The Sustainable Urban Transitions (SUT) Lab was launched in April 2025 as a partnership of ETH Zurich and the Bolt Urban Fund, with the aim of supporting cities in accelerating their shift towards low-carbon, multimodal mobility systems. The SUT Lab aims to bring innovative, data-driven research into practical Continua
How can cities plan safer cycling routes without reliable data on cycling infrastructure? Using machine learning on aerial imagery, we generated a comprehensive historical dataset of cycling-specific infrastructure across Switzerland’s largest urban areas. This opens new possibilities for planning and research.
The E-Bike City project’s design is anchored in shifting away from private car use, particularly for daily commuting. It does so by ensuring access to shared vehicle hubs within 200 meters (or another designated distance) of every residence, promoting convenience and accessibility.
If you missed the event «E-Bike City: Results & Future», have a look at the downloads and recordings section on this website. It offers a brochure, presentations, posters, video recordings, and street visualisations. May they positively impact our traffic situation and quality of life!
Scenario planning is increasingly used in urban planning in recognition of the uncertain and complex interactions between the built and the natural environment. Scenario planning develops alternative stories about the future, as combinations of important drivers of change, qualitatively. The use of computational models can inform the development Continua
From bridges and tunnels to railways, Switzerland has always invested heavily in the upkeep of its infrastructure. But how does it keep everything operating safely and smoothly while also instilling confidence that nothing will go wrong? Read the full article at ETH News
Der ETH Master-Studiengang Raumentwicklung und Infrastruktursysteme bietet eine fundierte, interdisziplinäre Ausbildung in Stadtplanung, Mobilität und Infrastrukturmanagement. Durch die Verbindung von Theorie und Praxis entwickeln Studierende nachhaltige Lösungen für aktuelle Herausforderungen. In Kooperation mit Professorinnen, Professoren und Studierenden ist ein kurzes Video entstanden, um Studieninteressierte für diesen Fachbereich und Continua
Am 24. November wurde über den «Ausbauschritt 2023 des Bundes für die Nationalstrassen» abgestimmt. Er umfasst sechs Grossprojekte, darunter die Verbreiterung der Autobahn A1 zwischen Bern und Nyon sowie drei neue Tunnels in Basel, Schaffhausen und St. Gallen. Bryan Adey, Professor für Infrastrukturmanagement, und Arnór Elvarsson, wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Continua
The Chair of Infrastructure Management, led by Prof. Bryan Adey, and the Chair of Transportation and Mobility Planning, led by Prof. Eva Heinen, have reached an agreement in principle with Bolt, to launch the pilot phase of the Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab, as part of the Bolt Urban Continua
Responsiveness of planning processes is the ability to meet changing societal transport needs quickly in ways that are acceptable to all stakeholders. In Switzerland, considerable traffic jams and overfilled trains indicate that planning processes could be made more responsive. As delays for travelers persist, their needs are not Continua
This paper explores the challenges in conducting Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) for urban cycling infrastructure. The authors discuss two key difficulties: determining the objective safety benefits and estimating the costs associated with implementing the infrastructure. To overcome these challenges, the authors conducted a study in Zürich, aiming to convert Continua
Cost-benefit analysis is a tool frequently used in project appraisal to justify the implementation of infrastructures. Due to insufficient recorded data, the construction costs and safety benefits of urban bicycling infrastructure are difficult to estimate, weakening the appraisal and implementation of such projects. In this research, we conducted Continua
Although a transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has potential to greatly reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, it faces significant challenges, including range anxiety and limitations in battery capacity. Effective long-term planning for EV charging infrastructure can overcome these barriers and increase the chances of widespread adoption.
Transportation systems are vital for economic and social development, yet are susceptible to disruptions caused by natural hazards, especially considering the adverse impacts of climate change on increasing the intensity of frequency of climatic hazards. To manage these risks effectively, stress testing, as a diagnostic tool, has shown Continua
Planning cities to adapt to the future is challenging due to complex interactions between mobility, infrastructure, and land use. This challenge is exacerbated by the need to study future uncertainties such as ever-shifting demographics and industrial landscape, increased environmental and climatic changes, disruptive and unpredictable technological development, and Continua
E-Bike City è un progetto faro del Dipartimento di ingegneria civile, ambientale e geomatica (D-BAUG) dell’ETH di Zurigo. Nei prossimi tre anni sette cattedre studieranno congiuntamente le ripercussioni di un futuro urbano che conferisce la massima priorità a biciclette, micromobilità e trasporti pubblici. Principi Priorità a biciclette e Continua
8. Juni 2023, 9:00 – 18:30 | ETH Zürich, Zentrum, Audimax. An diesem Kolloquium werden die sieben Forschungsgruppen des D-BAUG Leuchtturmprojekts «E-Bike City» nicht nur ihre vorläufigen Ergebnisse präsentieren, sondern auch die Teilnehmenden aktiv in die Gestaltung der Forschungsfragen einbeziehen.
The infrastructure required to provide sufficient high quality drinking water to urban areas over long time horizons is highly uncertain. The use of the real options method, which accounts for future uncertainty and considers management flexibility over time, can significantly improve the evaluation of water supply resilience enhancing Continua
Il progetto è stato finanziato dal Network City and Landscape (NSL) con l’intento di studiare l’impatto delle configurazioni flessibili nella gestione dell’incerta domanda futura di uffici. La potenziale crescita della modalità di lavoro a distanza è fonte di grande incertezza per quanto riguarda la domanda futura di uffici. Continua
I sistemi infrastrutturali sono soggetti a eventi rischiosi che ne compromettono la funzionalità e da cui scaturiscono conseguenze dirette e indirette sia per i relativi stakeholder che per il pubblico. Pertanto i responsabili delle infrastrutture devono mettere in atto interventi volti a migliorare la resilienza del proprio sistema Continua
Il futuro del trasporto su rotaia vedrà fluire senza intoppi i treni passeggeri e merci dal luogo di provenienza a quello di destinazione. Le potenziali interruzioni dovute a inconvenienti ferroviari verranno previste attraverso il largo uso di tecnologie di sorveglianza e saranno evitate tramite l’implementazione di piani d’azione Continua
Cities rely heavily on the services provided by water distribution networks. These networks are large and complex, consisting of thousands of kilometres of buried pipes and dozens of facilities where water is treated, pumped and stored. Infrastructure managers are entrusted with the planning and execution of interventions on Continua
I rischi sistemici legati al trasporto non sono ben compresi tra modalità, regioni e settori interdipendenti critici diversi e ciò crea incertezza riguardo ai rischi derivanti da una grave interruzione del sistema. Mancano programmi di resilienza, soprattutto a lungo termine, integrati nell’infrastruttura di trasporto per via dell’incapacità di Continua
The uncertainty on the future treatments demand, recently evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, makes it challenging for hospitals managers to determine the optimal design of new clinics. Flexibility can help in optimally minimizing the service risks when the benefits of the investments justify the costs, considering the dynamism of treatment Continua
Road owners are increasingly being confronted with the need to optimize highway design for an uncertain future. A recent research project at the Infrastructure Management Chair investigated the use of a real options-based method to evaluate alternative highway designs for a fictive case study based on the A15 Continua
This paper presents a case study based on accident reports from the Zurich City Police. Using a joint GIS and time series analysis based on negative binomial regression, the data is analyzed to identify trends in accident development for several accident subgroups (e.g., bicycle accidents, senior citizen accidents, Continua
Parking garages are often currently designed assuming that parking demand will be stable over their lifetime. The looming mobility shift towards automated vehicles (AVs), however, makes parking demand highly uncertain, with some scenarios leading to its complete disappearance at some time in the near future. The design of Continua
Most cities in Canada do not charge a stormwater fee; consequently, stormwater programs may need to compete with other funding priorities in public works. This often leads to a lack of dedicated and predictable cash flow, which can limit municipalities’ capacity to sustain stormwater services.
The potential large-scale transition from working in the office to working at home, is a massive uncertainty related to the future needs of office space in our cities. It is in the face of this uncertainty, that real estate developers must manage their portfolios. The use of the Continua
Guest: Prof. Dr. Michael Neuman, Professor of Sustainable Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, University of Westminster. The very possibility of governance that is critical — in terms of providing robust human rights, meaningful participative democracy, equitable distribution of wealth, goods and services, and strong environmental Continua
The societal needs for infrastructure change drastically over time depending on a large variety of factors, which are very difficult to predict. It is in the face of this massive uncertainty, that urban planners are expected to make infrastructure decisions. To minimize the service risks over time, the Continua
The management of infrastructure involves estimating how infrastructure is likely to deteriorate and how demands infrastructure change over time. Increasing amounts of data and increasing modelling capabilities are providing infrastructure managers with improved abilities with which to determine the optimal maintenance and development interventions on infrastructure. Their exploitation Continua
In: Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 13(3). S.361–389. PDF Interventions on urban infrastructures cause disruptions to the services provided but also to other networks that have to be (partially) shut down for the interventions. A dynamic grouping methodology is presented that results in work programs with a better consideration Continua
Interventions must be executed on infrastructure networks in urban areas to ensure that they provide adequate levels of services. The optimal planning of these interventions requires consideration of the work of many experts to appropriately consider the spatial and temporal aspects of the networks, how the networks might Continua
His research mission is to improve the construction and management of infrastructure with special attention focused on the improvement of decision making from general planning for entire networks to detailed planning for specific projects. This mission is being achieved through teaching the fundamentals of infrastructure management, and pushing Continua