News & Events: Conference: Keynote: Feral Nuisance: Property & the Untameable Planet (8 October 2026)

By Responsible City Team on Thu, Sep 10, 2026

“Property fundamentally shapes how societies operate, organize space, use and allocate resources, and distribute privileges and rights. Property holds significant political and socio-economic importance, influencing economic incentives and shaping societal power in decision-making. Considering land and housing in Switzerland and beyond, property rights are among the best-protected legal rights. Yet despite this societal importance, systematic, comparative, and multidisciplinary knowledge about Swiss property– for housing, real estate, and land– remains surprisingly limited and fragmented. Scholars, practitioners, and civil society actors and activists working across Switzerland’s diverse geographical regions, disciplinary fields, and institutional contexts rarely engage in dialogue about this topic. That Switzerland is confronted with an intensifying housing crisis, exclusionary housing dynamics, and environmental challenges further intensifies the urgent need for multidisciplinary exchange around property to support an understanding of how property functions in this context. This workshop brings together researchers with diverse disciplinary backgrounds, practitioners, and civil actors/activists to examine how property operates in Switzerland.”

The keynote held by Sarah Keenan will be followed by a podium discussion with the following guests:

• Ismene Ehrler – PhD(c), University of Zurich
• Luisa Gehriger – Postdoc, ETHZ
• Jean-David Gerber – Professor, University of Bern

Date: 8th October 2026, 16h00

Venue: Kantonsschule Nord, Irchel Campus, UZH Winterthurerstr. 190, Zurich, Room Y12 E 17

Additional information surrounding the two-day workshop on “Whose Land, Whose Home, Whose Rent? Assembling property in Switzerland” as a whole can be obtained from the flyer below.