DiffUrb
Difference Oriented Urban Planning
The aim of the DiffUrb project is to study concepts and practices aimed at improving the inclusion of social differences in urban planning. We study urban differences through collaborative interdisciplanry approaches. Four institutes at ETH, EPFL and the University of Geneva are involved in the project, covering a range of fields, including Sociology, Urban Planning, and Transport Planning.
Cities are characterized by a pluralism of people and uses. This fact is becoming increasingly relevant for the practice of urban planning. Our aim is to establish new and innovative urban planning approaches that conceptualize difference as a part of planning theory and practice.
The study is conducted in four cities representing different traditions of planning: Geneva, Hamburg, Brussels, and Turin. As part of WP1 "Measuring the city of differences", we conduct surveys and virtual experiments to study urban differences.
At PLUS, we study the perceptions of urban places through virtual experiments. Participants were exposed to different urban residential neighborhoods differing in terms of urban green spaces within a virtual reality environment. The mobile experiment was installed in a van and therefore allowed to be set up in different public places in Geneva. Participants were approached on site and invited to participate in the study.
Project Data
Team ETH Zurich
Prof. Dr. Adrienne Grêt-Regamey
Prof. Dr. Kay W. Axhausen
Heidi Baumann
Benjamin Gramsch
Funding
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Sinergia project
Duration
May 2021 to April 2026
Contact
Heidi Baumann, ETH Zurich, PLUS