Colloquium: Dr Regina Witter
Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 12.15 - 13.15
Online, Zoom | Sign up here
Urban development, mobility and transport – how can they really be coordinated? Insights from the Swiss federal Office for Spatial development (ARE)
It remembers the famous "chicken or egg causality": it is common fact that urban development generally means increased mobility. We also know that an efficient and reliable transport system can trigger urban sprawl and contribute to longer distances travelled every day. But why is it so difficult to coordinate urban and transport development, in favour of an inward urban development and sustainable cities and regions? The coordination of the global transport system, in line with the spatial development, is one of the core interests of the Swiss federal Office for Spatial development (ARE). The ARE has different instruments to enhance the coordination of urban development and transport, such as the Federal plan for "mobility and transport 2050" and the " agglomeration traffic programme". The presentation will give some insights into the major challenges and present some possible answers on the federal level. Last but not least, some key points and need for further work are opened for discussion.
About Regina Witter
Dr Regina Witter works as deputy director of the programme for agglomeration traffic at the Swiss federal Office for Spatial development (ARE). She graduated as a spatial planner in Dortmund, Germany, and after some working experiences in Europe and Southern America she made her PhD at the EPF Lausanne at the laboratory of urban sociology. In the last 12 years she has always been working on urban mobility and transport, on the different state levels of Switzerland. Her main interests are urban mobility, as well as related spatial, environmental and social challenges.