Institute of Geography

Research

Political Urbanism and Sustainable Spatial Development

We analyze the socio-political dimension of spatial development.

We focus on the following questions:
(1) Why and how are resources regulated e.g., land, housing, scenic landscape, food, biodiversity?
(2) Which strategies are followed by actors to secure their access to resources?
(3) Which institutions (rules of the game) provide a contribution to strong sustainability?

Our research aims to understand how land-use planning can contribute to fight against urban sprawl, how affordable housing can be secured and how sustainable food provision can be ensured.

News from our Research and Teaching

🔔 News page

We share the process and results of our work - read our in depth articles!

Housing cooperatives: A sustainable “third way” for affordable housing provision?

As a possible solution to growing housing unaffordability, housing cooperatives have attracted increasing attention in Switzerland. High time for the big picture!

How to plan the dense and green city?

Many cities aim to grow through densification. At the same time, many cities seek to expand urban green spaces. Our research shows how cities combine both sustainability goals despite scarce land available.

Greening the centre of the world

What happens when a community's desire for recreational and educational spaces clashes with the relentless march of commercial development? This question drew me to Tema, Ghana, for my PhD field research.

Uncovering urban commons-public relationship through the lens of land use

The excessive use and unequal distribution of resources in urban areas pose urgent socio-ecological challenges to sustainability. Urban commons have been proposed a potential to promote sustainability. As an alternative mode of resource governance besides the state and the market they open the case for thinking beyond public-private partnerships – Tianzhu Liu on exploring the urban commons-public partnership in Switzerland.

Urban Redevelopment and its Gendered Implications

Many cities in the Global South are growing rapidly and face enormous planning challenges. In central Kumasi, Ghana, the redevelopment of the central market shows that urban planners often ignore the importance of public spaces in the livelihood strategies of women as informal urban workers.

Farmer self-determination through the Participatory Guarantee System in the Peruvian Andes?

Many agri-food products are labelled with sustainability claims. However, the standards of most certification schemes are set and enforced by actors based in the global North. Will the Participatory Guarantee System change that?

The crisis of care as an urban policy challenge

How to mitigate the crisis of social reproduction through municipal land and housing policy? Deniz Ay provides a feminist political ecology perspective on how to operationalise “strong sustainability” objectives in urban redevelopment.

Causes of a housing crisis: looking at restrictive building permit policies and zoning laws in California

In last week's session of our course on ‘Political Ecology and Spatial Development’, Paavo Monkkonen (UCLA) presented his research on the housing crisis in California. Despite the profits made by real estate developers, housing is increasingly unaffordable for most people.

Comparing Densification Strategies for Housing in the Netherlands and Switzerland

Urban densification is a crucial topic in contemporary urban planning, with many countries adopting policies to combat urban sprawl. In her PhD project, Josje Bouwmeester examined how planning negotiations between planners and landowners shape housing outcomes in densification projects.

Collective housing and infrastructural provision in Ghana

In the social life of indigenous communities in Ghana, commonality and reciprocity are deeply rooted principles for organising key resources such as land and housing.

Overlaps in Protected Area Designations

Worldwide, over a quarter of all protected areas are designated by two or more designations.
What does this tell us about the utility of protected areas as spatial conservation instruments?

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Institute of Geography