A study into access to towns and villages in Switzerland has called for better coordination between land management and transport planning.
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The study by the Federal Spatial Development Office pinpoints disparities between localities and found that good access and transport were important to the attractiveness of a town or village.
Overall there is a high level of accessibility in the country, but there are gaps between the public and private transport options, it said.
The urban centres of Zurich, Basel, Bern, Geneva and Lugano are well serviced by both rail and road, it found, whereas cars are more convenient in less densely populated areas as they can reach parts off the beaten track.
While it took less than an hour for people living in the Swiss low areas to reach one of the five main cities by car, it was more than an hour for those travelling from valleys in the large cantons of Valais and Graubünden.
The study’s authors said that in evaluating road and rail development, residential areas needed to be serviced adequately by public transport, as has been stipulated by the Senate in revisions to the law on land development.
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The Swiss Heritage Society awards the prize every year to a town or village in recognition of successful urban planning developments.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.