One million happy people along "Léman 101"!

Analysis of a linear city from Geneva to Villeneuve, a million inhabitants united by the lake and movement. By Xavier Comtesse, Jeffrey Huang & Adam Cohen

An article available in AGEFI: https://agefi.com/actualites/opinions/un-million-de-personnes-heureuses-le-long-de-leman-101

" Léman 101 " is a linear city along the lake of the same name, from Geneva to Villeneuve, 101 km long. This makes one million inhabitants, the equivalent of a city like Zurich, slightly expanded.

This city doesn't exist, "neither legally nor administratively." And yet, it is being built entirely before our eyes. In this series of articles, we attempt to give it substance by defining the metrics necessary to delineate its contours and specific characteristics, extending a previous reflection that garnered over 112,000 views on LinkedIn.

First, its outline

Formed from the municipalities adjacent to the lake and those directly contiguous. Two exceptions to this rule: Geneva and Lausanne, for which other municipalities have been added because their links with this linear city are so strong (map below) .

Secondly: the retention rate

In an urban context, the retention rate measures the percentage of a population that remains in the city over time, based on work, studies, family, or quality of life (this is measured by the ratio of intra-city moves to total moves). A high retention rate, around 80%, means that people are happy to stay in their city. A low rate, on the other hand, suggests difficulties in retaining talent or residents.

Let's make an initial observation: it's striking to see the stark difference between "Léman 101" and all other Swiss cities, including Zurich. This indicates a strong appeal for linear cities compared to more compact ones. This is a completely new finding that will certainly require further investigation, but it already demonstrates the extreme relevance of this concept: people love linear cities!

A second point needs to be made: the two main cities that make it up, Geneva and Lausanne, have, on the contrary, low retention rates, even at the bottom of the Swiss ranking.

An apparent contradiction

This apparent contradiction requires some explanation. At first glance, it suggests that people readily move along the shores of Lake Geneva, but not to the urban centers of Geneva and Lausanne. This would demonstrate that the linear city, built by the will and behavior of its inhabitants, is appealing.

“Léman 101” is formed through movement, not fixation. The line prevails over the point. This spontaneous urbanization, always evolving, eludes traditional indicators. It stems from a logic of flow and transformation, rather than centrality, fixity, and stability.

However, since the linear city wasn't planned, we sorely lack indicators. We intend to continue this research to better understand the dynamics of this linear city. We will, of course, keep you informed in these pages!

By Xavier Comtesse, Jeffrey Huang & Adam Cohen