Survey: Densifying Switzerland - Acceptance of densification in Swiss cities

News

Our field phase started successfully on 12 January 2023. In a first wave, all participants in our sample drawn from the Federal Statistical Office's residential register will receive a written invitation in the main language of their municipality of residence. We are excited about what our first data will tell us.

Overview

Densification is the central paradigm of the current revisions of Swiss spatial planning law. It can lead to the protection of undeveloped land as well as ensure the affordability of housing. However, densification projects often provoke (local) resistance and trigger (local) public debates. As a result, the lack of public acceptance is a major contributor to slow urban densification.

The project tries to explain why densification is often not accepted, even though it was adopted by the people at the ballot box as a paradigm of spatial planning. The aim is to produce robust scientific findings that will help (Swiss) spatial planning to better understand the needs of the local population in densification projects. The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (2021-2025).

Method

Our survey is based on a representative sample of the adult resident population of all 162 statistical cities in Switzerland, provided by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Respondents were invited to participate in writing in the main language of their municipality of residence. The survey can be answered in Italian, French, German as well as English via an online platform.