Institutional causes of urban and rural sprawl in Switzerland

Open space is a very scarce resource in Switzerland. The Federal Government aims to stabilize the use of settlement area per resident at 400 m². This paper starts by outlining the institutional system of spatial planning in Switzerland. Regressions then explain both the current level of land use per resident as well as the development of this indicator. Factors like cars per resident, the proportion of old people and the rural character of the municipality do increase land use per resident. Case studies show that there are currently hardly any instruments available with which to steer land use beyond the local level. It is concluded that incentives for local administrations should be introduced in order to limit urban and rural sprawl.