In the Alpine region, the continuous consumption of open spaces for settlement areas and technical infrastructure and the associated soil sealing can be observed. This leads primarily to the loss of agricultural land. Depending on the extent of development, there is also increased landscape fragmentation, which is associated with the isolation of natural habitats and the restriction of ecological connectivity, as well as other negative consequences. The OpenSpaceAlps project has addressed this issue and, based on cooperative procedures in several pilot regions, has developed approaches and solution strategies for the sustainable safeguarding of open spaces. This handbook supports the activities and decision-making of various stakeholders, first and foremost planners in public planning authorities. Based on an analysis of the challenges and framework conditions in the Alpine region, the handbook presents and compares central "principles" of open space planning. Furthermore, integrated planning strategies for different spatial categories are discussed.

Nella regione alpina, si può osservare il continuo consumo di spazi aperti a causa dell’aumento di aree di insediamento e di infrastrutture tecniche e la conseguente impermeabilizzazione del suolo. Questo fenomeno porta principalmente alla perdita di suolo agricolo. A seconda dell'estensione dello sviluppo, si riscontra anche una maggiore frammentazione del paesaggio, che è associata all'isolamento degli habitat naturali e alla perdita della connettività ecologica, così come ad altre conseguenze negative. Il progetto OpenSpaceAlps ha affrontato questo problema e, sulla base di procedure cooperative partecipate attuate in diverse regioni pilota alpine, ha sviluppato approcci e strategie di soluzione per la salvaguardia sostenibile degli spazi aperti. Questo manuale supporta le attività e il processo decisionale di vari stakeholder, in primo luogo i pianificatori delle autorità pubbliche di pianificazione. Sulla base di un'analisi delle sfide e delle condizioni generali nella regione alpina, il manuale presenta e confronta i "principi" centrali della pianificazione degli spazi aperti. Inoltre, vengono discusse strategie di pianificazione integrata per diverse categorie spaziali.

This article presents an open space concept of areas that are kept permanently free from buildings, technical infrastructure, and soil sealing. In the European Alps, space is scarce because of the topography; conflicts often arise between competing land uses such as permanent settlements and commercial activity. However, the presence of open spaces is important for carbon sequestration and the prevention of natural hazards, especially given climate change. A GIS-based analysis was conducted to identify an alpine-wide inventory of large-scale near-natural areas, or simply stated, open spaces. The method used identified the degree of infrastructure development for natural landscape units. Within the Alpine Convention perimeter, near-natural areas (with a degree of infrastructural development of up to 20%) account for a share of 51.5%. Only 14.5% of those areas are highly protected and are mostly located in high altitudes of over 1500 m or 2000 m above sea level. We advocate that the remaining Alpine open spaces must be preserved through the delimitation of more effective protection mechanisms, and green corridors should be safeguarded through spatial planning. To enhance the ecological connectivity of open spaces, there is the need for tailored spatial and sectoral planning strategies to prevent further landscape fragmentation and to coordinate new forms of land use for renewable energy production.