Landvestors II

In hightech regions, private initiative could be an opportunity in the battle for talent and in landscape transitions. After learning from best Landvestor practices, we focus on the potential in two pilot areas: the Green Corridor (part of Brainport NL) and KRAFTRAUM:terranova (part of Rheinisches Revier DE).

In the Landvestors best practices we learned that there is an international trend of companies and citizens getting involved in landscape financing and development. To use their potential, we identified two challenges:

Can Landvestors be palpable plug-and-play initiatives, which still contribute to large-scale long-term ambitions in a region?
And how can donation, crowdfunding and business models be combined and leveraged with public subsidies?

In Landvestors II – The Region we elaborate a regional landscape development strategy focused on private stakeholders and backed by exploratory financing schemes involving donations, crowdfunding and business models. We work with an interdisciplinary team including planners, landscape architects and economists, in regular contact with stakeholders in the pilot regions. The project is supported by the Creative Industries Fund and Community of Practice ‘Landscape as Location Factor’.

Pilot regions

The two post-industrial high-tech regions share qualities, which make them relevant for Landvestors. The innovative industries in both regions require highly skilled (technical) personnel, which needs to be attracted and retained. This personnel is increasingly scarce and settles in regions with high level of quality of life, and therefore landscape quality. Both regions deal with large landscape-economic transitions, such as the shift from intensive livestock farming to a healthier and more sustainable model, and the shift from browncoal mining to new energy sources and land uses. And both regions can build on their unique (industrial) heritage.

Stakeholders in both Brainport Eindhoven and Rheinisches Revier have given input and reflections on the analyses and proposals in the Landvestors project.

Landscape Triennial 2021