Land consumption is reportedly no longer increasing as much

According to a report by the Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning (ÖROK) on land consumption in Austria, 5,681 square kilometers have been claimed by December of this year. This corresponds to 6.8 percent of Austria's total area and 17.4 percent of the permanent settlement area, which is usable for agriculture, settlement, and traffic.

Land Consumption: On Average 6.5 Hectares Per Day Additionally Claimed

Since 2022, an average of 6.5 hectares per day has been additionally claimed, reported Görgl. This amounts to 71 square kilometers over the three years. The increase is 1.3 percent and is therefore significantly lower than the population growth of 2.4 percent (both 2022-2025). "It has thus decoupled from population growth for the first time," said Totschnig.

49.2 percent of the areas lost to forestry and agriculture are now areas for settlements (within the building land designation), 30.4 percent for traffic. "These are therefore the two main drivers of land consumption," said Görgl.

Measures and Awareness Raising on Land Consumption

Reasons for the decline, according to Totschnig, include measures by municipalities and federal states such as the increased designation of green zones and agricultural priority zones, as well as raising awareness among the population and decision-makers. Görgl admitted that probably also increased land prices and economic weakness contributed to this.

The 6.5 hectares of land use still exceed the maximum of 2.5 hectares per day, which is the target of the federal states' land strategy. This is also criticized by the environmental organization WWF in a statement. Neither the minister nor the ÖROK expert could provide information on whether and when this target will be achieved. Totschnig explained that a target path for its achievement is anchored in the government program, which will be created. Görgl pointed out that with the new monitoring report, better fact-based solutions can now be developed because it is more precise than previous surveys and for the first time collected data uniformly nationwide.

Land Consumption: Three-Year Periods

Land use increased in the past three-year periods as follows: from 2013 to 2016 by 14.7 hectares per day, from 2016-2019 by twelve hectares per day, from 2019 to 2022 by 10.9 hectares per day, and from 2022 to 2025 with slightly changed calculation methods by 6.5 hectares per day (according to the old calculation method, it would be 6.7 hectares per day). The target according to the land strategy is 2.5 hectares per day.

For the Austrian Association of Cities, the discussion about land consumption falls on "already open ears." Secretary General Thomas Weninger commented: "'Inside before outside', land mobilization, vacancy charges, re-use of brownfields, and unsealing are common practices in many places." However, cities and municipalities also face challenging conditions: In growing urban regions, the real estate market is challenging. A rigid property law for real estate makes it difficult for municipalities to mobilize building land or existing properties.

(APA/Red)

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