Planning in Geneva: a difficult exercise
With a particularly strong dynamic of economic growth, inherent to a cross-border metropolitan area and supported by the aura of international Geneva, the main challenge today is to accommodate this induced growth in a qualitative way in an increasingly confined and restricted territory, while preserving its agricultural and natural areas and its remarkable landscapes.
The Office de l’urbanisme is responsible for spatial planning in the canton of Geneva. Can you give us an overview of your responsibilities?
The Office de l’urbanisme develops and implements a land use policy that aims to promote housing, economic, social and cultural development while improving the living environment in terms of ecological transition and enhancing the natural and built heritage. It is the gateway for all territorial projects and ensures a permanent and iterative dialogue between the local and regional levels and between the public policies that affect these projects (nature, landscape, mobility, land, social, health, economy, etc.).
One of the instruments is the cantonal structure plan, which provides general guidance on the major spatial balances, particularly in coordination with the neighbours in France and Vaud. The town planning office is also responsible for zoning changes in order to adapt the uses to the needs of the area, as well as for master plans such as the neighbourhood plans or the localised neighbourhood plans, which specify the layout of the buildings, organise the outdoor spaces and distribute the building rights.
Since 2015, the urban planning office has had a department for citizen participation, which is a centre of expertise for all the consultation processes that accompany all projects. Indeed, the consideration of the population and their utilisation expertise in the projects has been further strengthened by the consultation approaches. In order to understand how the area is inhabited and to enable the projects to take better account of the residents’ wishes, sociological studies are increasingly being integrated into the basic studies of the projects in addition to the participatory approaches.
To accompany the construction of the Léman Express intersections, the urban planning office has also created an operational directorate responsible for public space projects: squares, greenways for non-motorised traffic, school playgrounds, parks, etc.
What challenges and opportunities does urban development in Geneva face, especially in comparison to other Swiss cantons?
The biggest challenge today is to accommodate this growth in a high-quality manner in an increasingly confined and limited space.
For decades, the territory of Geneva has preserved its agricultural and natural areas as well as its landscapes, allowing it to offer its inhabitants a high quality of life. This constant attention between preservation and development has led it to play a pioneering role in the urban process of inward growth. The challenge today is to accommodate this growth within existing settlement structures, but also to initiate positive processes of regeneration and redevelopment of already urbanised areas. Climate resilience requires us to redesign public spaces by better managing water infiltration, unsealing soils and increasing vegetation cover. At the same time, the energy refurbishment of existing buildings must lead to significant savings while switching to renewable energy sources.
This challenge of building the city on already built-up areas must also address the preservation of the built heritage and trees as well as the consideration of biodiversity in the urban environment.
Which areas in Geneva are particularly attractive for companies and why?
Geneva’s built-up area is particularly dense and compact. Companies in the secondary sector benefit from the high-quality industrial areas that, through the “Ecoparc”, aim to both dynamise the economic fabric and take into account the challenges of adapting to environmental change: better water management, greening, energy efficiency, circular economy, etc. These industrial areas are generally well connected to transport axes and some have a railway connection.
The more mobile service activities have recently seen significant relocations to take advantage of new “addresses” that are better located, more modern and, above all, better connected to the mobility networks. In this quest for optimisation, the new business districts of the PAV have proved very attractive, especially those located close to the Léman Express stations. We can see that companies are paying attention to various parameters, including location, transport links (public and private), the local amenities offered in the neighbourhood, the flexibility of the premises and the environmental friendliness of the buildings.
What are the most important construction projects in the canton of Geneva and how do they contribute to urban and spatial development and which projects would you describe as flagship projects and for what reasons? Where does urban and spatial development in Geneva still see development potential and how could this be utilised?
Current urban development mainly consists of three large project families:
The “large-scale projects” as urban expansion on agricultural land. These projects were conceived around ten years ago and have gone through the entire process from inclusion in the cantonal structure plan to zoning changes and neighbourhood development plans. Each of these projects comprises several thousand flats, commercial space, amenities and public facilities. They are all in the construction phase, which will last in stages until 2040.
The urban regeneration projects in the Villa zone. These projects have great potential for new housing, but their planning is tricky due to the impact on the existing fabric, which not only has a natural resistance to change, but in places also has patrimonial and environmental qualities that require delicate balancing of interests.
The third large family concerns the densification of the urban crown, including the “Praille-Acacia-Vernet (PAV)” sector and the Léman Express railway station districts. While the latter are in the final stages of completion and offer housing and commercial space with excellent transport links, the PAV sector aims to transform an industrial area of over 200 hectares into a new city centre. Far from a wasteland, this dynamic sector is now in operation and requires the relocation of companies to ensure their continuity in Geneva’s economic fabric.
Are there any unused sites in Geneva that could be considered for new development projects? If so, where are they located?
As already mentioned, the canton of Geneva is forced to develop inwards and regenerate its settlement area. Unlike other cities, there are no urban brownfields in Geneva, as these are often associated with deindustrialisation. Thus, urbanisation is mainly driven by the mutation of existing building zones, with the perspective of equipping the area to promote proximity practices.
The quality of life is improved through the renewal of neighbourhoods. This includes the redesign of public spaces, the provision of facilities and services for the neighbourhood, the preservation of the built and natural heritage and easier access to recreational spaces. In this sense, the villa areas from the last century now represent the greatest potential for mutation for development projects in the canton.
Geneva’s ambitions to preserve its natural and agricultural areas are supported by the Sectoral Plan for Crop Rotation Areas (SDA), which aims to preserve a quota of 8400 hectares of high-quality agricultural land to contribute to Geneva’s self-sufficiency. As this limit has practically been reached, future large urban expansions in the agricultural zone are no longer possible.
Has the pandemic led to long-term changes in Geneva’s planning? If so, which ones?
The pandemic was a moment in which the collective awareness of the close link between lifestyles and the city’s production was heightened.
Indeed, the lockdown has been a real experience of urban resilience for all in a context where adaptation to climate change is necessary. It has also highlighted the need for a diverse city capable of offering services, places of relaxation and recreation close to a neighbourhood. The quality of public spaces is therefore of crucial importance, as is the networking of parks and gardens. In hot summers, access to water is also important and has led to a complete reorganisation of the use of lakeshores and watercourses by opening up walking paths and creating new recreational areas (banks of the Rhône, Eaux Vives beach, Vengeron beach, etc.).
The need for leisure and recreation also put pressure on the agricultural and natural areas, with a high level of footfall during the pandemic, mainly due to the closure of borders. Today, thought is being given to the “socio-ecological” management of these areas to try to reconcile agricultural activity and the preservation of ecosystems, while allowing reasonable access for the public.
How do you envisage the ideal development of the canton of Geneva? What would be the key elements?
The development of the canton of Geneva primarily requires the preservation and valorisation of its agricultural and natural areas, both for reasons of biodiversity, food production and the landscape.
New potential will therefore ideally be located in the already built-up area, partly in urban regeneration and partly in the densification of the villa zone.
The vision underlying the development aims to promote a dense, green city that offers services and amenities nearby and locates future developments in areas that are well connected to mobility networks (active mobility and public transport). Neighbourhoods that offer diverse reception conditions and support a mix of generations, that are green and designed for all types of people, soft mobility networks that connect living spaces (housing, work, education, leisure, etc.) A self-confident urbanity of a dense city that knows how to contextualise building typologies and fully involve residents in their planning and implementation.