Swiss responses
to housing in
socio-ecological crisis
In the opening decades of the 21st century, cities have increasingly been threatened by perpetual global crises. Resulting processes of precarization, inequality, and climate vulnerability have triggered increasing controversies around how to respond to these socio-ecological crises and negotiate the trade-offs between environmental goals and questions of social justice.
This project aims to understand how cities respond to socio-ecological controversies in housing. Based on an analysis of the most prominent housing controversies in two Swiss cities (Geneva and Zurich) we ask: What competing grammars of responsibility guide socio-ecological controversies in housing, how are they put into action and shape the urban fabric, and how can they be transformed into a politics of transition?
how to respond to these socio-ecological crises and negotiate the trade-offs between environmental goals and questions of social justice
The project concentrates on three entangled controversies in the field of housing and residential development that we investigate in Zurich and Geneva in seven Sub-Projects (SPs): while not exhaustive, these controversies cover the most pressing concerns currently debated in the context of socio-ecological crisis. “The Responsible City” tackles these controversies through the diverse disciplinary expertise we bring to this project and, relatedly, at different scales of analysis.
SP1 Everyday Responses SP2 Collective Responses SP3 Institutional Responses SP4 Tenant Responses SP5 Private Corporate Responses SP6 Responsibility Regimes SP7 Responsible Innovation
We regret to announce that the first Lunch Lecture in this series, originally scheduled for 22 October 2025, has been cancelled. Unfortunately, Dr. Desiree Fields’ lecture cannot take place as planned.…
From September 30th to October 2nd 2025, Nouri Abdelgadir, Ismene Ehrler and Hanna Hilbrandt presented project results at the annual conference “Neue Kulturgeographie” (NKG) in Augsburg. …
The present project is a collaborative endeavour designed by four co-applicants and six partners based in different Swiss institutions.
For questions regarding the project please contact Hanna Hilbrandt at hanna.hilbrandt@geo.uzh.ch.
Consider our recent publications, which lay out a framework to theorise responsibility in private rental housing and provide a theoretical basis for this project.
Abdelgadir, Nouri; Brumm, Léo; Ehrler, Ismene; Kauer, Fiona Read (direct access).
Looks like we don’t have any conferences coming up— check back soon!
This project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation under Grant No. 10001A_219821