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In many cities, there has been renewed interest over the last 30years in densification as part of wider efforts to combat urban sprawl. In daily practice, however, densification is a contested process because of its redistributive effects. Next to potential envi- ronmental advantages, it produces both benefits and losses for different individuals and households. The redistributive effects are an expression of conflicts between environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. We show that the latter is heav- ily impacted: if densification projects are not designed to the needs of people who are actually supposed to benefit from it—the res- idents—low-income groups are at risk of social displacement. This scenario is highly unsustainable. By using a neo-institutional approach and comparative case study methodology conducted in Switzerland, we analyze the institutional rules and the involved actors’ strategies when dealing with densification projects. We explain the mechanisms leading to the loss of social qualities when competing with economic interests of investors and authorities.

For several years, women demand more decision-making power from their husbands and the society. Studies indicate that egalitarian decision-making power can be beneficial in many important ways to the household and society, and the pathway to this desire policy objective is through women empowerment. Yet, this is not as obvious as it seems. On the one hand, women empowerment is a game changer. On the other hand, the problem of women empowerment is complex. Thus, our goal is to evaluate the gendered intersectional power dynamics operating in informal artisanal and small-scale mining and the impact on women’s empowerment to balance decision-making power in the household. Theoretically, we ask: How does women empowerment enable women to demand more decision- making power from their husbands following their participation in informal mining? And how do men react to women empowerment? Empirically, 38 biographic inter- views, 6 key informant interviews and 8 focus group discussions were conducted. Results show that informal mining improves the financial power of women and increases their bargaining power to demand more decision-making power from their husbands. Moreover, increase in women’s financial leverage can have a nuanced effect on their empowerment since men can intervene there by playing on the patriarchal rules. In conclusion, women empowerment is complex, and the major challenge is societal. Consequently, policy actions are required to vigorously address societal norms through formal education and awareness creation to bring about transformations.

Geographical Indications: Commons Dimensions as an Indication for Sustainable Regional Development?

Bodenpolitik erfordert unternehmerisches Handeln der öffentlichen Hand, die aktiv in die Raumentwicklung eingreifen soll. In der Praxis legitimiert Bodenpolitik zu neueren Formenleistungsorientierter Planung, welche der Erfüllung eines breiten Spektrums an Zwecken dient – von der besseren Positionierung einer Stadt im internationalen Wettbewerb bis zur Unterstützung sozialpolitischer Ziele. Insbesondere spielt sie aber eine wichtige Rolle in der Bereitstellung preisgünstiger Wohnungen., Land policy requires entrepreneurial action by the public sector which should actively intervene in spatial development. In practice, land policy legiti-mises newer forms of performance-based planningserving a broad range of purposes — from better positioning a city in international competition to supporting social-policy objectives. In particular, however, it plays an important role in providing affordable housing.

While land-use plans are regularly revised, property rights are extremely stable over time. Yet, the stability of property rights resulting from the current conception of exclusive ownership makes the implementation of land-use plans increasingly complicated, difficult and long. Planners recognized the need for more flexibility in many urban contexts to effectively steer spatial development in the already built environment. Relying on a detailed case study carried out in the municipality of Bienne, Switzerland, this paper examines how a strategic use of long-term ground leases granted on municipal land can allow for increased flexibility in planning. Ground leases are a policy instrument leading to a time-limited division of the bundle of rights between a public landowner and the ground lease holder, who becomes the owner of the facilities on the land for up to one hundred years. The strategic role of ground leases in urban planning remains largely unexplored. This article shows that ground leases are an empirical and practical response of planning authorities to the inflexibility of property rights in given situations where more flexibility would be needed. Public actors can use ground leases to implement an active land policy leading to a better allocation of land to specific projects and to a more precise control of building activity. By analyzing the role of ground leases at the interface between planning and property, this article aims to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationship between land-use planning and property rights.

2012 nahm die Schweizer Stimmbevölkerung mit einer knappen Mehrheit von 50,6 Prozent die Volksinitiative «Schluss mit dem uferlosen Bau von Zweitwohnungen!» an. Die mögliche Auswirkung des neuen Gesetzes auf das Langzeit Entwicklungs-Modell von Schweizer Alpendestinationen hat die Forschungsstelle Tourismus (CRED-T) in Zusammenarbeit mit dem CRED-Geographie (Gruppe Raumentwicklung und -planung) untersucht. Basierend auf der «Urban Regime Theory» wurden fünf Faktoren eruiert, die zu einer Schwächung der oft dominanten Wachstumskoalitionen beitragen können und dadurch eine Auswirkung auf die Entwicklung von Zweitwohnungen haben. Die Analyse wurde durchgeführt unter der Prämisse, dass es in den alpinen Gebieten häufig eine Wachstumskoalition gibt, welche bei der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung auf die Ausschöpfung von Bodenrenten fokussiert. Als exemplarisches Fallbeispiel von alpinen Gebieten wurde das Oberengadin untersucht. Obwohl das neue Gesetz durch eine direkte Regulierung der Ausschöpfung von Bodenrenten durchaus Potential zur Abschwächung von lokalen Wachstumskoalitionen aufweist, sprechen die verbleibenden vier Faktoren eher für ein sich fortsetzendes Bestehen solch starker Koalitionen, was Bauentwicklungen in den alpinen Regionen weiter voranschreiten lässt.