LABORATORY OF URBAN SOCIOLOGY

Under the direction of Prof. Vincent Kaufmann, Laboratory of Urban Sociology (LASUR) comprises of around fifteen researchers and PhD students united towards the comprehension of urban experiences within a social science perspective.

© Abhishek Vanamali, 2019

Congested © Joseph Chan 2019 Unsplash

How do you eliminate traffic jams on the freeway?

EPFL

To ease traffic congestion, the Federal Council wants to widen the Nyon-Geneva freeway to three lanes. For Alexis Gumy, postdoctoral fellow at the Urban Sociology Laboratory at EPFL, "the risk is great of shifting traffic jams onto the access roads. Should we widen them too? Because the freeway is only one link in the transport system." Instead, the researcher recommends developing carpooling or other car-sharing solutions and the public transport network.

Building aerial view © Chuttersnap 2018 Unsplash

Orderly visions of urban planning no longer apply

EPFL

Luca Pattaroni, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at LaSUR, EPFL, writes a column in Le Courrier about the difficult balance to be found in the evolution of a city. We mustn't forget that cities are first and foremost inhabited by people who are sometimes fragile or excessive. Not everything is smooth.

Night highway © Kimi Lee 2019 Unsplash

A new freeway lane: a bad idea?

EPFL

"Research shows that the assumption that a new freeway lane will reduce congestion is an oversimplification. What's more, there's a high risk of shifting congestion to the access roads," explains Alexis Gumy, researcher at EPFL's Urban Sociology Laboratory.

All news

Call for contributions: urban Switzerland beyond the metropolitan areas

Qu’est-ce que les chercheur·se·s en études urbaines ont à dire à propos de Langenthal ? De Locarno ? Ou de Martigny ? Au-delà de sa classification en typologies prédéfinies, comment sonder et représenter le caractère d’une ville ? Comment saisir et décrire ce qui en fait une ville à part entière, la fois unique et ordinaire ? Nous proposons de répondre à ces questions dans un ouvrage collectif à partir de cas concrets, sans les idéaliser ni les traiter sous un angle simplement pittoresque. Il s’agit de décrire leur singularité et leur urbanité, ce qui fait leur centralité urbaine, au-delà des données statistiques.

IRS SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH FORUM “The City of Differences”

The Institute for Sociological Research is pleased to announce the program for Forum 2022.

The full program can be found at https://www.unige.ch/sciences-societe/socio/fr/enseignements/master/forum-de-recherche/forum-de-recherche-sociologique-2022/

Nouvelles Proximités Seminar

Join us for a monthly meeting with an expert to combine the views of researchers and the public on the theme of new proximities.