Sustainability and the Anchoring of Capital: Negotiations Surrounding Two Major Urban Projects in Switzerland

Theurillat T. and Crevoisier O. Sustainability and the anchoring of capital: negotiations surrounding two major urban projects in Switzerland, Regional Studies. This article deals with the anchoring of mobile financial capital in the city and urban sustainability. Illustrated by a case study in the Swiss context, it develops the theory that new forms of negotiation are appearing around urban projects. Development/construction firms are playing a central role: they are capable of evaluating and translating the multiple dimensions of a project and certain sustainability challenges into financial terms, in a way that permits the anchoring of capital in the city. In parallel, the issue of sustainability depends greatly on the capacity of the local actors to negotiate with the promoters of urban projects.