City of Salzburg

Green space ratio mandatory from March 1

The green area in Aigen

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/Andreas Tröster)

From March 1, it will be mandatory for construction projects in the city of Salzburg to achieve the green area ratio. Salzburg will thus become a pioneer against soil sealing.

The green areas - in addition to meadows, shrubs, hedges and trees, also green facades, roofs, biotopes or ponds and watercourses - must in future be in a predefined ratio to the total area. The calculation must be made when submitting the building application.

Climate crisis hits urban spaces harder
"We all know that urban spaces are particularly vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis. It is therefore immensely important to protect green and open spaces and keep further soil sealing to a minimum," says City Councillor for Planning Anna Schiester.

Under her predecessor, the city planning department developed a methodology with the Institute of Landscape Planning at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna (Boku) to scientifically determine the quality of green and open spaces in buildings. "In short: the more heat-stressed an area is, the more green the building project must have. If the calculated value is not achieved, the green must be readjusted." Otherwise, an improvement order will be issued and administrative penalties may be imposed, emphasizes Schiester.

No building permit if there is not enough greenery
"With the new green area figure, we now have a standardized method for demanding a minimum amount of greenery," says the planning councillor happily. The number of green spaces must be specified as part of the building permit process.