Glattpark – or how a swamp becomes a city

Developing around 670,000 m2 of Rietland - that is no easy task. And yet: Where cows grazed just a few years ago, there is now a new district that offers residents and workers everything that is expected of a functioning district: the new Opfik district of Glattpark. In its uniqueness, the Glattpark has a model character. A new book traces its eventful history in detail and in all facets; Best practice for site developers, architects, cities and municipalities, landowners and real estate marketers.

The Oberhauserriet – today's Glattpark – has a long and eventful history behind it. The planning of the development of the former swamp and agricultural area took more than forty years. After the approval of the neighborhood plan in 2001, however, the development picked up speed: A new district of Opfikon was built on what was once a green field at a rapid pace, with currently around 5780 residents and 3100 jobs in the neighborhood plan area. Today the Glattpark has a model character in its uniqueness. A new book, which appeared in mid-September, shows challenges and solutions on the way from the meadow to the urban district and traces the individual development steps. **

Breathe life into a vision
The founding of an organization that was unique in Switzerland at that time contributed significantly to the success of the Glattpark: a merger of several landowners to form a superordinate area marketing department, which was responsible for the overall marketing of the Oberhauserriet. The aim was to create a common brand from which all individual projects would in turn benefit. The new organization – the Glattpark area marketing – was supposed to act as an information hub for landowners, the media and the general public on the one hand, and to provide marketing services to the individual landowners on the other. But first and foremost, it should breathe life into a vision, because offices and apartments should not simply be built in Oberhauserriet – an urban vision would be realized here. Communication with the development area therefore required a way of thinking that went beyond the mere application of individual projects.

Marketing offensive for a meadow
In view of the rather difficult economic environment at the time, the establishment of joint area marketing must be described as courageous. The developments at the airport and in terms of aircraft noise, the uncertain realization of the Glattalbahn – a location advantage that should not be underestimated for the new district – but also the generally difficult economic situation made "big hits" appear difficult. The area marketing Glattpark was aware of this fact from the beginning, but saw the overall quality of the area as an opportunity. The success soon proved the area marketing right: Thanks to extensive marketing and communication measures, the organization quickly developed into the central information and contact point for the new district. When marketing the area, it was initially about making the vision visible. For this purpose, the Glattpark area marketing relied on the one hand on visualizations and on the other hand on a large model that was constantly updated. In the specially set up showroom, interested parties and investors were able to get an idea of the future district. In addition, a comprehensive website offered a lot of information. Events, trade fair appearances and classic media work complemented the marketing measures. And finally the former Riet even became a town: in 2005 the Glattpark officially became a separate district with the postal address “8152 Glattpark (Opfikon)”. The process was initiated by the landowners: They were rightly convinced that the «Glattpark» postal address would contribute a lot to branding.

Coordination between landowners and the city
Another important success factor for the development of the Glattpark was the close cooperation between the city of Opfikon and the landowners. The complexity of the development of a new district also made it necessary for the city of Opfikon to create new forms of organization: the Glattpark area management. The new organization was commissioned by the Opfikon City Council to take over the strategic and operational management of the new district. The area management should include the needs of all administrative departments in the city that affected Glattpark in the development process. The main task of the committee, however, was the overall coordination and the exchange of information between those involved. Representatives of the authorities, administrative employees, landowners' representatives and external specialists from the areas of spatial planning, marketing, business administration and social science had a seat in the area management.

What the urban heart desires
With the rapid construction progress in Glattpark, the new district quickly revived – and thanks to the establishment of an active neighborhood association, the initiative of committed residents and external organizers, it developed its own neighborhood identity. The "Glattpark-Barometer" showed the concerns of the residents – and initiated various measures to improve the quality of life. So Glattpark became more and more popular with families; and the demand for a school building of their own grew correspondingly louder. After several referendums, nothing stands in the way of its realization. And so the new district will soon really offer everything that the urban heart desires: a comprehensive district supply with shops and services, optimal connections to public transport, a spacious park landscape with its own lake, crèches, kindergarten and soon a primary school. ■

* Alexandra Vogel is the head of the office of the Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM

** The book “Glattpark – a city is created”, published by IGG Glattpark, can be ordered by e-mail to or by phone on 043 211 50 10 for CHF 50 plus shipping costs. The book with high-quality hardcover binding in the format 24 x 34 cm traces the eventful history of the development area on 128 pages with texts, pictures, quotations and newspaper articles. The book has been available since mid-September.

Text: Alexandra Vogel* / Bild: Comet Photoshopping GmbH