Limmatstadt AG was launched 6 years ago. Where do you see your core tasks as managing director?
I see myself as a service provider and ambassador for the entire region from Baden to Zurich, within the Limmat Valley and beyond. In my job I am always on the move and bring people and ideas together across the cantons. Network is the be-all and end-all. I supply those interested in the location with information, open doors, join committees or drive projects forward.
What milestones have you reached today?
Limmatstadt AG has established itself as a relevant partner and regional player. In the past few years it has been possible to win important supporters for the idea of the Limmatstadt as a networked and strong living and economic area: first companies as shareholders, numerous municipalities as clients, then the planning association and various network partners came along. The public can also participate via public shares. We reach the region with the establishment and operation of various communication channels – from the print magazine “36 km” to the digital 3D Limmat city model to the daily “punkt4” business newsletter.
What are the next goals?
It is of central importance to continue to bundle forces and use resources sensibly. In other words: to enter into cooperations where it makes sense and to make the value of our platforms and networks even clearer in order to win further communities and partners. Anyone who wants to settle in the city on the Limmat or is pursuing a project idea must know that we have come to the right place. Image is also important in the competition for locations. The aim here is to showcase the advantages of the entire region.
At the beginning of 2019, Limmatstadt AG took over the function of Limmattal Location Promotion, the former association of the Zurich Limmattal municipalities. How important was this step?
This step was central. The location promotion of the association stopped at the canton border. Our sphere of activity is the entire region. The complex challenges do not stop at canton borders. The dissolution was preceded by a broad-based strategy process. The realization: The privately owned Limmatstadt AG is an organization with a track record, the establishment of which has been privately financed and ensures a seamless succession. The municipalities have new performance agreements with us, so they are our customers, and the bottom line is that they benefit from significantly more performance for the same money.
"If you want to settle in the city on the Limmat, you've come to the right place."
How popular is the Limmattal when it comes to company settlements?
There are over 80,000 jobs in the region, which are expected to increase by around 30 percent by 2040. Due to the lively construction activity, we can offer ideally located areas, especially for retail and services. The preferred location, the proximity to leading educational and research institutions and the good development make the location extremely attractive. With the Limmattalbahn we get an urban mode of transport and even better connections. This will also attract companies that have not previously had the Limmat Valley on their radar.
How realistic do you think a merger of the communities Schlieren, Urdorf and Dietikon will be in the next 15 years?
It is undisputed that the municipalities will have to intensify their cooperation in the future, because problems of regional scope can hardly be dealt with at the municipal level alone. But I don't think that mergers are always profitable. If we look at the small parts in our region, a merger, especially smaller communities, could certainly help to gain more strength. But I don't think a major merger is realistic. There are, however, municipalities in the Aargau Limmat Valley that are willing to merge: The municipality of Turgi is aiming for a merger with the city of Baden.
Many residents fear for their identity in a merger.
This argument is always at hand. Just because you come together to form a political unit, you don't have to lose your local anchoring. A new affiliation can also arise. Every change harbors loss and gain. The question is what outweighs. With an early, open dialogue, politics can succeed in picking up the population, feeling where the shoe pinches and identifying opportunities. It also takes courage from a local council to touch this hot topic. As the example from Turgi shows, this can be very promising.
What do you think of the objection that a Limmat city lacks history and the past and that the Limmat valley could therefore never become a single city?
Every story has a beginning. Why can't the change from an agglomeration to an urban area start in the 21st century and create identity for future generations? I find it rather absurd that we are still guided today by political borders that are more than 200 years old. The Limmat Valley is already a spatial unit – connected by the Limmat and embedded in hills with forests and vineyards. Soon the tram will connect the region and the people even more. The best prerequisites so that a new togetherness can arise.
The Limmattalbahn is under construction. The project was particularly controversial among residents of the Limmat Valley. Did you expect this reaction?
A local concern always makes the emotions go high. I was surprised by the violence. This, too, is an example of how important it is to maintain a close dialogue with the local population on regionally important projects. That went wrong in the first campaign. But in the second vote, the Limmat Valley voted in favor of the construction by a large majority. The Limmattaler have understood that half a Limmattalbahn makes no sense.
"It is a good sign that the federal government and the cantons believe in our region and are investing millions."
Why does the Limmattal need the Limmattalbahn?
The railway means a long-term upgrade for the entire region. It's a generation project. One argument was always: Repentance does it too. But a bus is not a commitment to a region. The Limmattalbahn are rails that will be laid in the ground for the next few decades. Every stop is a nucleus where something new can arise. A city emerges where a tram passes. It is a good sign that the federal government and the cantons believe in our region and are investing millions.
Isn't there a risk that the area will be paved too much with apartments, workplaces and streets?
On the contrary: the railway helps to channel growth and to protect certain places. That is why the Limmattalbahn does not run along the village-like right side of the Limmat. That would develop
trigger flare-ups that you don't want there. The train travels where there is already the greatest potential today, where most people live, where traffic flows and where unused properties such as the Dietiker Niderfeld are located.
A lot is being built in the Limmat Valley. Schlieren, for example, has already changed a lot. Completely new quarters have also emerged in Dietikon. Will the building potential soon be exhausted?
The large Limmattal industrial wastelands are now being converted into city quarters. In the future it will be more about internal development. We have to be careful with the limited ground. Ultimately, this is extremely ecological. A pulsating and attractive city needs a certain density of people, offers and uses. Transport is also part of it, both private and public. A clever network of cycle routes in the flat valley floor can relieve congested roads. This potential is far from being exhausted.
Can the Limmattal compete with the Glatttal?
No question about it, we are the two most attractive boom regions. I envy the airport region and its managing director Christoph Lang for some companies that we would also like to have as taxpayers. At the same time, I am glad that we are not so intensely concerned with the airport issue. As location organizations, however, we are set up differently. The airport region is a very successful business network with countless events throughout the year. Our focus, however, is also on society and urban development.
How deeply is the idea of a “Limmat City” anchored in the minds of the Limmattal population?
If you were to do a street poll now, the result would likely be sobering. Some would say this is Zurich, others Baden. And that's exactly what we're building on: we're reinterpreting the term Limmatstadt and charging it positively. It serves perfectly as a bracket for the region between two strong poles. We do not place the Limmat Valley on the edges of two canton areas, but in their center.
What measures should this perception be further supported?
By consistently working to make the region and all its advantages even better known to the resident population as well as to companies and those interested in settling in. For this we need all the communities behind us and a steadily growing sponsorship. We feel that our idea is becoming more and more anchored. In Spreitenbach, for example, the largest coworking space in Switzerland recently opened under the name “Office LAB Limmatstadt”. The term Limmatstadt is intended to convey precisely this future-oriented new self-image to the outside world.
How should the Limmat Valley be perceived by the population in five years?
As a place where you want to go, a destination. The Limmat Valley is more than an alternative to Zurich. It should be perceived as a self-confident region that has managed to shed its dreary aggloimage and transform itself into an attractive urban space that surprises again and again with its contrasts and peculiarities. The development of the last decade is enviable – including the renewal. It could also be different: standstill or emigration – those would be problems. We can count ourselves incredibly lucky with the dynamism and definitely look positively into the future. ■
