Looking back on the Property Conference
After two days of valuable exchanges and productive discussions, the Property Conference “Whose Land, Whose Home, Whose Rent” has come to a close. On October 8 and 9, approximately 60 people from various academic and professional backgrounds gathered at the University of Zurich’s Irchel Campus to examine issues of property ownership in Switzerland.
An introduction by the organizing team (Ifigeneia Dimitrakou, Hanna Hilbrandt and Gabriela Debrunner) to the conceptual background of the conference, to the Responsible City project, and to the case studies analyzed therein was followed by six sessions spread over the two days. In each case, two sessions were held in parallel, and the contributors’ presentations provided stimulating insights into their research and covered different perspectives on the role of property in Switzerland. The program covered historical overviews, policy frameworks, community action, and private-sector actors in equal measure. On the second day, four workshops were held, addressing methodological issues as well as activist and journalistic approaches.
The sessions were complemented by an impressive keynote held by Sarah Keenan, senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, on “Feral Nuisance: Property & the Untameable Planet.” Using the japanese knotweed as an entry point, Sarah Keenan discussed the decolonial, anti-capitalist power of plants « getting in the way of property ». They then situated this perspective in a bigger conceptual picture of ferality and nuisance, questioning clear-cut dichotomies and property’s apparent « duty to tame ». Following up on the keynote, a panel with Luisa Gehriger, Ismene Ehrler and Jean-David Gerber opened up the discussion to further strands of thought, reflecting on alliances with nature, legal dimensions and nuisance as an activist practice.
On Friday, the conference concluded with a brief summary and outlook before the event came to a close with a screening of Lynn Kohli’s short film on Zurich’s housing crisis, “Züri Totalsaniert.”
The organizing team would like to thank all the participants for the two thought-provoking days and those who contributed for their valuable insights. We’re looking forward to engaging further with this network in future collaborations and events.
Below, the book of abstract can be downloaded for more insight into the content of the conference.