During the webinar “Strong Together,” it became clear once again just how crucial land management is for the future of our communities. This was the third webinar of its kind organized as part of the “Kernstück” project—“Saving Town Centers and Protecting Land in Communities”—by the Austrian Land Alliance.

Alois Humer’s presentation focused on land as a key resource for economic and urban development.

His key points:

• Land is a non-renewable asset—and thus one of the most critical resources of our time.
• Land use has undergone significant historical changes—from an agricultural society through an industrial society to a service-based society (keyword: Egg City comparison).
• Land consumption is no longer a local issue but a regional problem requiring new forms of collaboration.

The future lies in intermunicipal cooperation and strategic spatial planning, rather than isolated individual decisions.

Especially in the context of the climate crisis, soil sealing, and the revitalization of town centers, it becomes clear:

We must rethink land use—and act together. This was also demonstrated by the presentations from Sabine Rabl-Berger of the Federal Environment Agency on the revitalization of commercial and industrial sites, as well as from Horst Gaigg on the INKOBA Association of Salzkammergut.

The webinar impressively demonstrated that sustainable spatial development can only succeed when knowledge, practice, and cooperation come together.

We would like to thank the Climate Alliance and the Soil Alliance, and in particular Ulrike Feichtinger, for inviting us and organizing the webinar.