Cities & development: mobility, building services engineering, urbanism

Cities are cultural centres and the driving force behind the local and global economy. However, in their present form they are not sustainable, from either an ecological, social or economic point of view. Pollution, rising temperatures, a lack of resources and criminality all pose a threat to urban quality of life. Cities also make a major contribution towards global warming.

The ETH Future Cities Laboratory is concerned with the development of new cities and the transformation of existing ones, with the greatest challenges lying in parts of the world such as Asia and Africa. This is why ETH Zurich, together with local partners, has set up a research centre for global sustainability in Singapore. ETH has also helped to set up an Institute for Urban Development at the university in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Researchers regard cities as dynamic systems through which resources, energy and people flow. These flows are studied at three levels – building technology, urban planning and spatial planning – with a view to finding out how they can be controlled in the interests of sustainability. In their work, the researchers sometimes use real construction projects as laboratories for new developments. This enables them to put innovations directly into practical use.

The following Centres of Competence and interdisciplinary scientific centres of ETH Zurich are conducting research in the area of cities & development:

The following departments of ETH Zurich are actively conducting research in the area of cities & development: