The bottleneck is evident despite there being, on paper, sufficient building land. Many sites are either unavailable or difficult for businesses to access, even though employment and the population continue to grow. This is precisely where the 2026 report on the cantonal structure plan, which the government has submitted to the Cantonal Council, comes in.
In 2024, around 540,000 people lived in the canton of St. Gallen; in 2023, there were around 318,000 people in employment. Between 2020 and 2024, around 58 per cent of population growth took place in urban areas. In terms of employment growth, the figure was around 69 per cent between 2019 and 2023. More than three-quarters of the population growth took place in areas that were already built up.
Densification is only partially successful
These figures support the direction of the structure plan regarding infill development. Existing settlement areas are being used more intensively, whilst undeveloped building zones have decreased. In terms of housing, however, the spatial distribution falls short of the cantonal target. The ‘landscape’ category, characterised by compact settlements, grew more strongly than anticipated, whilst urban densification areas accounted for a smaller share of population growth than planned.
Industrial zones are becoming a bottleneck
The pressure on industrial zones is greater. According to the government, there is a lack of suitable sites available at short notice for business expansions and new business settlements. The canton therefore intends to further develop the management of industrial zones. This issue is already enshrined in the structural plan. The cantonal structural plan website features the text of the structural plan as at May 2026, and in early 2026 the canton also published a background report on the management of employment zones.
Structural Plan to be revised again
A comprehensive review of the Structural Plan will take place in the coming years. The focus will be on revising the calculation model for the settlement area, implementing the second partial revision of the Spatial Planning Act, and reassessing the regional growth assumptions and their weighting. Municipalities, regions and affected organisations are to be involved at an early stage. In parallel, the ongoing maintenance of the structural plan continues. The Federal Office for Spatial Development has already treated the approval of the 2025 structural plan amendment by DETEC on 8 May 2026 as having been finalised for St. Gallen.
For landowners, developers and local authorities, the message is clear. The next round of regional planning is not just about denser settlements, but above all about the question of where, within the canton, land suitable for production, commerce and business expansion can actually be made available in the short term.
