Tapping into “urban intelligence”

We spent two years working with colleagues from EPFL’s Design Studio on the Conception of Space (ALICE) to learn about Vernier, a town on the western outskirts of Geneva, from the people who live there. By exploring the area on foot with its residents, we were able to document its hidden facets and tease out new forms of knowledge – what we call “local urban intelligence.” Our notion goes beyond the technology-driven concept of the smart city to include customs, traditions and the ways in which residents use legal instruments and collective action to advance the cause of sustainable cities.

This form of intelligence is rooted in residents’ lived experience and their relationship with their environment. But it’s not easy to measure, which is why urban planners instead focus on abstract spaces and quantitative data when designing and evaluating their cities. In doing so, they create blind spots in their knowledge that widen the gap between theory and practice and cause them to overlook how the places we call home actually affect us.

Guided walking tours
We collected and analyzed local urban intelligence in Vernier in various ways. For instance, one particularly effective method was to have local residents take us on walking tours of their neighborhoods. The conversations we had gave us insights into how people’s daily routines are shaped by their environment. Using the local urban intelligence we gathered, we were able to build a picture of the living heritage of Vernier. While most people believe that “heritage” refers solely to buildings and other inanimate objects, UNESCO defines it as also encompassing the practices, knowledge and skills that communities pass down from one generation to the next. We argue that this form of heritage is the cornerstone of our collective urban intelligence.

To help us better understand this kind of intelligence and its importance, we recently teamed up with the Vernier city council and Hélène Mariéthoz, an independent curator, to hold a series of walking workshops in and around Vernier. The talks we had with residents, public officials, artists, researchers and local nonprofits prompted us to rethink how we view communal spaces – some invisible, others historical, and others controversial – and to consider local urban areas from a new, collective perspective. What is it that makes a neighborhood a desirable place to live? What aspects of our daily lives constitute our city’s heritage? How can we better appreciate and promote local culture?

Scientists and other experts must incorporate local urban intelligence into their thinking. The built environments in which our daily lives play out can also serve as common ground for building shared experiences and for encouraging participatory, democratic community-building.

• This article was published in December 2023 in three local dailies – La Côte (Vaud Canton), Le Nouvelliste (Valais Canton) and Arcinfo (Neuchâtel Canton) – under a joint initiative between EPFL and ESH Médias to showcase the R&D being carried out at EPFL on advanced construction techniques.