"Where there are rails, there is a city"
Jasmina Ritz explains the vision of the Limmatstadt in the November issue of “Baden aktuell”. That is more than just the Limmat Valley between Baden and Zurich, explains the managing director of the Limmatstadt AG location promotion agency.
The November issue of the “ Baden aktuell ” magazine makes the city on the Limmat the topic of the month. In an interview, the managing director of the Limmatstadt AG location promotion company, Jasmina Ritz, explains the vision of the Limmatstadt. This is more than just a synonym for Baden and Zurich, she is quoted as saying.
According to Ritz, the term Limmatstadt stands for the entire region along the Limmat. Seen in this way, the Limmat Valley is not located on the edge of two cities, but in their center and forms a whole. Ritz: “This change of perspective is central. The Limmatstadt with its around 20 cities and municipalities has what many other regions do not have: space for more. "
The fact that the Limmat Valley is now becoming the Limmat City is a logical consequence of developments over the past 20 years. One associates the idea of a classic agglomeration with the Limmattal. So industrial location, specialist stores, traffic axis. Jasmina Ritz believes that the reality is different today. With its contrasts and diversity, the region forms a spatial unit, embedded in the Limmatraum and the hills. With the Limmattalbahn, the region is also receiving an urban mode of transport. Ritz: "The Limmattalbahn turns the agglo into an attractive urban region."
The merging of the region is also interesting for Baden. The managing director of location promotion refers to the practice: “The communities in the region are all in the same boat, so it is worth joining forces. It has little weight when the city of Baden knocks in Bern. But if an entire region presents, the pressure increases, ”she is quoted as saying.
Regarding the canton border between Zurich and Aargau, which runs in the middle of the city on the Limmat, she says: "Political borders no longer correspond to the realities of life." The fragmentation of the region prevents greater thinking and action. However, an overall view of the competition between the regions is necessary. This becomes clear in challenges such as traffic solutions. The Limmattalbahn will open in 2022. It creates connections between places, people and workplaces beyond the canton's borders. This train is much more than a means of transport. Ritz: "Where there are rails, there is a city."