Visualization Tools for Landscape Topics
Specialist offices in the field of "landscape" shall be motivated to use visualization tools. To this end, fact sheets on tools and application examples have been developed to demonstrate their potential uses.
New Technological Possibilities
The wide availability of geodata relevant to spatial planning, combined with advances in visualization techniques, opens up new possibilities for cantonal specialist offices in carrying out their tasks. These range from using techniques to visualize the landscape for information and awareness purposes, to creating planning and decision-support tools on topics as diverse as depicting ecological connectivity, modelling landscape developments under different climate scenarios, or illustrating the landscape impacts ofinfrastructure (e.g., for renewable energy).
Promotion of Visualization Projects
Given the available technical possibilities and the wide range of application areas, the federal government aims to encourage the use of visualization techniques by actors at all government levels (federal, cantonal, and municipal). Concrete financial support for cantons for visualization projects was therefore established under external page Programme Objective 4 of the sub-programme "Landscape Quality" within the Programme Agreement "Landscape" 2025–2028.
Assessment of Information Needs
Alongside this financial support, the FOEN (Federal Office for the Environment) commissioned ETH Zurich to carry out the project "Visualization in the Landscape Sector." The aim was to deepen the exchange on the topic of visualizations with the cantonal specialist offices for nature and landscape. A webinar was held in which visualization tools for the landscape were presented and obstacles to their use were discussed. Participants noted that in their daily work they lacked an overview of available tools.
Fact Sheets on Selected Tools
To address this knowledge gap, fact sheets on selected tools were developed. These fact sheets present available visualization tools for cantonal enforcement authorities in three concrete application cases covering the topics of spatial planning, assessment of specific building projects, and land use planning. The selection covers commonly used tools, though additional ones exist.
Overview for Enforcement Tasks
With this overview, the FOEN hopes to facilitate access to visualizations for the enforcement tasks of cantonal specialist offices.
Publication of the Fact Sheets
Please note that the fact sheets are only available in German and French:
Wissen Hayek, U., Hertig, H., Défago, A., Kuske, T., Grêt-Regamey, A. (2026). Visualisierungsinstrumente für Landschaftsthemen – Steckbriefe ausgewählter Instrumente, ETH Zürich, Planung von Landschaft und Urbanen Systemen, 13 pp.
Wissen Hayek, U., Hertig, H., Défago, A., Kuske, T., Grêt-Regamey, A. (2026). Download Outils de visualisation du paysage dans l’aménagement du territoire – fiches descriptives d’instruments sélectionnés (PDF, 12.8 MB). ETH Zürich, Planung von Landschaft und Urbanen Systemen, 13 pp.
Project Data
Project Team
Dr. Ulrike Wissen Hayek, ETH Zürich
Heidi Hertig, ETH Zürich
external page Dr. Noëlle Klein, ETH Zürich
Prof. Dr. Adrienne Grêt-Regamey, ETH Zürich
Aurélie Défago, BAFU, Sektion Landschaftspolitik
external page Thomas Kuske, BAFU, Sektion Landschaftsmanagement
Advisory Board
external page Raymond Beutler, Canton of Bern, Office for Municipalities and Spatial Planning
Dr. Johann Dupuis, FOEN, Landscape Policy Section
external page Dr. Matthias Stremlow, FOEN, Landscape Policy Section
Funding
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Dept. of Biodiversity and Landscape, Landscape Policy Section, CH – 3003 Bern
The FOEN is an office of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).
Duration
December 2024 – May 2026
Contact
Dr. Ulrike Wissen Hayek, ETH Zürich, PLUS