The cross-border area designated for urban concentration in Zug and Baar is undergoing rapid development. A common strategy has been devised to actively steer the area’s development.

The city of Zug and the municipality of Baar have experienced rapid development throughout the past several years. This development played a role in the decision on the part of the city and the municipality to consider a joint urban concentration project involving a cross-border area of land designated in the regional development plan. In particular, Zug and Baar were interested in joining forces to assess the development opportunities associated with the initiation of an urban concentration process and the impact such a process would have on the appearance of the city and the future use of the area in question. The two municipalities commissioned EBP to provide the necessary support for the assessment.

To establish a basis for a proper development strategy, EBP examined the scope for development within the legal planning restrictions, taking into consideration the existing structures and the available space within the various subsections of area. The individual subsections were then evaluated in terms of their suitability for concentration. EBP provided the following services:

• Quantitative analysis of the development reserves and qualitative evaluation of the subsections based on an established set of criteria
• Development of scenarios involving different levels of density and types of usage
• Drafting of a development strategy based on the scenarios
• Drafting of schematic construction drawings
• Examination of the expected impact on social infrastructure needs
• Examination of traffic-related concerns together with the relevant cantonal agencies. Development of traffic measures
• Drafting of an implementation plan with 15 measures relating to public relations, planning instrument adaptation and traffic
• Submission of results in an accessible form to municipal representatives