Press Review / Media Releases

The Institute of Geography in the media

© SRF I Morgengast, 26 August 2025

Logo SRF Morgengast

Heike Mayer was a guest on SRF1 radio

Heike Mayer, Professor of Economic Geography, was a guest on SRF 1 Radio this week. 
As a guest on SRF 1, she reported on the SNF research project on mountain hubs and spoke about ideas and initiatives that have the potential to make mountain communities more attractive again.

© Der Bund, 19 June 2025

Luftaufnahme Felssturz Blatten vom 19. Juni 2025
© Michael Derrer Fuchs – stock.adobe.com

Blatten could become a pioneering village

The vision for the reconstruction of the village is a model for peripheral areas in Switzerland, say the two economic geographers Heike Mayer and Ellena Brandner. Blatten can become a pioneering village in the Alps if the transformation to sustainable development takes center stage. They refer to the work of the Council for Spatial Planning on Living Peripheries and to their ongoing SNSF project on Mountain Hubs.

© RTS, 20 May 2022

Prof. Dr. Bettina Schaefli im Interview

Barrages: impactés par le réchauffement climatique?

Interview with Bettina Schaefli on Swiss Television RTS (FORUM)

28 February 2019

Small and medium-sized towns are surprisingly innovative

Small and medium-sized towns are increasingly appearing on the radar of policy makers all over Europe. Findings from a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation on the role and significance of these towns in Switzerland show that national policy and planning overlook their potential.

SNSF media release on the interdisciplinary project (GIUB: Heike Mayer) on small and medium-sized towns