Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems

The vision of the Laboratory on Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems is to contribute to the transition of urban systems towards sustainability. We design innovative concepts and tools on how to integrate scientific knowledge from both, the social and natural sciences as well as knowledge from practitioners. We apply inter- and transdisciplinary methods in order to measure, analyze, interpret and optimize human-environment interactions in urban areas leveraging transitions towards sustainability.

Society is in transition at global, national, regional and city scale. In this transition, cities, as the central places of human activity in the 21st century, will play a key role. More than half of the global population already lives in urban areas, and following projections of the United Nations, this share will grow to 70% in 2050. Urban areas will be key arenas for the push towards more sustainable ways of living. While cities are the focal points of major environmental and social problems, they also contain the tangible and intangible resources which allow a transition towards more sustainable livelihoods to be imaginable: educated people, powerful institutions and material wealth. A key question in this context is how can resources in the urban system be used to support the transition to sustainability, and what is precisely required at a societal, institutional, and individual level.

The energy transition will require popular supports

17.04.24EPFL

To achieve a decarbonized world, clean energy sources will have to be widely adopted – yet there’s a range of obstacles in the way. A number of EPFL researchers are studying these obstacles and mapping out strategies for getting past them. Here’s a look at some of their findings.

Three strategies to boost green electricity in Switzerland

10.01.24Research

Switzerland’s ambitious green electricity targets are realistic. A study by the SWEET EDGE consortium, bringing together scientists from EPFL-ENAC, ETH Zurich and the universities of Geneva and Bern, shows that three distinct strategies would make it possible to cover electricity needs and lead to the employment of several thousands of people in the sector of new renewable energy.

Energy is (not) sexy

07.11.23EPFL

In this article appearing in three local newspapers, Glòria Serra Coch, architect and PhD student at EPFL’s Human Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS), wonders how to make the energy turn around more attractive.

All news