Urban land use change models are vital tools for anticipating spatial development and its socio-economic and environmental impacts. Yet most models treat urban areas as thematically homogeneous, overlooking variation in residential and economic intensity. We present a high-resolution model for Switzerland’s densely populated Swiss Plateau (1999 settlements, hectare Mehr
Camila Medina Novoa is a landscape historian and researcher, whose work sits at the intersection of history of landscape architecture, environmental history, history of science, and the emerging field of Plant Humanities — which places plant species at the centre of historical and cultural inquiry, allowing scientific and Mehr
What does it mean to reimagine the cities of tomorrow? How do we create urban environments that empower the many, rather than enrich the few? The Manual for Designing Urban Imaginaries Colombia is grounded in experimentation and aims to confront one of humanity’s most pressing challenges: the complexities Mehr
Das Buch «Social Infrastructure in Neighbourhoods and Cities» beleuchtet die verschiedenen Formen und Facetten sozialer Infrastrukturen – physische Räume, die Menschen zusammenbringen, Verbindungen ermöglichen und Gemeinschaft fördern. Hannah Widmer, Forscherin am ETH Wohnforum, untersucht in ihrem Beitrag die Diversität der Nutzer:innen dreier Quartiersplätze in Zürich und vergleicht sie Mehr
Die bisher wenig erforschte Architektur der Wiener Volkshochschule wird in diesem Buch von Carina Sacher, Forscherin am ETH Wohnforum, und Lukas Vejnik beleuchtet. Erfolge und Rückschläge, grosse und kleine Projekte, Kontinuitäten und Brüche über drei Jahrzehnte der Nachkriegszeit werden dabei entschlüsselt. Die Publikation liefert einen wertvollen Beitrag zur Mehr
Interest in collaborative housing is growing across Latin America. Based on 20 case studies, four distinct types were identified: the Eco-Communitarian, the Developer-led, the Resistance, and the Political, differentiated by the actors and instruments enabling their emergence, sustainability, and scalability over time.
Series One: Rethinking Cities – Governance, Diversity, and Community. This special issue from the disP archives provides a foundation for examining how inclusive governance and community-building can address the challenges of difference and inequality in contemporary cities.
This paper focuses on how, in the wake of shifting hydro-topographic regimes in Switzerland, digital design methods can be combined with tactile modeling methods to support the overall design process and output. Bridging crucial gaps in the workflow from geodata to physical modeling the paper proposes a design Mehr
Major cities worldwide experience problems with the performance of their road transportation networks, and the continuous increase in traffic demand presents a substantial challenge to the optimal operation of urban road networks and the efficiency of traffic control strategies. The operation of transportation systems is widely considered to Mehr
1. April, 19:00 | Book launch | ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, gta Foyer, HIL D 50.5, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5. How do cinema and planetary urbanization shape each other amid ecological and democratic crises? This book maps shifts in visual culture since the late 1980s as filmmakers, photographers, and artists probe Mehr
Between Streets and Screens offers a comparative ethnography of digital video activism in Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town in the early 2010s. Focusing closely on the practices of filming protests and police violence, the book shows how eyewitnesses and activists navigate the fine line between power and Mehr
This article examines the intersection of wildfire, drought and extractivism through the case study of the Jardín del Siglo XXI (JSXXI, the Garden of the Twenty-first Century), a garden-based research project in Huertos Familiares, a community in Tiltil, Chile, increasingly affected by fire.
Im Rahmen des Aktionsplans Biodiversität wurden neue Erkenntnisse zum aktuellen Stand, zur Nachfrage und zu Hindernissen der Berücksichtigung von Ökosystemleistungen (ÖSL) in raumrelevanten Entscheidungen veröffentlicht. Der Schlussbericht eines vom BAFU beauftragten Projekts sowie eine neue Website der ETH unterstützen Fachpersonen dabei, geeignete Planungstools zu finden.
In recent years, the compact city model has gained prominence as a strategy for sustainable urban development, with urban densification at its core. While densification is recognized as a key planning tool, questions remain about how to use it effectively to achieve broader sustainability goals.
This publication explores how residents of Bramfischerville, an underprivileged area in Johannesburg, South Africa, understand public participation in urban development. The study reveals that for many community members, participation is less about influencing policy and more about gaining recognition and fostering relationships. These locally grounded perspectives challenge dominant Mehr
As urban environments evolve with increasing complexity, urban planning must adapt by often responding to unsolicited demands rather than to commissioned, structured work. This paper explores the integration of digital tools – including Digital Twins – into the architectural curriculum at ETH Zurich, aiming to bridge the gap Mehr
El proyecto apunta a trabajar en la reconversión y puesta en valor de cuatro sectores específicos: el Centro Histórico de Asunción, el Parque Caballero, la Reserva Ecológica del Banco San Miguel y la Bahía de Asunción y la creación del Distrito Eco-Inclusivo a ser ubicado entre el Cauce Mehr
To decarbonize urban transport systems, promoting active modes by allocating more road space to cycling infrastructure to achieve a radical modal shift has become a popular transport policy. However, such policies usually receive strong public opposition due to the concern of traffic congestion caused by reduced road capacity Mehr
Cycling as a mode of transport is on an upward trend as a low-emission alternative to driving in urbanised areas nowadays. With the increasing number of cyclists, it is of great importance to assess the capacity of cycling infrastructure in practice. Simulation models are useful tools to investigate Mehr
ETH Wohnforum – ETH CASE hat ein neues standardisiertes Format für die Veröffentlichung von Working Papers in der ETH Research Collection eingeführt. Die ersten Publikationen dieser Reihe stammen aus dem Projekt «Tackling the Global Housing Challenges: Relevance and Replicability of Switzerland’s and Uruguay’s Housing Cooperatives’ Policies and Strategies». Mehr
The environmental crisis has created a demand for practices that build awareness about the interconnections of diverse forms of life, allowing humans to understand complex earthly relationships and reconnect with the land they inhabit. This paper contributes to this debate by investigating bird watching activities and their relevance Mehr
Urban densification remains a contentious issue, often hindered by preservationist attitudes and risk-averse governance. This study contrasts two planning approaches in Baden, Switzerland: the Oberstadt + project, which applied a data-driven, evidence-based framework to foster a 10-Minute-Neighbourhood, and the In-Depth Study Oberstadt, which prioritized minimal intervention and preservation.
This article examines the socioecological metabolism of soils in New York City, tracing their production, circulation, and transformation within the dynamics of extended urbanisation. It explores how soil, as both a biophysical and socio-political entity, alternates between being treated as lively or inert in response to the demands Mehr
Automated vehicle technologies offer a promising avenue for enhancing traffic efficiency, safety, and energy consumption. Among these, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems stand out as a prevalent form of automation on today’s roads, with their time gap settings holding paramount importance. While decreasing the average time headway tends Mehr
The E-Bike City project’s design is anchored in shifting away from private car use, particularly for daily commuting. It does so by ensuring access to shared vehicle hubs within 200 meters (or another designated distance) of every residence, promoting convenience and accessibility.
As urban environments evolve with increasing complexity, urban planning must adapt by often responding to unsolicited demands rather than to commissioned, structured work. This paper explores the integration of digital tools – including Digital Twins – into the architectural curriculum at ETH Zurich, aiming to bridge the gap Mehr
There is a consensus among scholars and policy makers that durable peace after violent conflicts is contingent upon addressing affected communities’ livelihood needs and, in particular, housing. Post-conflict reconstruction is challenging, but at the same time an opportunity to address pre-existing housing deficits. In this Update, we present Mehr
Housing cooperatives are being reconsidered in many countries worldwide as potentially relevant actors in the provision of affordable housing. This is also the case in Latin America, characterised by neo-liberal housing policies that have led to an increasing financialization of housing and marginalisation of the poor. Uruguay is Mehr
New highway corridors are being implanted at various scales – local, metropolitan, regional, and interregional – often bypassing existing routes and opening new speculative frontiers for urban land markets. This article periodises the different stages of highway construction in India during the neo-liberal era.
In the context of the prevailing global rightward and populist shift, there exists a largely unexplored yet profound nexus between authoritarian neoliberalism and infrastructure-led extended urbanisation beyond the city. Drawing on insights from extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted along India’s highway corridors, this paper examines the authoritarianism and social Mehr
Car dependence brings along many negative social and environmental externalities that policymakers and stakeholders need to consider. Nonetheless, the concept is not well defined and lacks a clear framework regarding its determinants and mechanisms, which also leads to problems in terms of its operationalisation.