With the first-ever integrated national City Congress, the Swiss Council of Shopping Places intentionally centered the topic of inner-city development and City Management at the congress. The focus was on current challenges such as frequency declines, changing consumer behavior, vacancies, and the future positioning of inner cities as spaces for experiences, encounters, and living.
Practical examples from cities like Lucerne, Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, Aarau, Liestal, Olten, Zofingen, or Rapperswil-Jona demonstrated how City Management today already concretely contributes to the revitalization and coordination of inner cities.
"The enormous interest confirms that Swiss cities and municipalities are actively seeking new solutions for the future of their inner cities. City Management is increasingly developing into a strategically important coordination and governance function," explains Marcel Stoffel, Founder & CEO of the Swiss Council of Shopping Places.
At the center of the congress were questions about governance, space management, quality of stay, mixed-use, community-building, and collaboration between cities, trade, the real estate industry, and other stakeholders.
The congress made it clear that City Management in Switzerland is currently in a dynamic phase of professionalization. While such functions barely existed a few years ago, institutionalized City Management structures and exchange platforms are now emerging in more and more Swiss cities.
The Swiss Council & City Congress sees itself as a national platform for knowledge transfer, practical examples, and networking around the future of inner cities, shopping places, and urban destinations.
It is already clear: The next Swiss Council & City Congress with the 2nd City Congress will take place again on June 10, 2027, at Metropol Zurich.
For more information:
www.swisscouncil.swiss
Press contact: Marcel Stoffel
Founder
CEO
Swiss Council of Shopping Places
Schanzstrasse 1
CH-8330 Pfäffikon ZH
stoffel@swisscouncil.swiss
+41 79 456 26 56