In recent months, several housing projects have met with strong opposition from the population of French-speaking Switzerland, who are worried that all these projects will compromise their quality of life. These concerns are understandable, but it is crucial to consider the urgency of the situation: Switzerland is facing a housing shortage that is mainly affecting young people and single-parent families. Furthermore, the increasing life expectancy of our senior citizens calls for the construction of suitable housing, while the need for labour in a number of key sectors continues to grow, and housing must be provided for this vital influx of workers.
Faced with this complex equation, how do we get the public to accept these building projects?
De-demonizing densification
Densification is very often seen as a nuisance by the public. Yet it is also an opportunity for smarter, more sustainable urbanisation. It prevents urban sprawl, reduces the carbon footprint of cities, improves the efficiency of public transport and creates more diverse and lively communities. But, despite these obvious benefits, projects are struggling to win support.
Promoting acceptance, identification and trust
In the course of our involvement in a number of significant real estate projects, we have built up a solid body of expertise and identified a number of crucial aspects that are likely to encourage support for this essential growth in real estate supply. These include:
- Informing and educating
Citizens demand to be better informed about the development of their municipality. It is vital that real estate operators and local authorities initiate clear, educational communication campaigns from the earliest stages of the project. These campaigns must emphasise the public interest of a given development, including respect for the local area and residents concerned without distorting the identity of a site, a village, a district or a town. Trust has to be earned and built. Community involvement is a collective affair.
- Involving the public
The active involvement of citizens is now crucial right from the start of the planning and design process. Even before the emergence of a land-use plan. This involvement can take the form of public consultations, collaborative workshops or digital platforms, free from pseudo-consultations that are all too often seen as compulsory steps but allow no real room for manoeuvre for citizens.
- Developing new ways of working together
It is essential to explore and develop new forms of collaboration between local authorities, urban planners, property developers and citizens. We need to remove the Chinese wall between the ‘expert’ and the ‘layman’ by enhancing the knowledge, roles and contributions of all the actors involved. This renewed cooperation will encourage shared understanding and promote acceptance of projects. Concertation must earn a new, real credibility.
Overcoming public scepticism about new urban projects requires a strategic approach that is genuinely participatory and respectful, and not limited to the design of public spaces, the size of trees to be planted or the surface area of car parks. By anticipating and communicating responsibly, and by establishing genuine citizen participation, real estate operators can avoid the rejections, opposition, appeals and referendums that often result from poor anticipation and passive listening to the public at the expense of public support. Densification must be approached in a more community-based and inclusive manner, to pave the way for urban development that is better understood, more sustainable, more virtuous and essential to our children, our economy and our territory.
Alex Segovia, Partner
