The city and its citizens

According to the un state of the World Population 2007 report, sometime in the middle of 2007, the majority of people worldwide were living in towns or cities, for the first time in history. This urbanization implies the planning and building of infrastructures to transport, house, educate, care for and employ ever increasing numbers of people. With the promise of access to jobs, education, and services, people are eager to move into cities to improve their standard of living. But as the riots in the Paris suburbs have shown, urbanization can also lead to cycles of negative social feedback, ultimately threatening the coherence of the community and reducing residents’ quality of life.

Recognizing that urbanization is much more than just building infrastructure, the Swiss government has launched a threeyear pilot program in three medium-sized Swiss cities – Montreux (Vaud), Pratteln (Basel), and rorschach (st. Gallen) – to explore ways to combine urban planning and social integration. These communities are in need of urban renewal and are experiencing mounting social tensions. The funding is split between the federal government (50%), and the commune and canton (the remaining 50%). With over 30 years of urban and regional planning experience under its belt, ENAC’s urban and regional Planning Community (CEAT), headed by professor Martin Schuler, was mandated by the commune of Montreux to provide expertise and coordinate the project in the Montreux area.

Montreux is made up of a number of distinct neighborhoods, one of which is Clarens, lying on the western edge of the city. relative to Montreux proper, residents of Clarens are less well-off and less integrated culturally and socially, with a large percentage of immigrants. Most public housing projects in the city of Montreux are in Clarens. over the years, the communal authorities have made a number of decisions – including selling an important tract of public space to a wealthy individual for the establishment of a factory – that have earned the lasting animosity of Clarens residents. The project aims to reverse this trend by involving residents in the decision-making process – empowering them to take the future of their neighborhood into their own hands. They will participate in number of steps that will make Clarens more attractive, both materially – by establishing public spaces, renovating buildings and re-structuring mobility in the area – and more abstractly, by mobilizing residents and encouraging social and cultural integration. The project’s name “Clarensemble” is apt, as it marries the name of the neighborhood with the central goal of the project, to rebuild the connection between the political establishment and the community. Working together, decisions can be made for urbanization projects that will meet the needs of all the parties.

CEAT senior scientist luc vodoz is in charge of leading the project forward; he manages internal meetings with the Montreux authorities, acting as an advisor and mediator, and is responsible for organizing the entire public participation process. That process involves a number of community meetings, which vodoz will facilitate. The first information meeting in june 2009 drew nearly 450 people, fully 5% of the population, a resounding success, because this is much larger than the 1% turnout that Vodoz says is more typical. He takes this as a good sign; the community is anxious to participate; they have an opinion about how they want their neighborhood to evolve.

Vodoz has three years to help the neighborhood of Clarens and the city of Montreux reconstruct a healthy, participative relationship as they work together on important urbanization projects, which include a “grand place” (public park), improved security and traffic circulation, and the construction of a neighborhood center. When social and participative aspects are thoughtfully included, Vodoz claims, urbanization can lead to successful integration of residents into the larger community, dispelling tensions and creating healthy communities along the way.