien
Portugal
Spanien
Griechenland

Pic. 1

7
 Spatial developments

• Urban regions are the gainers of globali-

sation; this is promoted by high capacity
infrastructure, highly qualified human
resources and excellent accessibility.

• Extending from urbanised areas, the

process of suburbanisation is expanding
into the hinterlands, driven by the people’s
desire to live in green areas as well as by
Pic. 2 the rising demand for space for transport,
retail, commerce, industr y, services and
no longer merely the aim to cover needs, but leisure time facilities. This is contrasted by
it is becoming increasingly important that pur- the process of reurbanisation, triggered by
pose be linked with adventures and events. the attractiveness of the city centres for
certain segments of the population.
• Information and knowledge are gaining
significance; life-long learning is becoming • Rural regions are showing clear tenden-
an indispensable prerequisite for an inno- cies to urban forms of life and urbanisation.
vative society. At the same time, a well- The discontinuation of farming in agricultu-
educated population is a major locational ral areas could lead to the renaturalisation
advantage for the economy. Technological of cultivated landscapes. Settlement areas
developments are making it possible to may be threatened by natural menaces.
seize opportunities, even in remote regions,
but also create new problems of isolation • Large-scale models of supply, leisure
and a possible trend of de-solidarity. time and tourism activities promote the

Pic. 3

8
spatial specialisation. On the one hand,
these may play a major role as economic
factors, but on the other hand, they may
also lead to the economic decline of
traditional town and city cores.

• The tendency of spatial separation of

functions is causing traffic volumes to
rise. The growing dependence of mobility
on individual means of motorised trans-
port is causing growing conflicts between
individual users of means of transport and
the affected residential population.
Pic. 4

• Despite many efforts to check these

developments, we expect the consump- the need for examining, and if necessar y,
tion of raw materials and non-renewable adapting the tasks as defined to date. On
forms of energy to continue rising. the other hand, they also restrict the
Climate changes, the strain on ecological latitude for successful policies.
systems and their dismemberment,
especially by transportation means are Guidelines and principles
also causing damages to the environment.
The objective is make sustainability an
These changed framework conditions have inherent part of Austria’s spatial develop-
created new challenges for the local ment policy. This means that environmen-
authorities in Austria dealing with issues tally benign economic activity and
of spatial relevance and have given rise to practice should be guided by the objective

Pic. 5

9
 of a balanced spatial development that features of a landlocked countr y, a moun-
strives for the harmony of the social and tainous countr y and a border countr y. The
economic demands on space with its European integration process, and in
ecological and cultural functions. Austria’s particular, the EU enlargement are
spatial development policy has therefore changing the geopolitical positioning of
committed itself to pursue the following Austria: The traditional spatial image of
principles: the past decades – Austria as a countr y at
• the cost-conscious, prudent use of space the border (as a bulwark, as a bridge) –
and the environment; will no longer be significant in an
• the creation of spatial prerequisites for enlarged Europe.
economic development; If prosperity and quality of life in Austria
• the development of society in space, and and its regions are to be lastingly secured,
• the active participation in change processes. Austria will have to face the following
The spatially well-balanced reinforcement challenges:
of the competitiveness of the regions,
securing equal access to infrastructure • In international competition as a
and knowledge, and the maintenance of business location, apart from the "hard"
the natural environment as the foundation location factors such as infrastructure and
of life and of cultural heritage are production costs, the so-called "soft"
intended to contribute to economic and factors, i.e., qualitative factors (qualifi-
social cohesion, equal living conditions in cation and motivation of labour, friendly
the subregions and to social integration. business climate and creative environ-
ment, quality of life, etc.) will be crucial.
SIX PRIORITY THEMES FOR AUSTRIAN The sustainable development of these
SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY AT factors will therefore become a success
THE OUTSET OF THE 21ST CENTURY factor in the competition of the regions.

Austria as a business location in Europe • International access to transport routes

will continue to be an important location
New challenges factor. The European transport system is
currently in a state of rapid development.
The location of Austria has been described The decisions at the European and
to date using the large-scale regional national levels on the priorities regarding
the expansion of the high capacity trans-
port infrastructure and the definition of
the legal and organisational framework
conditions for the operation of transport
systems will also be decisive for a
location’s potential.

• Not only markets for globally traded

goods and services, but also increasingly
labour and regionally offered services are
extending across national borders. This
requires a stronger focus on the cross-
border aspects of economic and labour
Pic. 6
market policy.

10
 Pic. 7

Strategic orientation Application in policy areas

of spatial relevance
In order to be able to successfully meet
the challenges derived from the above- The application of the existing set of
mentioned trends, it is proposed to instruments employed by local authorities
create a strategy for this decade for the shall focus in future more strongly on
development of the “business location of providing support to labour force and
Austria in Europe“ that rests on three businesses in coping with the challenges
pillars: of European integration, especially in
connection with the EU enlargement. The
• The existing – both hard and soft – following sets of measures shall be given
location factors of Austria have to be special attention:
actively reinforced and better positioned
internationally, and they must be further • the focused application of assistance
developed taking into account the large- instruments of the federal government
scale regional interrelationships. and of the Länder for the purpose of
improving the infrastructure of small
• All important Austrian economic and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
areas are in the vicinity of borders. and raising the level of qualification
It shall therefore be especially impor- of the labour force, including motiva-
tant to foster a more intensive tional consulting for specific target
exploitation of the opportunities of groups;
cross-border collaboration in locational
development. • Improvement of the cross-border infra-
structure, including the multi-modal
• The diversity and attractiveness of the nodes necessar y to secure the capacity
natural spaces and cultural environment of the of the area;
of Austria’s regions constitute a valuable
potential which should be used and • Public relations work to inform the
developed sustainably and prudently for population of the measures already taken
locational development. and of the planned measures for border

11
 Pic. 8

regions, including their exposition on the straining of the soil, water, air and energy
basis of successful project examples (best resources, ecological limits must be
practice). acknowledged. The limitation of the use
It will be possible to successfully over- of resources is defined according to the
come these new challenges in the future principle of sustainability. Accordingly, the
only in cooperation with the involved local use must be efficient so as to ensure that
authorities. This relates in particular to: no irreversible effects occur on the
natural balance or other forms of use
• regional cooperation of the Länder as persist that would diminish the develop-
well as of the cities and municipalities in ment opportunities of the present genera-
the form of regional development associa- tion and especially the future generations.
tions and urban-hinterland partnerships; A basic understanding of the necessity of
sustainable development and the corres-
• cross-border cooperation with the neigh- ponding preservation of natural resources
bouring states (also at the regional and contrast with spatial trends that contra-
local level, especially within the scope of dict the principle of sustainability:
the so-called "Euregios"); • growing consumption of space,
• increasing ecological strains from settle-
•the participation of cities and regions in ments, the businesses and transport,
Europe-wide cooperation networks. • hazards to the soil and ground water,
• loss of resources due to rising volumes

Sustainable use of natural resources of waste and contaminated sites needing

restoration.
New challenges In the past decade, the principle of
sustainability has been recognised as an
Natural resources are the basis for the internationally agreed-on goal in nume-
existence of flora and fauna as well as for rous documents of the UN, the EU and
the diversity of biotopes, natural and the Council of Europe. At the same time
cultivated landscapes. To avoid the over- the economic globalisation tendencies

12
have been making it harder to adhere to a • Residential construction should be
policy guided by the principle of sustain- linked with public transport in order to
ability. In this context of conflicting secure a more efficient use of the trans-
ambitious objectives and limiting frame- port infrastructure.
work conditions at the global scale,
national policies must search for feasible • A sufficient settlement density in the
solutions. catchment areas of public and private
utilities also contributes to the economic
Strategic orientation efficiency of local suppliers and fosters
social infrastructures.
In implementing the principles of
sustainability, local settlement develop- • In land development and planning, the
ment is of strategic significance. focus should not be only on aspects of
Settlement structures have a major design, but also on the efficient use of
influence on traffic volumes and thus the resources for energy supply and heating,
consumption of resources (especially for and the issue of renewable or non-rene-
transport and energy): wable energy sources.

• A sustainable settlement development Application in policy areas

will always endeavour to attain a mix of of spatial relevance
basic subsistence functions. The vicinity
of the places where people live, work, To achieve the prudent and sustainable
engage in leisure time activities, purchase use of space, local authorities already
goods, enjoy education and communicate have a range of instruments at their
has increased the likelihood of environ- disposal for influencing developments that
mentally-friendly forms of transport need to be expanded and applied even
(bicycle, walking). more efficiently:

Pic. 9

13
 • The instruments of local spatial planning
should be oriented on the models of
compact settlements and a small-scale mix
of (compatible) uses.

• The procedures to assess the spatial and

environmental impacts of large plants
(also under EU law) must be applied
consistently. Pic. 12

• Landscape and open space concepts population is sufficiently informed on the

should be an integral part of regional and status and objectives of the planning and
local development concepts. interested parties are integrated into the
• Spatial planning should offer assistance discussion process at an early point in time.
in the search for suitable locations for
Balanced regional development and
social integration

New challenges

Austria belongs to the group of economi-

cally highly developed and strong coun-
tries. The extent of social inequality is
low in comparison with other countries.
Pic. 10
Less than one-tenth of the population is
considered to be threatened by poverty
and social exclusion.

A growing tendency of social imbalance

has been observed that is emerging
against a backdrop of increasing flexibili-
ty on the labour market and the reform of
the social security system, which is enlar-
ging the widening of the social gap.
Pic. 11

Moreover, this tendency shows a specific

plants for the thermal treatment and spatial distribution pattern, though it can-
depositing of waste. not be reduced to simple differentiations
such as urban-rural or West-East. From a
• The assistance instruments applied by spatial development viewpoint, social
local authorities should be examined as to inequality becomes a problem when it
their impacts with respect to a sustainable coincides with spatial segregation.
development and, if necessar y, modified. Whenever segments of the population
threatened by poverty concentrate in
• A prerequisite for successful planning at specific parts of a city or region, the risk
the local level with a view to attaining of spiralling socio-economic downfall
sustainability is ensuring that the local increases.

14
The loss of significance of the family and • further development of local public
the growing size of the aging population is transport systems
making the importance of the social infra-
structure ver y clear. Knowledge has become a crucial strategic
resource that supports the economic,
The spatial differences in the quality of social and cultural development of society
the availability of goods and services, as a whole as well as individuals and
especially in the retail business, are groups of persons.
growing. A growing concentration at
fewer locations in larger centres is contra- This requires a diverse and spatially broad-
sted by the disappearing functions in the based offering of facilities to promote the
numerous smaller and medium-sized acquisition and exchange of knowledge.
cities. The simultaneous retreat of utili-
ties from these areas is leading to losses Application in policy areas
in the standard of living among the less of spatial relevance
mobile population and to a tendency of
disintegration.

As a consequence of the spatial division of

labour, the increasing locational competi-
tion and locational specialisation, mono-
structural function spaces are emerging.
Parts of cities and rural municipalities that
are dedicated exclusively for residential
purposes not only contradict the
objectives of sustainable development, but
also reinforce social inequality with
Pic. 13
respect to people’s option of being able to
participate in social life.

Strategic orientation

Spatial development policy must strive to

promote balanced structures in the long
term and to prevent social segregation.
Preserving a functional and social mix in
urban and rural regions is the goal.
Mechanisms that encourage involuntar y
segregation that gradually takes hold
should be counteracted. Spatial develop- Pic. 14
ment policy can contribute to this goal by
observing the following principles: Measures to prevent spatial exclusion and
• polycentric spatial development to reinforce social integration may and
• converging economic development must be taken in many policy areas:
• preservation and expansion of compact
settlement structures • In urban renewal, care must be taken to
• functional and social mix of settlements avoid that restoration measures displace

15
 Pic. 15

weak population groups or encourage Mobility and traffic: opportunities,

segregation. moderation and excesses

•Avoidance of social monostructures in New challenges

new housing developments.
The political transformation in Central
• Broad-based access to education and and Eastern Europe in 1989 shifted
qualification opportunities must be Austria from a peripheral location at the
guaranteed, also as regards the spatial border to the Iron Curtain to a central
aspects. Modern forms of telecommunica- location at the heart of the continent.
tions may help to overcome spatial Until then the problem of transit traffic
barriers. had been restricted to the transport
routes across the Alps, especially in the
• Decentralised and mobile forms of west of the countr y, while the eastern
healthcare, care for the elderly and social part of Austria suffered from the dead
assistance can frequently be provided not regions along the borders; now new
only specifically as needed, but also at transport relations are developing at a
lower costs. highly dynamic pace with our eastern
neighbours.
The services of social infrastructure are The economic structural changes are also
often provided by different private and having an impact on transport:
public bodies.
A well-functioning cooperation between • Changes in the structure of goods
these institutions can contribute to provi- (fewer goods, more high quality products,
ding a broad range of services and avoid just-in-time deliver y) are resulting in an
parallel offerings, thus ensuring the effi- increase of cargo good transport with a
cient use of public funds. higher affinity to roads.

16
• The expansion of the service sector is Suburbanisation and the despoliation of
creating higher traffic volumes of the landscape are among the main causes
individual commercial transport. of the disproportionately high rise in
traffic capacity, as both the number and
• An increase in the degree of specialisa- the length of the distances that can be
tion and the reduction of the manufactu- covered by automobile are steadily increa-

Pic. 16 Pic. 18

Pic. 17 Pic. 19

ring depth has resulted in a strong sing. Due to the spatial and temporal
increase in the transportation of dispersion of transport demand, public
semi-finished goods. transport is losing its capability to meet
these needs adequately and inexpensively.
•The growing volume of traffic is due
mainly to developments within national bor- The growing number of opportunities to
ders, also in the case of passenger traffic. articulate diverse and often contradictor y
interests in the planning process, which is
Demographic changes (more agile and ver y desirable from a democratic policy
more elderly people) and changes in life- standpoint, is delaying decision-making
styles resulting from higher prosperity and the implementation of larger trans-
(young singles with more purchasing port infrastructure projects. This is
power, higher leisure time mobility, making it harder to find a balance
second cars and second homes) have between needs and supply, and is making
added to the rising use of private the already ver y high costs of such
automobiles. projects even higher.

17
 Strategic orientation reduced to sustainable and compatible
levels through suitable market and regula-
Austrian transportation policy has the aim tion policy instruments – also by giving
of overcoming the fundamental conflicting preferential treatment to environmentally-
objectives of the economy and the friendly modes of transport.
environment by pursuing a cooperative
coordination policy for the benefit of both Application in policy areas
parties. of spatial relevance

• On the one hand, a transportation net- The configuration of high capacity trans-
work dimensioned and adjusted to the portation networks (rail, road, the
spatial structure and the use of space is Danube water way) is intended to corre-
necessar y that consists of roadways, rail- spond to the needs of the internal and
way lines, water ways and their nodes as external integration of Austria. Major

Pic. 20

well as airports in order to secure local agglomerations are to be linked with

and regional accessibility in all parts of each other in line with the required
the countr y. capacities and qualities as well as
through high capacity routes with the
• On the other hand, it is the goal of a
transportation policy adjusted to the needs
of people to achieve sustainable, socially
and environmentally compatible traffic
loads by fostering traffic-reducing spatial
structures in conjunction with the appro-
priate transport policy framework condi-
tions and transportation offerings. By apply-
ing a balanced mix of spatial, infrastructure
Pic. 21
and transportation policies, traffic is to be

18
corresponding centres of the neighbou-
ring countries.

Commensurate with financing capabilities,

the lacking connections are to be built
and insufficient links are to be expanded.
Infrastructure and operational conditions
are to be established that to the farthest
extent possible use environmentally-
Pic. 23

goods and service suppliers, elementar y

schools, etc.) are to be designed to be
possible by foot, bicycle or public
transport.
Therefore, the development of the use of
space and settlement structures is to be
better adjusted to the development of
Pic. 22
transportation infrastructure.

Pic. 24

friendly modes of transport, such as Taxes and public charges may be applied
water ways and railways, for the transport as a steering instrument of transpor-
of passengers and freight. tation policy to promote sustainability.
As regards ever yday mobility, the largest Thus, for transportation by truck on high
possible number of distances to low capacity roadways a toll system is to be
capacity, central place facilities (local implemented that is commensurate with

19
 vehicle mileage (road pricing). This toll is Urban regions are the growth drivers of
to be implemented in accordance with the Austrian economy. The "hard" locatio-
the European law and should take nal factors are still decisive, such as links
external costs into account as far as to international transportation routes.
possible. However, the "soft" locational factors are
increasingly playing a role in location
Urban regions: dynamic development decisions, such as the qualification of the
and need for guidance labour force and the regional quality of
life. The persistent in-migration of the
New challenges population to the urban hinterlands as

Pict. 25

well as the increasing space needs of the

business sector are raising settlement
pressure on the hinterlands. This results
in the constant loss of undeveloped zones.
Where areas that are zoned as building
land are used depends to a large extent
on the "coincidence" of the supply of
space and property prices. In urban
regions this leads to problematic spatial
developments.
The in-migration and out-migration of the
diverse social groups and relocations of
diverse sectors has transformed the func-
tions in some parts of the core cities.
The expansion of urban regions and the
increasing spatial separation of individual
functions, in conjunction with the rising
quality demands of society, are producing
higher traffic loads.
Higher mobility requirements are mainly
Pic. 26
being met by motorised individual trans-

20
port modes. This has been straining the controlling units and to gain new ones.
environment. The public sector is to provide active sup-
port in procuring land. The provision of
Strategic orientation real estate for the business sector requi-
res a harmonisation with public transport
The objective of polycentric development, and with the development of qualitative
which has been defined as a desirable locational factors.
option in the European spatial develop- Urban regions are to be defined as priority
ment concept, also applies to Austria. areas for public transport. Settlement
Taking into account the specific Austrian planning is to be harmonised with the exi-
context, this means that all important sting and planned infrastructure and vice
urban regions need to develop further versa. In order to preserve the quality of
without giving up the metropolis of life in urban regions, especially in the
Vienna’s positioning as an international core cities, green areas and open spaces
centre. are to be preserved and enhanced in
Within the urban regions, the guidance value.
for spatial development is to come from
the model of decentralised concentration, Application in policy areas
specifically, for both core cities and the of spatial relevance
suburban belts. This means a higher den-
sity and more functions in specific To keep core cities attractive, a mix of
locations. instruments of urban renewal (improve-
A central concern of urban regions is to ment of apartments, buildings, living
retain existing corporate headquarters and environment, infrastructure and frame-

Pic. 27

21
 work conditions for business) must be
applied and developed further.
In order to assure coordinated settlement
development in the urban hinterlands, an
active, for ward-looking and coordinated
spatial planning is required.
By defining supralocal settlement borders
or by demarcating green and leisure time
spaces of regional significance, large and
coherent open spaces can be largely kept
free of settlement activities. A broad-
based range of measures is needed to
retain the attractiveness of urban Pic. 28

regions: the efficient management of

space, high capacity internal and external as at the communal, Land and federal
land development for transportation and levels.
unbureaucratic administrative procedures
as well as public spending to secure eco- Rural regions: a variety of challenges
nomic qualities and the residential and and development opportunities
leisure time quality of the entire urban
region. For these measures, which are to New challenges
be taken by the ver y diverse public
bodies, to be efficient and effective as a Rural regions have diverse structures and
whole, partnership and cooperative rela- can no longer be equated with agricultu-
tionships are needed among the munici- rally used space. Rural regions in the
palities within the urban region as well hinterlands of large cities are ver y diffe-

Pic. 29

22
rent from those in peripheral locations or (especially of the agro-environmental pro-
tourist regions. grammes) have also had significant
As in Austria, a large share of public space impacts on spatial development.
is used for agriculture and forestr y, rural Sources of gainful employment outside of
regions are "spatially responsible" for the agriculture are restricted to a few econo-
cultivated landscapes. mic areas in many rural regions. This type
Some of these regions are still marked by of one-sided dependence means that
the out-migration of young people capable external changes are capable of consider-
of employment. Rural regions in the ably affecting the economic base of some
hinterlands of agglomerations and at the rural regions. Among these factors are, for
intersections of high capacity transporta- example, the locational preferences of
tion modes are the destinations of in- industr y or changes in demand in tourism
migration of residential population and as well as the reorganisation efforts in the
the location of plants and businesses. This area of public services.
is leading to substantial economic and Spatial development in rural regions is
being marked more and more by the incre-
asing division of functions between the
municipalities as well as by strong interre-
lationships between residential and wor-
king communities. The consequences are
a steep rise in motorised individual means
of transport, decreasing efficiency of
public means of passenger transport, hig-
her costs for developing infrastructure
and a threat to the local supply of goods
and services.
Pic. 30

social structural changes. In many of

these cases, there are conflicts of interest
and use between the established parties
and the newcomers.
Although it has been a long time since
agriculture and forestr y were the most
important sources of income for the rural
population, today they are still the predo-
minant form of land use in most rural
regions. A major change in the agricultural
system consists of the increasing concen- Pic. 31

tration and intensification of agriculture,

facilitated by technological progress and Strategic orientation
necessitated by changing agricultural
structures. The development of rural regions should
The accession to the EU and the imple- be oriented on strengthening mixed sett-
mentation of the Community’s agricultural lement and economic structures and
system and thus of the subsidy policy of avoiding dependence on monostructures
the EU oriented on zoning and land use for reasons of achieving sustainability and

23
 for social and labour market policy-related
reasons. For rural regions to prevail in an
ever growing fierce global competition, it
is necessar y for them to sustainably
develop their respective potentials as
best as possible (attractive landscape,
availability of space, natural resources,
cultural traditions, but especially the
labour force and local enterprises with Pic. 33

provide infrastructures at acceptable eco-

nomic terms, a sufficient concentration
of users in the catchment areas must be
assured.

Application in policy areas

of spatial relevance
Pic. 32
Rural development must be supported by
specific know-how), taking advantage of a broad-based bundle of measures of the
existing synergies.The protection of natu- diverse public bodies:
ral resources is, above all, of regional
nature. To secure the vital element of • by local spatial planning measures to
water, it is of particular importance to limit the utilisation of land, by giving
protect surface waters and ground water. preference to settlement density over
The potential capacity of forests and thus settlement expansion and settlement
forests as a source of income – bearing in concentration,
mind the objective of sustainability – is
still underestimated and left unexploited • by defining the framework and develop-
by farmers who own forests. ment guidelines for supralocal spatial
It is also decisive for future developments planning,
to care for cultivated landscapes, to
protect and preserve their value without • by implementing legally-binding measu-
inhibiting dynamic growth in rural res for securing resources and for protec-
regions. The limits of environmental com- tion against natural hazards,
patibility in the use of landscapes for lei-
sure time and tourism purposes must be • by land development for transportation
recognised and secured through prudent (providing access to transportation routes)
management. in close cooperation with spatial
Small and medium-sized centres in rural planning,
regions are the drivers and focal points of
their development. The potential for gain- • through assistance measures for
ful employment outside of agriculture are commercial and agricultural enterprises
bundled in these centres. The develop- that are not only in the form of financial
ment of sufficient infrastructure to secure subsidies, but also, and above all, in the
this potential must be secured at these form of transfer of information and
centres. However, for it to be possible to support services across several companies

24
(especially in marketing or in the area of reached, an opinion-forming process must
tourism organisation). The focus in this be initiated to create the foundation for
context should be on strengthening the such decisions, which includes a broad-
regional development levels, performing based discussion and the harmonisation of
independent and professional resource interests in order to create the basis for
management, promotion of cultivated the spatial planning and regional develop-
landscape management, use and improve- ment measures to be taken. Without the
ment of land policy instruments and the preparator y work, often political accep-
harmonisation of spatial planning, deve- tance will be lacking, which may render
lopment and equalisation measures. the necessar y concepts ineffective from
Considering the close relationships a professional point of view. Activities
growing at the regional level, the follo- to inform the public and the initiation
wing factors have come to play a major of social and political discourse with
role: cooperation among the munici- respect to topics of spatial relevance will
palities at the regional level as well as the therefore be given higher priority in the
objective of securing and furthering the planning work in the future. The use of
regional coordination and consulting existing channels of communication
facilities created in the past years (regio-
nal management, regional development
agencies).

CURRENT REQUIREMENTS – A NEW

UNDERSTANDING OF PLANNING

Planning relates to everyone: sensitivity

and mobilisation of the population for
planning issues

Themes and problems with spatial relevance

need to be dealt with publicly to an
increasing extent in order to raise aware-
Pic. 35
ness among citizens and decision-makers.
Often, before planning decisions can be
employed by spatial planning can be rein-
forced and expanded (e.g. own publica-
tions, collaboration with the media, set-up
and expansion of consulting services,
development of local support centres).
The use of the Internet and the World
Wide Web will be standard forms of
communicating information in the future.
The focus of these information activities
would be, among other things, to commu-
nicate the systemic relationships in spatial
planning, to show the disadvantages of
unwanted developments and the presenta-
Pic. 34
tion of successful solutions and planning

25
 procedures (best practice). Moreover, flow of information and communication,
institutions are needed that can cause transparent decision-making procedures,
opinion-forming processes. moderated hearings and a clear distribu-
tion of tasks and competencies.
Planning: from the product to the process
The mobilisation of synergy effects
The process of planning, taking into through cooperation
account the relevant population and
interest groups, is growing in significance. The numerous actors involved and the
Process orientation can help to create and increasing spatial complexity have heigh-
heighten an awareness of the problems tened the significance of cooperation and
already in the planning stage and thus collaboration at all spatial levels.
contribute to forming a foundation for the Spatial planning and spatial development
implementation of the planning measures. relate to topics that address many areas
The closer a person is involved in the and for this reason it is essential to use
planning creation process, the higher the more intensively and develop existing
probability of identification with the organisational forms and modes of
results and the greater the willingness to procedure.
support the outcome. At the same time, Cooperation among the local authorities
the participation also creates access to of one level (e.g. cooperation among the
valuable additional information than can municipalities of a region to prepare an
be used to influence the decision-making autonomous regional development policy,
process. Key features of process-oriented cross-border cooperation among regions)
planning are, among other things, the free as well as among the local authorities of

Pic. 36

26
different levels (e.g. agreement between effects of the know-how of private and
federal and Länder bodies regarding issues public institutions in implementing
of regional development and subsidies for public tasks will be used more often.
agriculture) and cross-sectoral collabora-
tion will become even more important in A reorientation of the relationship
the future. In the future, planning part- between spatial planning and regional
nerships must be extended and deepened development policy
through new communication forms and
the participation of regional consulting The sovereign measures comprise a
and development facilities such as the bundle of binding regulator y ordinances
regional management and regional deve- issued by authorities in executing public
lopment agencies. Moreover, we expect law. Among such measures are particularly
to see more public-private partnerships the instruments of spatial planning. This
in the future. On the one hand, the set of instruments is fully developed and
effects of budgetar y austerity program- is applied consistently especially at the

Pic. 37

mes will increasingly shift the financing local level. Among the sovereign
of infrastructure and management pro- measures are those relating to planning
jects to private sources of equity and by the federal and Länder authorities
sponsoring. On the other hand, coopera- targeted at individual sectoral planning
tion forms that exploit the synergy schemes with a spatial impact (transport

27
 planning, nature protection planning the development policy and spatial plan-
etc.). Only a harmonisation achieved ning policy measures to avoid that any of
across the individual sectors will assure these measures induce opposing develop-
an optimal overall development. This ments. Examples where harmonisation
applies in particular to the harmonisation would be sensible are investments in trans-
of transport planning and settlement port infrastructure, guidelines for granting
development. Moreover, local authorities residential housing subsidies and the regional
may take measures under private law distribution of public facilities.
such as purchasing property, granting
assistance and building infrastructure. Focus on the spatial impact of sectoral
The federal, Länder and municipal levels policies through legal norms, planning
currently act separately in this area. The and assistance schemes
adequate harmonisation and cooperation
among the institutions of this sector basi- The implementation of development and
cally having equal rights should help to spatial planning objectives is achieved
avoid parallel and sometimes even com- largely through the application of instru-
peting structures. Cooperation in this ments that are not directly available to
context is closely related to the objective the authorities responsible for spatial
of an efficient and targeted use of public planning. For this reason it necessar y to
funds. Intensive cooperation is required heighten the awareness of the spatial
in the areas of granting assistance in impact of sectoral policies by expanding
accordance with the rules of the EU. It the harmonisation mechanisms and forms
will be a future challenge to harmonise of cooperation.

Pic. 38

28
TABLE OF PICTURES

Covercollage: Masterfile, Land Tirol/Elmar Berktold, Pinkhouse

Picture 1: ÖROK
Picture 2: by Zillertal-Arena
Picture 3: by Land Tirol/Elmar Berktold
Picture 4: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 5: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 6: State Government of Lower Austria (RU7)
Picture 7: State Government of Styria
Picture 8: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 9: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 10: Fachreferent 7/02, State Government of Salzburg, photograph 9/1997
Picture 11: MA 48
Picture 12: State Government of Lower Austria L 11.415/00, 21.5.00
Picture 13: State Government of Lower Austria /Isensee 2002
Picture 14: State Government of Lower Austria L8992/98 (21.1.98)
Picture 15: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 17: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 16: State Government of Lower Austria (RU7)
Picture 18: State Government of Lower Austria (RU7)
Picture 19: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 20: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 21: State Government of Lower Austria (RU7)
Picture 22: Illuscope
Picture 23: State Government of Lower Austria (RU7)
Picture 24: Illuscope
Picture 25: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 26: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 27: by Gerhard Aigner, Linz,
released by BMfLV with the GZ.:13088/2-1.6./94
Picture 28: by Franz Artner
Picture 29: by Tirol Werbung/Gerhard Eisenschink
Picture 30: MA 18/R. Christanell
Picture 31: by Franz Artner

29