The Master's project on the topic of second homes in the Alpine region was carried out in the winter semester 2020/21 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Arthur Kanonier, DI Barbara Steinbrunner MSc and DI Andreas Falch. This overall report documents the results produced by the students as part of this Master's project. The use of second homes has a long tradition in Austria. However, in addition to various positive effects, second homes are also associated with various spatially critical developments and trends: Rising land prices, urban sprawl tendencies or social distortions that have considerable spatial effects. The high demand for second homes, especially during the Covid pandemic, has not only intensified spatial planning challenges. The topic of second homes has thus become more relevant as the Covid pandemic increased the pressure on municipalities.

The students' work shows the wide range of issues concerning second homes. Within the framework of the Master's project, the students dealt with the effects of secondary residences on a financial level for the municipalities and on a social level for the resident population, with the contractual spatial planning in connection with second homes, with investor models (buy-to-let), with the special form of large-scale facilities in the second home sector, as well as with the conversion of formerly agriculturally used buildings for second home purposes.

Further information on the master's project report can be found at: https://repositum.tuwien.at/handle/20.500.12708/18243, opens an external URL in a new window

DI Barbara Steinbrunner MSc was a guest on Ö1's programme Punkt eins on 13 August 2021 on the topic of leisure residences under the title "Dream and Nightmare - Problem Analysis: Second Homes". Among other things, the final report was also presented in the discussion programme.
Further information at: https://oe1.orf.at/programm/20210813/648310/Traum-und-Albtraum-Problemanalyse-Zweitwohnsitz, opens an external URL in a new window