Urban Strategies for Dense and Green Zurich: From Healthy Neighbourhoods towards Healthy Communities?

Abstract

Contemporary healthy urban development goes beyond the traditional emphasis on individual well-being toward a more systemic approach to health: the notions of equity, inclusion and socio-spatial justice are at the centre of such an approach. Using the lens of urban health to explore socio-spatial complexity in Zurich makes an interesting case, given that cooperative (urban) planning is considered a norm in the Swiss spatial planning policy. Set between cooperation as the principal normative value in the legislative and regulative Swiss planning framework and the practical evidence that sometimes lacks the implementation of these values, and using an in-depth case study analysis of the Koch Areal, this paper critically examines: the planners’ position and skills in the process of urban densification; the approach applied and values promoted by developers; the strategies by the local community in protecting local identity and needs; the relationship of city officials towards both the (local) public and investors. The findings point to the advantages and shortcomings emerging from the stakeholders’ encounter, finally questioning the essence of cooperative planning, and outlining the current state of Zurich’s urban development strategy on the trajectory towards an intrinsically healthy city.