Switzerland’s housing sector: Between green and social priorities
Within the ReHousIn – Reducing Housing Inequalities project, Policy Labs allow to enrich research with field experience of practitioners. Two Policy Labs will be held in all nine countries where the ReHousIn’s research is conducted. They serve as platforms to engage with a wide range of stakeholder groups, including representatives of national, regional and local governments, academia, civil society and private sector.
On 3 April 2025, a wide range of experts from the federal government, cantons and municipalities, public and private organisations as well as researchers from various academic institutions gathered in St.Gallen to discuss the impact of green initiatives on housing in Switzerland. The first Policy Lab in Switzerland allowed the researchers to explore the perspectives of different stakeholders and provided insights into the challenges of multi-level governance processes.
The workshop was structured into three groups that discussed the impact of densification measures, energy efficient refurbishments and nature-based solutions on the Swiss housing market. Thought-provoking ideas were debated, offering valuable contributions to ReHousIn’s research.
Image by Elie Sieber
The highly context-specific conditions of the Swiss housing market and the federal political organisation stood out to be a great challenge for national legislation concerning adaptation to climate change as well as housing affordability.
Therefore, participants concluded that a better vertical and horizontal cooperation between stakeholders and government agencies is crucial. Furthermore, the lack of a national strategy for social sustainability was criticised.
Interestingly, all participants agreed that the impact of green transition measures on housing depends more on regional location and housing market pressure than city size. Peripheral areas face stagnation and little investment, while urban centres struggle to meet high housing demand, creating tensions between local challenges and cantonal or national governance. For example, a participant from Zurich stated, "In Zurich, we don't feel understood by the federal government. The canton always stands in the way."
The organisers would like to thank all the participants for taking part in the discussion and look forward to working with them in the future.
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