Context
Austria faces a significant environmental challenge: high land take, the conversion of natural land into areas used for human purposes. Every year, Austria loses around 42 sq. km of land, exceeding the national target of 9 sq. km by 2030. To achieve the long-term goal of no net land take by 2050 as set by the European Union, Austria needs to find solutions. One promising approach is land recycling, which involves reusing vacant or underused land instead of developing new areas.
Objectives
Recognising the potential of land recycling, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) launched the ‘Brachflächen-Dialog’ (Brownfield Dialogue) programme in 2022. This multi-year programme aims to reduce land take by promoting the reuse of vacant commercial and industrial sites (brownfields) and smaller properties such as houses and apartments. Studies suggest that Austria has thousands of such sites that could be revitalised to meet some of the annual land demand.
Implementation
The Brownfield Dialogue programme uses a multifaceted approach to achieve its goals. It fosters knowledge exchange and collaboration among experts across Austria through various channels. These include funding schemes, educational formats, an award system for successful revitalisation projects and a dedicated annual conference. The programme also established a political round table to facilitate policy exchange between federal states and the Ministry. Recognising the challenges of contamination, the programme offers a free advisory service. To engage the next generation, the programme collaborates with students and supports research projects.