Luxemburg in Transition

The project of Luxembourg in Transition as a whole, portrays concrete steps towards net-zero emissions with quantified results in the field of spatial planning. Soil & People, more specifically, brings the attention to the choices that we make as citizens every day. The fact that an omnivorous diet consumes 7 times the land that a vegan diet needs, shows the impact that each individual can have on changing the course of this crisis. We chose a sharp focus on lifestyle choices and nature-based solutions, and as a result proposed a step by step roadmap towards neutrality for food and land use related emissions. The narrative of the project centers around the question of soil and the competing interests around it. In response to this challenge, the team developed an array of strategies on the scale of the territory in the fields of land-take, dietary habits, agricultural practices, and forestry. These strategies where showcased through an exhaustive series of quantified modelling and field conversations. The outcome, was a detailed land-use plan for the territory, together with an array of timelines presenting how the proposal plays out compared to business-as-usual scenario in time. This process provided the impetus for the methodology and toolset which allowed for application on showcase sites, in Bettendorf and Helfent. In these showcase sites, the inter-relations between densification, property rights, sequestering agricultural practices, and the consequences in Tons of carbon were demonstrated in time. As a result. an adaptable land management tool was created and tested which put forward a new front for spatial planning rooted in carbon accounting and climate adaptivity. Our 3 step Count it, Change it, Scale it methodology formed a resilient framework for both the scale of the territory, and municipalities.


  • Location

    Bettendorf, Helfent (Luxembourg)

  • Client

    Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning of Luxembourg

  • Study duration

    October 2020 - January 2022

  • In collaboration with

    2001 , LOLA

  • 51N4E involvement

    Territorial Strategy, Project management, Spatial planning, Data Visualisation, Land use planning

  • 51N4E project team

    Arya Arabshahi, Chloe Nachtergael, Giulia Massenz, Arthur Della Schiava, Aya Akbib

  • Consultants

    Yellow Ball (LU), Gregor Waltersdorfer (LU), Systematica (IT), Transolar (DE), Endeavour (BE)

  • Image credits

    51N4E, LOLA, 2001

  • Program

    Climate adaptive land use plan

  • Study costs (excl VAT)

    170,940 €

  • Photography

    Philippe Nathan, Adrien De Hemptinne Image credits: 51N4E, LOLA, 2001