Structure plan
A structure plan is an instrument of Swiss spatial planning and is regulated and applied at the municipal, cantonal and federal level ( Federal Act of June 22, 1979 on Spatial Planning , Articles 6–12).
On the basis of superordinate models, structure plans lay down the main features of how the cantons and municipalities should develop the overall structure of their natural, agricultural, residential and recreational areas in the medium and long term. Structure plans must at least show “how the spatially effective activities are coordinated with one another with regard to the development to be striven for” and “in what chronological order and with what means the tasks are to be carried out”.
Structure plans are work and management instruments at the executive level (federal government, cantons and municipalities) that are binding on authorities . The authorities align their actions with the goals and measures of the structure plan and coordinate their planning and project planning based on this. The time horizon of the structure plans is ten years; then they should be checked and adjusted as a whole.
