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Introduction

Basel may be described as a 'city-state' but it also is a 'city without land'. And its expansion has been strictly limited by its narrow political boundaries. But for the people who live in Basle, the surrounding countryside expands their horizons and their recreation possibilities.

The Birseck plain and the Gempen plateau have always been popular with the city-dwellers. In Riehen and Arlesheim, in particular, the magnificent estates ? reminders of a glorious age when the merchants of Basle were devotees of nature and art ? are often made accessible to the public for concerts, exhibitions and social events.

Basle?s economic is connected with its country-side surrounding very strong, and tens and thousands of people commute to work from outlying districts. Even so, space constraints have compelled many firms to move their operations out of town while others have remained in Basle setting up additional production units across the border in France and West Germany, in other European countries, and overseas.