Heated topic of discussion: land should belong to the Tyrolean communities
Christian Achammer has a dream. The well-known architect’s dream is that sooner or later all the land in Austria will belong to the municipalities. But without expropriation. his lecture “From the commons to speculation and back” I’m from Innsbruck aut was filled to the last seat.
INNSBRUCK. “Tyrol is the laboratory for land speculation in Europe”, with this statement Christian Achammer did not say anything new, but then made a clear statement: “Land and soil cannot be left to the market, because it knows no morals.” In Austria, the ground the size of the Innsbruck Hofgarten would be sealed every hour. In his view, a fatal development for the environment and for society. Because many of these sealed floors would not benefit the general public, but would be hoarded as speculative objects/concrete gold. The Viennese architect (ATP), who also works at the Technical University of Vienna, knows that such speculative processes would only intensify. That shouldn’t be the future, so he wrote a paper on the subject of land regulation. On Tuesday evening he presented his proposed solutions against speculation. Expropriation was not an option for him:
“That can’t be implemented with our worldview. If you want too much, you can’t change anything. But I also believe that property owners are now participating in changes, because otherwise there could be social upheaval in society.”
He proposed two immediate measures that he believed could be implemented without problems:
- Any excess profits arising from a property transaction must be steered away from the community and the community must be given a right of first refusal. An example: Twenty years ago, someone bought a property for 10,000 euros. Now he sells it for 30,000 euros, inflation is 2,000 euros. The owner can also keep 12,000 euros, 18,000 euros go to the municipal treasury and the municipality has a right of first sale to the property.
- The public sector may only grant building rights and not sell real estate.
He envisages another long-term measure in the introduction of the tax system: in his opinion, land use taxes should be introduced in favor of wage and income tax. He is certain that the latter would be reduced by half.
“There needs to be a rethink in society”
But he also wants to anchor a holistic rethinking in people’s minds: “We have to move away from ownership and towards use. Ownership can also be a burden. In addition, we have to think beyond the building plot. We are trapped in boxes. I would like to see integral urban planning, which takes a holistic view”. From infrastructural accordingly, to mobility and sustainability. He also wants to make his own guild responsible: “We architects must also become more political again and can no longer just watch what happens. That’s no longer possible.”
At the end of the lecture he says: “My ideal image for the country would be an Austria that belongs to the communities.” The communities could then decide on building and usage rights, but the land would belong to the general public.
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