The construction of the national road network mainly took place between 1965 and 1975. The realization of the new traffic infrastructure was also considered an aesthetic challenge as road construction always involves interventions in the landscape. Link to the archives of RTS

The housing shortage of the 1960s was a topic that was observed with great attention and also was of great political concern. In 1965, the Federal Act on Measures to Promote Housing Construction was enacted. Among other things, the Delegate for Housing Construction advocated setting up Swiss national More

Between 1962 and 1973, the second Jura Water Correction was carried out to prevent recurrent and catastrophic flooding. Link to the archives of Memobase

The village landscape as the very emblem of a safe personal biography slowly disappeared, towns grew endlessly and traffic ate up the landscape. “Plan wherever planning is still to be done” became the motto – because land-use planning had started later in Switzerland than in other European countries. More

In Switzerland, national roads were planned from 1954 till 1959 – quite late by international standards. The first section of the new motorway network was inaugurated just in time for the opening of Expo’ 64 in Lausanne. Link to the archives of Memobase

The need for additional housing space that had existed since the 1940s also led to new concepts of housing development in Switzerland and, in Meyrin, to an entire satellite town being built. Link to the archives of Memobase

The typhoid epidemic of 1963 was caused by contaminated drinking water. As a result, Switzerland introduced a ban for construction projects that were outside the scope of general sewerage projects. Link to the archives of Memobase

In the 1960s, “gems of the Swiss landscape” were increasingly caught up in the maelstrom of potential builders and speculators. Measures were sought to curb rising land prices, and the population was made aware of the need to protect the landscape in order to preserve it for posterity. More

From 1954 till 1959, national roads were beginning to be planned. The first section – between Lausanne and Geneva – was opened in 1963 in view of the organization of the Expo ’64 in Lausanne. Switzerland wanted to present itself with a modern transport infrastructure at the Landesausstellung, More

At the end of the 19th century, a water correction took place in the Ticino, and the Magadino Plain was able to develop from marshland into an intensively used agricultural area. In 1974, the Bolle di Magadino Nature Reserve was created. In the following decades, the settled area More

The strong increase of settled areas after the end of the Second World War led to an overheating of the land market in the 1960s. In 1963, the Social Democratic Party SP and the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions submitted the so-called “land-rights initiative” (rejected in 1967). The More

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Halen housing estate was built in a forest clearing near Bern. Halen was built using a construction method focussing on structural density and designed as a communal housing estate intended for families. Link to the archives of Memobase

In the 1950s, the Calanca Valley was marked by hard work and poverty. Natural hazards plagued the valley – including landslides that destroyed buildings. Link to the archives of Memobase

The snowmelt following the avalanche winter of 1951 led to high waters in the Ticino and the Engadine that destroyed houses and the infrastructure. Link to the archives of Memobase

This programme was broadcast a scant week before the vote on the Volksinitiative, the popular initiative to protect the Lavaux region, launched by environmentalist Franz Weber. Thanks to this initiative, the Lavaux region has been protected by the Vaud Constitution since 1977. In May 2007, the Lavaux region More

After the Second World War, more and more villages were subjected to “settlement pressure” as a result of economic and urban growth. Small villages become agglomeration communities. The contribution shed light on the situation before the Federal Act on Spatial Planning came into force. Link to the archives More

In 1965, a construction consortium planned to develop the village of Surlej in the Upper Engadine lake district into a town of roughly 25,000 inhabitants. The project was prevented by the resistance organized by the Pro Surlej association. The statement by an Engadine inhabitant shown here is an More

In 1972, the authors of this report asked landowners of the municipality of Savièse near Sion in the Canton of Valais whether they had ever sold or would sell land – and why. This contribution reflects the situation of the inhabitants of a mountain village faced with a More

The conference „Vereinigung Landesplanung Schweiz” or Swiss Association of National Planning (VLP-ASPAN) found an answer to the question of: „What is spatial planning?” The respective contribution moreover provided an impression of the spatial dynamics prevailing at the time, shaped by the beginnings of suburbanization. Two weeks before the More

Ever since the 1950s, Swiss municipalities have been confronted with the problem of supply and disposal: rising mountains of trash and increasing amounts of waste water required major investments and a co-operation between municipalities. Link to the archives of Memobase

The Blenio Valley is an example of the problems the mountain regions faced in the post-war period: the villages were marked by emigration. Land consolidations were to keep agriculture in the valley. Switzerland was seeking to safeguard the future of its mountain regions. Link to the archives of More

The construction of the national road system was wholly dedicated to progress: Switzerland was realizing a new road network that promised progress and corresponded to the modern era. However, in the beginning, little thought was spared to the impact on the landscape and settlement structures. Link to the More

To relieve Lausanne of the increasing car traffic, the former industrial district of Flon was to be redeveloped. A two-tier road system for through and city traffic was planned. However, the plans were never implemented. In recent years, the Flon district has developed into an attractive new neighbourhood More

The inauguration of the motorway section between Lausanne and Geneva took place just in time for Expo ’64. The event was celebrated as a “great day for motorized Switzerland”. However, the construction of national roads did not really take into account the spatial impact of the new infrastructure More

After the avalanche winter of 1951, protective measures were taken against avalanches all through the 1950s. Avalanche forests and shelters were built to avert much dreaded dangers and death. Link to the archives of Memobase

In the winter of 1951, 91 people died in avalanches – numerous houses, facilities and, in some cases, entire parts of a village were destroyed. Made aware of the dangers by these events, measures were initiated to protect the population: firstly, shelters were built and an avalanche forest More