Strategies to combat urban sprawl and improve quality of life
In a study, Sascha Nick from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne recommends reducing the amount of living space available for each person, tighter neighbourhoods and renovating existing buildings instead of building new ones. This should improve the quality of life.
Physicist and economist Sascha Nick from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne(EPFL) has outlined a scenario for Switzerland that greatly reduces urban sprawl. In this scenario, the population in 2040 will live in neighbourhoods in which all buildings have been renovated to provide optimal temperature, light and noise conditions. A large number of communal spaces are also available.
According to a press release from EPFL, the approach developed by Nick would reduce urban sprawl to the level of 1935 or even 1885. “Our scenario requires concrete changes that are radical, but also necessary,” Nick is quoted as saying. He is a scientist at EPFL’s Environmental and Urban Economics Laboratory, which is part of the Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering.
According to the press release, his vision for the future of Swiss housing takes into account important aspects of community life and is in line with Switzerland’s climate targets for 2050. The study published in Frontiers in Sustainability was carried out as part of the Sweet Swice research programme funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy to promote individual and collective well-being in the energy transition.
In it, Nick makes four recommendations. Firstly, buildings should be renovated instead of demolished and rebuilt. Secondly, building space should be better utilised and the living space per person halved. Thirdly, Nick calls for neighbourhoods to be designed in such a way that all important facilities are just a few minutes’ walk away. And fourthly, urban sprawl should be curbed.