In Austria, over the past decade an average daily area ten times the size of Vienna’s Stephansplatz has been built over. “Land consumption here is more than four times too high,” WWF Austria environmentalists said Thursday at an online press conference, citing the “WWF Soil Report 2025: Heavily Built-Up Austria.” They blame decades of political failures at federal, state, and local levels.

“Since 2002, when the federal government committed to a 2.5 ha/day limit, it has been missed every single year,” the experts said. From 2015–2024, soil sealing averaged 11 ha daily—one hectare being roughly Stephansplatz’s area.

Slight Decline Tied to Economy
In 2023 and 2024 soil sealing eased slightly to 8 ha and 7 ha per day, largely due to fewer recreational developments and an economic downturn.

“This high land take is one of the biggest environmental problems,” said WWF Austria’s Hanna Simons. It boosts greenhouse-gas emissions, destroys CO₂ sinks, and worsens extreme-weather impacts by reducing soils’ water-storage capacity.

According to Austria’s Spatial Planning Conference (ÖROK), settlement expansion causes 61 % of land consumption (3,453 km²), transport 30 % (1,720 km²), plus leisure areas (330 km²) and utilities (145 km²).

Political Failures & Roadbuilding Critique
WWF blames “decades of policy missteps” and says the current coalition programme lacks concrete soil-protection measures and even pushes major road projects like the Lobau motorway and Bodensee fast road.

Solutions Proposed
WWF calls for a nationwide de-sealing and greening initiative, binding federal soil-protection laws, limits on roadbuilding, and reuse of empty town-centre buildings. “A binding cap on land take is crucial—no instrument currently forces any level of government to respect an upper limit,” Simons said.