The northern Swiss town of Baden has been awarded the annual Wakker Prize by the Swiss Heritage Society for improving the quality of life of its residents.
The town of around 20,000 inhabitants was lauded for freeing its old town of traffic and investing in improving its public spaces.
“Thanks to the willingness of the authorities and the citizens of Baden, pedestrian-friendly streets and squares free of traffic now make the town centre a pleasant place to live,” said the Swiss Heritage Society on Tuesday.
“The town’s historic parks and gardens are carefully maintained according to the principles of heritage preservation and new public spaces have been created in the development areas.”
The Swiss Heritage SocietyExternal link also lauded the town’s “visionary policy”, the “continuous planning” and the “willingness of the citizens to vote for budgets to make the town centre more attractive”. The town’s commitment to invest in zones outside the town centre that are not necessarily profitable came in for special praise.
The official presentation of the prize, worth CHF20,000 ($20,600), will take place on June 27 at a public ceremony. Every year, Swiss Heritage awards the Wakker Prize to a municipality or, exceptionally, to a cultural organisation,External linkas was the case in 2018.
More
More
A walk through an award-winning town
This content was published on
Located across the river from its sister city in Germany, also named Rheinfelden, the Swiss town in canton Aargau was also praised for having had regular contact with its German counterpart regarding planning issues. According to the Swiss Heritage Society, Rheinfelden decided a decade ago against building isolated developments, choosing instead to include more aspects…
Uri voters clear path for hotel and marina complex in central Switzerland
This content was published on
Voters in canton Uri in central Switzerland have rejected a Green Party initiative aimed at regulating the development of the lakeside site in Isleten.
Valais voters reject plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040
This content was published on
Voters in canton Valais in southern Switzerland have turned down a proposal for the region to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
Swiss central banker wants to boost equity to head off risks
This content was published on
Equity levels at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) are much too low for the risks its large balance sheet poses, according to Martin Schlegel.
Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather
This content was published on
The past brewing year fell through in Switzerland, partly due to the bad weather. Beer sales shrank again. For the first time, per capita consumption fell below the 50 liter mark.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Learning how to improve life in the suburbs
This content was published on
Stopping urban sprawl involves turning suburbs into mini-cities. That’s the latest collective thinking from a pool of top experts.
Small-town Swiss theatre group wins prestigious heritage award
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Wakker Prize for heritage preservation has been awarded to the theatre and dance group “Nova Fundaziun Origen”.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.