Department / Institute: Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development (IRL)
E-Bike City Results & Future
Jubiläumsfeier ETH RAUM & Vernissage
ENHANCE Summer School: From Dystopia to Euphoria – Synergic Urban Systems Under Pressure
Developing a Unity-based Tool to Integrate Sound into Landscape Design and Evaluation
The acoustic quality of outdoor spaces is receiving increasing attention in planning and design disciplines. Yet, it is very difficult for non-experts in acoustics to include the effects of landscape changes on the so-called soundscape in their daily work. In the Innovedum project «Unity App for Soundscape Design More
disP 60/2, June 2024
Tagung Landmanagement 2025: Klimaresilientes Wassermanagement im ländlichen Raum
Brownbag Lunch zum Thema Wissenschaftliche Politikberatung im Bereich Raumplanung
NSL Forum & Cycling Research Board: Video and Manifesto now online!
Did you miss the NSL Forum and Cycling Research Board «Digital Twins for Europe’s Future Mobility», on September 4th? The video link is now available on the event website! In addition, for a quick read and an overview of the workshops, you can download the «Collective Manifesto for More
How Ukraine can rebuild its energy system
Researchers at ETH Zurich have been working with researchers from Ukraine and Germany to investigate how to rebuild Ukraine’s destroyed energy infrastructure based on renewable energy. They have determined that solar and wind energy would quickly deliver a distributed power supply system and prevent corruption. Article at the More
Housing Precarity in Six European and North American Cities: Threatened by the Loss of a Safe, Stable, and Affordable Home
Problem, research strategy, and findings: Increasing numbers of urban dwellers face housing precarity in cities worldwide. We conceptualize housing precarity as a multidimensional phenomenon, using five different dimensions: 1) housing affordability, 2) tenure security, 3) housing satisfaction, 4) neighborhood quality, and 5) community cohesion.
Renewable energies in the field of tension between social demands
The Swiss energy system is set to undergo a significant transformation through the integration of photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy installations, as outlined in the Energy Strategy 2050. However, these installations impact public perception of the landscape and may lead to conflicts with various socio-economic or ecological interests. More
D-BAUG Urban Research Seminar
ETH RAUM Öffentliche Vorlesungsreihe
disP 60/1, March 2024
Key Factors to Enhance Efficacy of 3D Digital Environments for Transformative Landscape and Urban Planning
The unprecedented expansion of digital technologies has led to a rapid increase in the development and application of 3D digital environments for landscape and urban planning in the past two decades. Considering the significant challenges in guiding human societies towards sustainability, these technologies must not only assist decision-makers More
A Comprehensive Toolbox for Flood Risk Mitigation in Refugee Settlements
SPUR launches a comprehensive toolbox for flood risk mitigation in refugee settlements: www.humanitarian-risk.org. The toolbox includes a GIS tool to create flood risk maps and mitigation strategies, a compendium of flood risk mitigation measures and a participatory risk mapping methodology. We are thankful for the support of our More
Virtualizing Urban Transition
At a time of global anthropogenic paroxysms, initiatives for urban transition are multiplying to ensure quality and resilience of life in cities. In particular, public open space holds immense potential for rapid adaptation to mitigate the severe risks to human health arising from global warming, pollution and pandemics. More
Planungstools zur besseren Integration von Biodiversität und Ökosystemleistungen in raumrelevante Entscheidungen
Der Aktionsplan Biodiversität soll den Zustand der Biodiversität in der Schweiz verbessern. Ein wichtiger Faktor ist der Einbezug von Ökosystemleistungen/Biodiversität in Raumentscheidungen. In einem Bundesmandat wurde eine Übersicht zu Planungstools erstellt, die dabei helfen können. Es wurden planungsinvolvierte Personen interviewt, um Hindernisse und Nachfrage nach Planungstools zu identifizieren.
«Die Raumplanung kann mit ihren Instrumenten einen wichtigen Beitrag zu mehr Wohnraum und lebenswerten Räumen beitragen.»
Damian Jerjen ist neu – nebst seinem Engagement am EspaceSuisse – als Professor of Practice beim NSL, ETH Zürich, in der Grundausbildung für die Raumplaner:innen tätig. Im Interview spricht er über die besten Strategien gegen die Wohnraumknappheit, das Gesetz über eine sichere Stromversorgung, das im Juni zur Abstimmung More
Creating inequality in access to public transit? Densification, gentrification, and displacement
Densification is a key concept in contemporary urban planning. Yet, there are widespread concerns about densification causing displacement and gentrification. This paper examines densification around train stations—a prevalent form of transit-oriented development (TOD) in cities with established public transit systems—in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland.
What can cities do to promote acceptance of densification?
Swiss cities are more likely to accept densification when densification projects provide affordable housing and green spaces compared to densification that is implemented through reduced regulations for housing construction. By prioritizing a socio-ecological densification, extensive planning procedures and delays might be minimized. Read the article on ETH News.
Public Participation in Urban Planning
Public participation has become a widely used concept in the rhetoric and practice of planning, and an accepted approach in the formulation and implementation of spatial plans, urban policies, or development projects. Despite the widespread use of the concept in both theory and practice, there is however no More
Globale Modellierung des ländlichen Strassenverkehrs ausserhalb der Städte
Der Verkehr auf ländlichen Strassen ausserhalb der Städte kann erhebliche negative Auswirkungen auf die Ökologie und Umwelt von Natur- und Agrarlandschaften haben. Der Umfang dieser Auswirkungen kann jedoch nicht bestimmt werden, da in vielen Ländern keine Daten zum Verkehrsvolumen auf ländlichen Strassen verfügbar sind. Deshalb haben wir einen More
Public Support for Participation in Local Development
Damian Jerjen named «Professor of Practice»
Damian Jerjen is currently Director of the Swiss association for spatial planning EspaceSuisse and Lecturer at ETH Zurich and other Swiss universities. He is an economist and spatial planner. He serves on various bodies, including the Council for Spatial Planning (ROR). At EspaceSuisse, he supports and brings together More
CAS ETH in Zukunft der Raumentwicklung
In Gedenken an Willy A. Schmid
Willy A. Schmid war von 1978 bis 2008 Professor für Landschafts- und Umweltplanung am Institut für Raum- und Landschaftsentwicklung (IRL), der heutigen Professur für Planung von Landschaft und Urbanen Systemen (PLUS) und Mitbegründer des Netzwerk Stadt und Landschaft (NSL) an der ETH Zürich. Er hat Generationen von Raum- und Landschaftsplaner:innen More
MAS ETH in Regenerative Systems
Identifying levers of urban neighbourhood transformation using serious games
Growing urban population and contemporary urban systems lock-in unsustainable urban development pathways, deteriorating the living quality of urban dwellers. The systemic complexity of these challenges renders it difficult to find solutions using existing planning processes.
NSL Forum & Cycling Research Board
4 – 6 September 2024 | ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, HIL E3 and HIT. Today’s design reflects the car-oriented consensus, which was formulated between the 1930’s and 1950’s and adopted around the world since then. The climate crisis challenges this orientation and asks for designs which emphasize the micro-mobility. More
NSL Forum & Cycling Research Board
4 – 6 September 2024 | ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, HIL E3 and HIT. VIDEO NOW ONLINE! Today’s design reflects a car-oriented consensus, which was formulated between the 1930’s and 1950’s and adopted around the world since then. The climate crisis challenges this orientation and asks for designs that More
Humanitarian Planning Hub
The Humanitarian Planning Hub is a research and policy hub for co-creating knowledge between academia and practice to serve the housing needs of displaced populations worldwide through environmentally and socially sustainable humanitarian planning. The first project of the humanitarian planning hub is a cooperation with the Geneva Technical More
disP 59/3, September 2023
disP 59/2, June 2023
Settlement Relationships and their Morphological Homogeneity Across Time and Scale
Escape Determinism – Unlocking Desirable Urban Development Pathways
Look around you – what do you see? Unique urban landscapes with specific characteristics, identities, and landmarks? Or homogenous urban landscapes repeating similar shapes, materials, colours, and functions? Currently, homogeneity dominates the day-to-day realities of the European population, of which 74% already lives in urban landscapes. Homogeneity is More
Zwischen Wolkenkratzern und Zustimmung? Über Akzeptanz für urbane Verdichtung aus raumplanerischer Perspektive
Seit in Kraft treten des revidierten Raumplanungsgesetzes (RPG) auf 1. Mai 2014 sind alle 26 Schweizer Kantone und über 2130 Gemeinden dazu verpflichtet, ihre «Siedlungsentwicklung nach innen» zu lenken. Politik und Behörden müssen folglich ihre bestehenden Siedlungen verdichten, um Zersiedlung zu verhindern und den Flächenverbrauch pro Kopf zu More
Adrienne Grêt-Regamey ist Dandelion Award Winner 2023
Die Zentren der Zürcher Agglo und die Transformation der Rückseiten
Die Zukunft einer Stadt entscheidet sich in ihrer Agglomeration. Aber wie kann die Zentrumsentwicklung in der Agglomeration gelingen? Das zeigt der disP-Autor Simon Grimm am Beispiel der Stadt und Agglomeration Zürich auf. Dieser Artikel erschien in der disP – The Planning Review und ist über diesen Link bis More
Urban Research Seminar
29.11.2023, 12:00 – 17:30 | ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, HIL H 35.1. Urban Research Seminar is a new initiative hosted by D-BAUG with the aim of building a bottom-up network that brings together early career researchers and their ongoing urban research projects across ETH Zürich.
More Than Human Cinema
Glossary of Spatial Planning Terms. An Overview of Instruments and Terminology in Switzerland
As a resource for understanding and translating Swiss spatial planning terms, this glossary aims to promote consistency and coherence for education and applied research in English about Swiss spatial planning at the ETH Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development and beyond.
Cooperative Planning under Pro-development Urban Agenda? A Collage of Densification Practices in Zurich, Switzerland
Like in many cities and regions worldwide, densification is the current urban development paradigm in Switzerland. Although considered one of the main policy mechanisms for sustainable land use, densification strategies are mainly employed by the private sector, causing adverse social effects.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and its Implications for Urban Essential Workers
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been unequal depending on the resources and opportunities people have to cope with the pandemic. Intersectional burdens have been reproduced, as care and maintenance work have fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of women and migrants. Given the ‘essentiality’ but low valuation More
Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems (DRRS)
CAS in Raumentwicklung und Prozessdesign
BAB – Intercantonal Coordinated Monitoring of Construction Outside Building Zones
Pilot regions, the federal government and the Chair of Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS) are jointly drafting which questions and indicators related to building outside building zones should be answered or recorded in the cantons in the future in the scope of a monitoring (BAB). The More
LVML-Integration into Design++ at the ETH Zurich
The Large-Scale Virtualization and Modeling Lab (LVML) becomes part of Design++, the Center for Augmented Computational Design in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. It opens its usage to Design++ members to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and supports knowledge integration and co-creation to advance planning and design tools and workflows. Contact: More
Documenting and Promoting Multifunctional Agro-urban Landscape for Resilient Cities: a Case Study in Antananarivo
Antananarivo serves as a prominent example of how urban agriculture can effectively provide essential services for creating sustainable and resilient cities, specifically addressing food security and flood control challenges. The FCL Global research project has made significant contributions through landscape designs that prioritise and advance these crucial services, More