Institute of Geography

Research

Political Urbanism and Sustainable Spatial Development

We analyze the socio-political dimension of spatial development.

Our research aims to understand how land-use planning can contribute to fight against urban sprawl, how affordable housing can be secured and how sustainable food provision can be ensured.

News from our research and teaching

Conference Season

What we learned at #IASC2025...

At the 20th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC), our COMMONPATHS team facilitated a three-part panel series entitled: “The Role of Urban Commons in Sustainable and Equitable City-Making.”

by Priscilla Pambana Gutto Bassett

Research

Permanent lessons from temporary urban sites

Temporary urban uses are more than just stopgaps. The Terrain Gurzelen in Biel illustrates how self-organised spaces can provide retreat, foster social inclusion and encourage creative responses to the urban polycrisis.

by Samuel Agyekum

Research

Paper talk #1 – Decommodification as a foundation for ecological economics

This is the first episode of #CatchingUpWithResearch, our new paper talk. This week Timo revisits Jean-David and Jean-Françoise Gerber's 2017 paper "Decommodification as a foundation for ecological economics".

by Timo Trinidad

Research

Agroecology: A transformation towards food sovereignty in Senegal?

As Senegal grapples with the negative impacts of globalised industrial food systems, agroecology is regaining momentum as a sustainable alternative. Within the ARTS programme, we seek to better understand the country’s agricultural transition.

by Lise Landrin

More news

Recent publications

2025-08

Housing for “ageing in place”

Ay, D., & Götze, V. (2025). Housing for “ageing in place”: Urban densification projects and the provision of age-appropriate housing in Switzerland. Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, 167.

2025-10

Governing urban informality

Akuoko, P. B., Adams, T., & Haller, T. (2025). Balancing customary and statutory governance to sustain informality in Ghana’s public spaces. Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, 165.

2025-07

Towards reparative disaster governance & management

Eriksen, C., Kirschner, J., Simon, G. L., O’Grady, N., Uyttewaal, K., Lüthi, S., … Grove, K. (2025). From rigidity traps towards reparative disaster governance and management. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 125(105603).

All our publications