Image caption:

Group photo of participants in front of the Mattmark reservoir at the end of the Saas Valley. (c) Alliance in the Alps

Vacancies, second homes, overpriced real estate: these are the areas of controversy where the most pressing questions regarding housing in the Alps are to be found. At the end of June 2022, an expert conference of the “Alliance in the Alps” network of municipalities was held, dedicated to the future of housing and living together in the Alps and featuring lectures, discussions and workshops. Sabine Pollak, architect and professor at the Art University Linz/A, gave an insight into the history of communes and co-housing projects in both urban and rural areas. She clarified the central role of building density, lively village centres and communities in rural communities. That the focus in the Alpine region in the future will be more on cooling buildings rather than heating them was shown by the presentation of the president of the “Constructive Alps” jury. The importance of involving the local population was shown by a presentation on neighbourhood and generation management in the community of Berngau in the Upper Palatinate/D.

The conference presented examples of best practice while organising workshops on topics such as affordable housing, neighbourhood and living space management in rural areas or vacancy management. “Problems such as vacancies, rural exodus or unaffordable rents affect many Alpine regions”, says Kathrin Holstein from Alliance in the Alps. “We are all the more impressed by how many creative approaches to solutions and good examples already exist in this regard.” The conference venue of Saas-Fee itself served as a good example – it is after all one of eleven car-free communities in Switzerland.

Source and further information: https://alpenallianz.org/de/aktuell/ein-blick-in-das-kaleidoskop-alpiner-lebensraume-zeigt-neue-muster/ (de, fr, it, sl)