The Federal Office for Spatial Development, ARE, updated its strategy in 2018. Starting from its remit to help shape the way in which space in Switzerland is used new and in the future, the ARE strategy considers the principles of sustainable development, the target development of the national transport system and transport infrastructure, and the federal government’s energy policy objectives, in particular.
Based on that of the departmental strategy of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, the Office’s strategy runs until 2030. It contains the following strategic objectives, which are also the principles underlying the points of strategic focus in the New Management Model for the Federal Administration (NMM). Compared with the 2014 version of the Strategy, the statements on mobility, in particular, have been updated:
- Mobility is to be coordinated. Space and transport are to be coordinated with each other.
- Polycentric settlement development is to be encouraged consistently, and land use is to be stabilised.
- The instruments and legal framework for spatial development are to be enhanced in line with the corresponding requirements.
- Switzerland will implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The ARE can use a variety of important means and foundations to achieve these objectives: the Spatial Planning Act and the Second Homes Act, the federal government’s strategies and sectoral plans, reviews of cantonal structural plans, the federal government’s 2016+ Agglomeration Policy, the federal government’s policy on rural and mountain areas, the Agglomeration Transport Programme and model projects, the Sustainable Development Strategy, the Transport Costs and Funding Report, the national passenger transport model, the Transport Outlook 2040 and the DETEC’s policy guidelines for the future of transport in Switzerland in 2040.