Spatial demands of society

The research project spatial demands of society investigates the needs and requirements towards landscape use and future spatial development among the general population, in order to provide a base for land use planning in (Swiss) sub- and peri-urban regions experiencing a high level of building and development pressure.

The ongoing extension of the built environment continuously changes large parts of Western European landscapes. Different groups of society have different demands on the landscape, based on demographic, socio-economic, socio-cultural and residential characteristics of the individual citizens. Very likely, these “spatial demands” – claims of different social groups towards the immediate living environment and the surrounding landscape – might cause conflicts between different stakeholder groups, e.g. suburban single family home inhabitants’ preference for a park-like open landscape with small-scale structures as opposed to farmers’ interests in intensifying agriculture.

Topics covered:

• the use of landscape for work and recreational purposes
• aesthetic preferences and landscape elements
• demands towards the residential environment and landscape
• individual identification with specific types of landscape
• landscape preferences in relation to commuting
• transport (walking, cycling, car; public, private)
• small-distance internal migration and international migration
• social background and individual housing history

The study also aims to single out “thresholds of landscape change” for different groups of society: very likely, many landscape developments are acceptable for different groups up to a certain level; i.e. urban sprawl or changes of the agricultural landscape might be tolerated or pass relatively unnoticed up to a certain point, at which people might decide to either move to another place or change certain landscape-related life habits. These thresholds might prove to be useful in the prevention and/or resolving of conflicts related to land use planning, especially in quickly developing rural or peri-urban environments.

Structure of the project:

1. The initial, inductive phase of the research project consists of a literature review and a series of explorative interviews with selected population representative in the study areas.
2. In the main phase of the project, the landscape preferences and spatial demands of the Swiss population are assessed in a survey. The questionnaire is based on a literature review (theory) and the outcomes of interviews in the study regions (practice). The survey will cover a representative sample of the Swiss population, with an additional sample in the two study regions.
3. Finally, the results of the survey will provide insight in the Swiss population’s spatial demands and preferences, and possible conflicts and thresholds delimiting “acceptable changes” for different population groups. Moreover, the study will also compare experts’ and the populations assessment of landscape chance, and contribute to the synthesis of the overarching WSL research project “room for people and nature”.

The study focuses on two predominantly rural and peri-urban case study regions in Switzerland:

• The Seetal region (canton Lucerne), the adjacent Freiamt (canton Aargau) and some municipalities of the canton Zug in Switzerland’s central valley region
• The Linth region at the fringe of the Alps east of the Lake of Zurich, encompassing parts of the cantons of St. Gall and Glarus