*This article is based on literature and statistical data as of January 2026.

1. The alchemy that transforms "negative legacy" into "wealth"

The stagnation of 19th-century Vienna and the potential of "Grassis"

First, let's clarify the situation Vienna found itself in at the time. Until the mid-19th century, Vienna was a fortress city surrounded by double walls. Inside was the densely populated "inner city" (Innere Stadt) where the imperial court and aristocrats lived, and outside was the "suburbs" (Vorstadt) where workers who had flocked in as a result of the Industrial Revolution lived.

Separating the two was a massive city wall, built to protect against sieges by the Ottoman Empire, and the shooting square known as "Glacis" that stretched out in front of it. With the advent of modern weaponry, these spaces lost their value as defensive structures, and became a "negative legacy" in terms of urban sanitation, with dust flying in the summer and turning into a quagmire in the winter.

However, the emperor and the technocrats of the time saw in this "useless piece of junk" economic potential worth trillions of yen today. The vast state-owned land, measuring approximately 2.4 million square meters (about the size of 51 Tokyo Domes), was located in a prime location in the city center. There was no reason not to use it as a seed site for urban development.

▲ The current Vienna Ringstrasse. You can see the horseshoe-shaped structure that surrounds the old town.

The invention of the "Urban Expansion Fund"

Here, it was introduced"Urban Expansion Fund (Stadterweiterungsfonds)"This was a groundbreaking special accounting scheme, which could be considered a precursor to modern PFI (Private Finance Initiative) and urban regeneration mechanisms.

The system was extremely simple and rational. First, the city walls and glacis were removed, and the resulting land was rezoned. The residential land, excluding the public land for roads and parks, was then sold at a high price to private investors. The profits from these sales were then used to fund the development of road infrastructure and the construction of public buildings such as the National Diet Building, the Opera House, and art museums.

Below is a comparison of the flow of funds under this scheme.

The development of the Ringstrasse was promoted under a system in which the revenue from the sale of land obtained when the fortifications were demolished was pooled into a fund and recirculated to public buildings, etc. On the other hand, the city of Vienna (municipal government) also had to bear separate burdens such as infrastructure development, so the financial impact was not uniform, but from a national level, there is no doubt that it was an extremely rational capital maximization strategy that transformed the cost center of "military facilities" into the profit center of "real estate."

Incentive design: 30-year tax exemption

However, simply selling land would not have led to such rapid development. The government provided powerful incentives to drive the desire of private capital.

"If construction begins within one year of purchasing the land and is completed within the specified period, property taxes will be exempted for the next 30 years."

This time-limited preferential treatment ignited the competitive spirit of the emerging bourgeoisie and Jewish financiers. To demonstrate their social status, they competed to build magnificent buildings modeled after the palaces of the nobility. In exchange for temporarily giving up tax revenue, the government gained the speed at which the city was completed and the quality of its landscape.

2. Ringstrasse as a "theater city"

What makes the Ringstrasse unique is not just its economic scheme: once completed, the urban space itself served as a highly calculated platform for transmitting political and cultural messages.

In modern urban planning, we tend to think of buildings as simply "functional boxes." However, the example of Vienna teaches us that architecture can also be a "media" that conveys political messages and cultural identity. A city's design code directly expresses the local philosophy.

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3. Shift to Lake Toya, Hokkaido: Waterside Ring Concept

So how can we apply this historical knowledge to modern-day Hokkaido, particularly tourist destinations like Toyako Town? Although the scales are different, there are certainly structural similarities between the two, and the possibility of adapting them to other uses.

Comparative Analysis: Vienna and Toyako Geometry

Vienna's Ringstrasse and the Toyako Circular Road may seem unrelated at first glance, but they share a common geometric feature: a circular structure. Making the most of this characteristic shape is the key to the strategy.

Lake Toya and its surrounding road. A giant "ring" created by nature.

Strategy 1: Road restructuring as "profitable infrastructure"

Just as Vienna turned the remains of its city walls into assets through an "urban expansion fund," the roads along Lake Toya need to undergo a paradigm shift from being merely "travel routes that require management costs" to "profit-generating investment targets."

Currently, road maintenance costs are a major financial burden for many local governments in Japan. However, following the example of Vienna, it is possible to reconsider the privileged location of a road (lakeside) as "capital" itself.

For example, local governments and DMOs (regional tourism organizations) could take the lead in consolidating the rights to unused land with good views and abandoned facilities. They could then formulate a landscape design code for the entire area (including height restrictions and consistent color tones), and offer long-term land leases and tax incentives to private developments that fit the code (foreign luxury hotels, villas for the wealthy, satellite offices). The profits from this could be reinvested not simply in road repairs, but in developing "public spaces of outstanding quality (such as observation terraces and art installations)."

Strategy 2: Mobility revolution (from cars to people and bicycles)

Even more noteworthy are the current trends in Vienna. Improvements to bicycle traffic on the Vienna Ring are currently under discussion and planning, with adjustments ongoing with a view to implementation after the election. Large-scale bicycle infrastructure development has been announced for the entire city until at least 2025, and the changes in urban structure are an irreversible trend.

This concept can also be applied to Lake Toya. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's National Cycle Route (NCR) system is already in operation, and designated routes exist. How this is positioned around Lake Toya needs to be determined in accordance with the official policies of the Hokkaido Cycle Route Council, etc., but it is clear that simply marking out lanes for bicycles is not enough.

Like Vienna, we should boldly restrict automobile traffic in specific sections (such as the center of a spa town or a scenic spot) and create "premium rings" where pedestrians and slow mobility (bicycles and electric kick scooters) play a leading role. This will shift from sightseeing that simply passes through by car to sightseeing that involves walking around on foot, feeling the breeze and light. Reducing travel speeds from 40 km/h to 15 km/h will extend stay times, create more spending opportunities, and ultimately lead directly to an increase in average customer spending.

Strategy 3: Spatialization of stories (geopark narrative)

Finally, there is the perspective of "relational design." Vienna used its architectural style to express the "ideal of empire." So, what should Lake Toya say?

This is undoubtedly the "heartbeat of the living earth (Lake Toya-Mount Usu UNESCO Global Geopark)" and "coexistence with Ainu culture." Existing road signs and guardrails will be replaced from standard civil engineering standards with designs and materials that evoke the volcano's geological layers and lake water. The observation deck will be redeveloped not just as a photo spot, but as landscape architecture that allows visitors to experience the energy of past eruptions.

Creating a space where visitors can feel the deep story (narrative) of the place just by visiting is the most powerful branding method to differentiate a region from others and become a tourist destination of choice.

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