21st Century (2000–present)

Basel 3Land (Dreiländereck)

2012– · Switzerland · Western & Central Europe · Post-industrial regeneration and waterfront urbanism · Planned by Basel/Weil am Rhein/Huningue
3Land planning perimeter with the tri-national transformation areas (yellow) astride the Rhine where Switzerland, France and Germany meet at Basel
3Land planning perimeter with the tri-national transformation areas (yellow) astride the Rhine where Switzerland, France and Germany meet at Basel · © IBA Basel — used with credit · IBA Basel 2020 / Kanton Basel-Stadt, Stadt Weil am Rhein and Ville de Huningue — 3Land Planungsvereinbarung, Anlage 1

Core idea

Tri-national waterfront redevelopment

Why it matters

Cross-border urban district making

Description

A cross-border planning initiative launched in 2012 by Basel in Switzerland, Weil am Rhein in Germany and Huningue in France, together with cantonal and regional partners, for the Rhine waterfront where the three countries meet. The 3Land vision reimagines port, industrial and infrastructural land around the Dreiländereck as a shared urban district, coordinating harbour relocation, new bridges, riverside public space and mixed-use development across national boundaries. It proceeds through a joint planning framework rather than a single statutory plan.

Significance

3Land is a rare attempt to plan a coherent urban quarter across three national jurisdictions, making it a key reference for cross-border metropolitan governance in Europe. It illustrates both the potential and the slowness of tri-national coordination, and extends the Basel region's longer tradition of functional integration across the Swiss, German and French borders.

What shaped it

Sources

Open it on the interactive timeline →
hub.toekom.st — History of Urbanism · an interactive timeline of 850 planned cities across 6,000 years.