Media

A mobility kit to forget your car

Published:19.03.25 — The Modus foundation is offering a mobility kit including a GA Travelcard to the people of Geneva and Carouge who are ready to give up their car for a few weeks. Guillaume Drevon is a researcher at EPFL's Laboratory of Urban Sociology and director of Modus. The foundation acts as a laboratory dedicated to mobility, supporting projects, networking players and experimenting with concrete solutions.

Tensions around our modes of transport

Published:14.03.25 — Renate Albrecher, associate researcher at the Laboratory of Urban Sociology, analyzes the growing tensions between users of different modes of transport, and calls for a rethinking of our requirements to reduce conflict.

The limits of commuting

Published:10.03.25 — According to a recent publication by the Federal Statistical Office, le canton of Fribourg takes the lead of swiss dormitory cantons. Vincent Kaufmann from the laboratory of Urban Sociology explains the risks of commuting and suggests solutions.

So attached to his car!

Published:27.02.25 — The car still holds its own! That's the title of the programme Les Echos of Vacarme, which attempts to understand this somewhat ‘divisive and masculine’ love affair, in the opinion of Vincent Kaufmann of the Laboratory of Urban Sociology at EPFL.

Remedies for loneliness

Published:14.02.25 — In Basel-Stadt, almost half of all homes are occupied by a single person, and loneliness affects young and old alike. According to Luca Pattaroni, professor at the Laboratory of Urban Sociology, the development of models of cohabitation, such as cooperatives and clusters, could reduce this worrying phenomenon for mental health.

Lessons from medium-sized towns

Published:10.01.25 — The book “La Suisse de A(rbon) à Z(oug), Portrait en 12 villes” (Switzerland from A(rbon) to Z(oug), Portrait in 12 cities) takes the opposite approach to studies focusing on metropolises. Social science researchers tell the story of the city they know best, through the eyes of specialists and ordinary residents. Maxime Felder, a research associate at the Laboratory of Urban Sociology, who co-edited the book with Renate Albrecher, Vincent Kaufmann and Yves Pedrazzini, talks about it on the “Tribu” program. 

What will my city look like in 50 years?

Published:07.01.25 — In RTS's “C'est la classe!” program, it's the children who take on the role of moderator. Luca Pattaroni, professor at the Laboratory of Urban Sociology, answers questions posed by young schoolchildren from Le Locle.

No parking spaces, fewer cars

Published:06.01.25 — Since 2015, Swiss cities have lost 11,000 parking spaces. For Vincent Kaufmann, Director of the Laboratory of Urban Sociology, this measure is a “powerful lever for modal choice”.

Real estate prices and home office reshape mobility

Published:20.12.24 — Rising property prices and telecommuting are encouraging commuters to move further away from their place of work. Emmanuel Ravalet, lecturer at the Laboratory of Urban Sociology, believes that transport planning should be strengthened, favoring rail over car, in order to organize territorial development in a coherent way. 

Rejection of the motorway extension

Published:26.11.24 — On Sunday, the Swiss people rejected the extension of the motorway network. Vincent Kaufmann, professor at the Laboratory of Urban Sociology, analyses the result in terms of ‘a multitude of factors’.