Research in the NSL
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Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab (SUT Lab) – Pilot Phase
The Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab is a collaborative initiative between Bolt and ETH Zürich, designed to foster sustainable urban mobility planning in line with Bolt’s mission of creating “cities for people, not cars.” The pilot phase
Housing in Urban Humanitarian Crises
Urban humanitarian housing is one of the most significant challenges for today’s humanitarian actors, who are seeking new ways of providing adequate housing for displaced persons in cities. At the same time, a growing number of
Reframing the Winterslag Terril
Philippe Vandenbroeck’s research focuses on the intersection of imagination, urban transformation, and contested landscapes, centered on an exploratory case study of a historical mining site in Belgian Limburg. The case study examines the former Winterslag mine
To Open up a Box and Find a Whole New World
The PhD Thesis «To open up a box and find a whole new world: action research on the relationship between production and place in Kuklen, Bulgaria» study explores the spatial dynamics of global manufacturing and the
Urban Spaces for More-than-human Communities: Collaborative Processes, Design Attitudes and Hybrid Practices
The presence of biodiversity in cities is associated with multiple benefits, from climate adaptation to social well-being. These aspects have been widely studied, but in public space design biodiversity is often treated in purely quantitative terms:
REGaitVR. Restorative Landscape Environments for Gait Therapy with VR
Background Therapies to improve gait security in the context of rehabilitation should be designed as close to everyday life as possible so that patients can train activities of daily living. In this context, training in virtual
Revolutionize how urban mobility systems respond to disruptions
AntifragiCity is a groundbreaking European research initiative aiming to revolutionize how urban mobility systems respond to disruptions. Rather than merely resisting shocks, AntifragiCity envisions cities that learn, adapt, and grow stronger through challenges—embracing the concept of
Model Suite for Mass Cycling as a Service Simulation
The average trip length in Swiss cities is under 14km, with around 60% of trips below 6km. Despite the potential for healthier, more sustainable alternatives, nearly half of the total distance traveled is by car. Bicycles
FEDORA Horizon Europe project
Federation of network optimisation services, simulation foresights, and data alchemy for adaptable, agile, secure, and resilient multimodal traffic management. Lack of orchestration, structured and standardized integration protocols and metadata descriptors, incorporation of real-world traffic complexities and
RESH – Regional effects of housing shortage in urban areas (ESPON Project)
Housing shortages in urban areas have become a pressing issue across Europe, driven by growing population numbers and the continued attractiveness of cities as economic, cultural and social hubs. The supply of housing in urban areas
Negotiating Space for Cooperative Housing in Latin America. The Case of Post-Conflict Colombia and El Salvador
Housing cooperatives emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Europe and played a key role in peacebuilding, reconciliation, and reconstruction in the aftermath of World War I and World War II. In recent years, following the global
FRESH: The FREight-SHopping nexus in urban outskirts and beyond
FRESH is a research project funded by DUT (Driving Urban Transition Partnership) and national funders which is focussing on shopping-related mobility behaviour and urban logistics in Dortmund, Paris, and Trondheim. This research project aims to: Parts
FamyCH (SNSF SINERGIA Project). Family Custody Arrangements and Child Well-Being in Switzerland
The four-year SNSF Sinergia project “Family Custody Arrangements and Child Well-Being in Switzerland” (FamyCH) examines custody regulations following parental separation and their effects on children. Designed as an interdisciplinary initiative, the project aims to identify risk
NSL Forum & Cycling Research Board
Digital Twins for Europe’s Future Mobility 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
Urban Transformation Project Sarajevo (UTPS)
The Urban Transformation Project Sarajevo (UTPS) aims to support the modernisation of the integrated urban planning system in Sarajevo Canton, and the creation of better conditions for sustainable climate resilient socio-economic development. The project is supported by the Swiss
ReHousIn: Contextualized Pathways to Reduce Housing Inequalities in the Green and Digital Transition (EU Horizon Project)
This EU Horizon project focuses on the impact of policies to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 on the access to adequate and affordable housing. Climate change and the environmental crisis pose challenges that must be addressed
Garden of the XXI Century in Til-Til, Chile
The garden located in Huertos Familiares, Tiltil, Chile, investigates how soil modification through changes in land-management practices can establish an ecological and social capacity in the community, and create opportunities for the emergence of a new
Garden of the XXI Century in New Orleans, USA
The garden is located in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, a neighbourhood which suffered from extensive damage in 2005 during the city’s most severe weather-related disaster, Hurricane Katrina. The garden is a collection of
Garden of the XXI Century in Zurich, Switzerland
The garden of the XXI century in Zurich is located at the north-facing edge of Campus Hönggerberg, directly next to the HIT building. It is enclosed by roads on three sides and a day-care centre on
Garden of the XXI Century in Senan, Spain
As part of the Garden of the XXI Century research, the project in Senan, Spain, investigates how a simple practice of modifying the soil through the carefully managed grazing of horses can build ecological and social
On June 15, 2022, a fire burned 2,683 hectares of forest and agricultural land around the villages of La Clua de Maià and Alos de Balaguer in the municipality of Baldomà, a region of La Noguera
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
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
Codes and Conventions for Future Zurich: A Propositional Planning Approach to Qualitative Densification
This 4-year project uniquely combines historical and design-led research to explore urban strategies for housing the anticipated 25% population increase that Zurich is facing in the next 20 years. A ‘retroactive analysis’ of the historical evolution
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
Profiling Alpine Landscapes
Climate change is accelerating the transformation of the Alps. In this process, «new landscapes» with a great deal of potential are emerging, particularly since the Alps do not represent a sealed-off space but are closely entangled
Daylight in Sustainable Urban Design
By 2050, up to six billion people are expected to live in urban areas, accelerating urban growth and increasing densification. The challenges here are the reduction of open and green spaces, the creation of so-called heat
ETH RAUM – The New Platform for Spatial Development
ETH RAUM is the new ETH platform offering a broad range of courses in spatial development. The MAS and the three new CAS programmes focus on spatial development, planning practice, process design, and the city as
Difference-Oriented Urban Planning (DiffUrb)
Cities are characterized by a pluralism of people and uses. This fact is becoming increasingly relevant for the practice of urban planning. Any handling of differences regarding living conditions and spatial and temporal uses is frequently
Unlocking the «Contact Zone». Towards a New Historiography of Architecture
This research project seeks to develop a new method of writing the history of post-WWII architecture, reflecting the complexities of globalisation and its influence on the built environment. The project investigates an alternative historiographic approach by
Mapping Power: Landscape Transformation in the Jordan Valley
An interaction of three variables can account for landscape transformation processes at Naharayim/el Baqura over the last century and a half: territory, cartography, and terrain. This interaction is examined across three historical periods marking the passage
HERA PuSH – Public Space in European Social Housing
Social housing estates are often problematised as places of segregation and disintegration in European cities, yet they are also potentially a prime locus of integration between people of different cultural origins and social backgrounds. The research
Oberstadt4D
With the spatial development concept REK, the city of Baden committed itself to an active urban development in 2019. With the consensual approval of the residents' council, this process starts with the project «Oberstadt4D» - a
Promoting peace and reconciliation through cooperative housing in post-conflict Colombia
The project «Peacebuilding through housing cooperatives in Colombia» aims to contribute to the peace process in Colombia and supports the foundation process of the first housing cooperative of «ECOMUN - Economías Sociales del Común». Access to
Common Water – the Alps
The Alps are not a static assemblage but a dynamic and sensitive living space. Geological and geomorphological processes formed their characteristic topography over millions of years and in so doing established the fundamental conditions for the