Swiss housing crisis ‘solved by building up urban areas’

A Swiss think tank advocates increasing the density of urban areas by 30%. Keystone-SDA

Densifying 30% of Swiss urban areas would create housing for some two million people, according to a study from the Urbanistica think tank.

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Urbanistica is calling for sustainable densification to combat the housing shortage in Switzerland.

The idea is to build homes within the existing built-up area, rather than creating new building zones, stressed Urbanistica. It sees this as a remedy for the housing shortage and the congestion caused by commuter traffic.

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An analysis by the Sotomo Institute, commissioned by the think tank, shows that inward development will make it possible to create new housing while saving 70% of existing urban space. According to this scenario, 8% of the existing built-up area will be densified substantially, and 22% moderately.

The agglomerations offer the greatest potential in this respect. In French-speaking Switzerland, communes in Geneva such as Vernier and Pregny-Chambésy, and in Vaud such as Prilly and Pully, feature in the top 20.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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