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
On Tuesday, 10 September 2024, the project team, project partners and members of the advisory board came together at L200 to give updates on the seven sub-projects and gather feedback on overarching aims, individual work packages and first ideas for fieldwork. A site visit to two acute cases of construction projects followed in the afternoon to gain an insight into the current housing controversies in Zurich. …
The last Lunch Lecture of this three-part series takes place on 11 December 2024: Prof Dr. Thierry Theurillat will discuss the dynamics of real estate in Switzerland - and whether it should be considered a tool for financialization and/or a driver of regional development.…
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.
Hilbrandt, Hanna; Dimitrakou, Ifigeneia; Pattaroni, Luca Read (direct access).
This project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation under Grant No. 10001A_219821