Towards a sustainable renewal of peri-urban neighbourhoods of single-family houses in Switzerland

Resulting from the society shift of the post-war period, urban growth and urban sprawl of infrastructure and settlements of individual housing are today at the centre of public policies’ focus, in particular due to their widely criticized environmental impacts. If sustainable urban planning strategies aim at avoiding the construction of new peripheral residential developments, few studies question the future evolution of existing peripheral neighbourhoods – although their inhabitants will face increased economic, social and environmental issues in the coming decades. The on-going research presented in the paper investigates the possibility of a sustainable renewal of peri-urban neighbourhoods of single-family houses in Switzerland by 2050. In this framework, the paper first defines the research framework characterized by the recent evolution of public policies. The revision of the territorial planning law (LTP) of 2014 intends to reorient future urban developments toward existing and well-connected built-up areas. The 2050 energy strategy and the “2000-W society” vision provide a framework to consider the overall energy transition in Switzerland, as well as specific targets to reduce households’ overall energy consumption. Then the study presents the design framework of peri-urban renewal paths. It relies on the identification of peri-urban residential municipalities within the Swiss territorial context, and the elaboration of a pre-operational typology of peri-urban neighbourhoods of single-family houses. Finally, the paper presents four design scenarios based on a wide literature review and a series of interviews with urban planning and architecture experts to undertake a feasible renewal of existing peri-urban neighbourhoods of single-family houses by 205