Projects

Urban Data Hub (UDH) aims to provide data on population-level urban trends at high geographic resolution in Switzerland, linking information across sectors to support research on complex urban dynamics. The initial focus is on socio-economic and demographic characteristics, mobility, housing, and ageing.

Period: 2025–present
Team: Prof. Esra Suel, Dr. Josephine Roper, Stefano Benzoni, Xiang Han, Frederik Lavictoire, Zelal Akin
Collaborators: Prof. Ross Purves, Prof. Hanna Hilbrandt, Prof. Christina Röcke, Prof. Anja Schulze
Funding: UZH Urban Analytics Unit; UZH Digital Society Initiative (DSI)

This project investigates spatial inequalities in housing affordability and transport accessibility and how they evolve over time. Focusing on Zurich's predominantly rental housing market, we examine how access to affordable, well-connected housing varies across locations and population groups, particularly in the context of rising housing costs and the coexistence of private-market and non-profit housing provision.

Period: 2025-2029
Team: Xiang Han, Dr. Josephine Roper, Prof. Esra Suel
Collaborators: Prof. Hanna Hilbrandt (UZH), Prof. David Kaufmann (ETH Zurich)
Funding: UZH Urban Analytics Unit

This project investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of electric vehicle adoption and changes in passenger car fleet composition across Switzerland. In the context of the transition towards net-zero transport, it examines geographical differences and trends in electric vehicle adoption, changes in vehicle weight and size, and their implications for energy demand and urban inequalities.

Period: 2025-2029
Team: Frederik Lavictoire, Dr. Janody Pougala, Prof. Esra Suel
Collaborators: Dr. Milos Balac (ETH Zurich), Prof. Ross Purves (UZH)
Funding: UZH Urban Analytics Unit

This project investigates how individuals adapt their daily activity schedules and travel decisions in response to policy interventions, disruptions, and changing everyday circumstances. It examines how behavioral flexibility varies across population groups and geographical contexts, and how it is shaped by individual circumstances, social interactions, and environmental constraints. The project also aims to improve the representation of behavioral flexibility in activity-based models to support more realistic predictions of travel demand and inform policies that account for differences in people's ability to adapt.

Period: 2026-2029
Team: Dr. Janody Pougala, Prof. Esra Suel
Funding: UZH Urban Analytics Unit

This project investigates how housing and neighborhood characteristics influence residential stability and relocation among older adults, and how relocation changes the residential environments they experience. Focusing on the Canton of Zurich, the research examines how residential patterns evolve across later life stages, and how staying or relocating affects access to housing, services, and neighborhood features associated with healthy aging. The project aims to identify built environment characteristics that support aging in place and inform urban planning strategies for more age-supportive cities.

Period: 2026-2030
Team: Zelal Akin, Prof. Esra Suel
Funding: Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship, UZH Urban Analytics Unit

This project investigates how extreme heat and other weather events influence urban mobility and activity patterns, initially focusing on Switzerland. Using high-resolution mobile phone data, it examines changes in when, where, and how people travel during extreme weather, and how these responses vary across neighborhoods and population groups. The research aims to identify spatial differences in mobility disruptions and adaptation, and support urban climate adaptation and transport planning.

Period: 2026-2028
Team: Stefano Benzoni, Prof. Esra Suel
Funding: UZH Urban Analytics Unit

The City Modelling Lab (CML) brings together the University of Zurich’s Urban Analytics Group, UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, and Arup to connect research and real-world practice. Working with city decision-makers, we co-develop data, methods, and tools that help cities respond to major global challenges such as social inequality and climate change.

Period: 2022-Present
Team: Prof. Esra Suel
Collaborators: Dr. Gerry Casey (Arup), Prof. Adam Dennett (UCL)
Funding: UZH Urban Analytics Unit, UCL Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis

This project investigates how electric vehicle charging infrastructure and user behavior shape electricity demand and flexibility in the context of transport electrification and growing shares of renewable energy. It examines how alternative charging infrastructure scenarios influence charging behavior and the potential for electric vehicles to provide flexibility and support the integration of renewable energy into the electricity grid.

Period: 2027-2030
Team: Dr. Janody Pugala, Frederik Lavictoire, Prof. Esra Suel
Collaborators: Dr. Bryn Pickering (Open Energy Transition)
Funding: The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)

This project aims to advance comparative human mobility research across European cities using mobile phone data by establishing a European research network to support data sharing, methodological exchange, and future collaborations. It also seeks to develop harmonized datasets and common processing methods to enable cross-city comparisons of human mobility patterns and support research across diverse urban contexts.

Period: 2027-2029
Team: Stefano Benzoni, Prof. Esra Suel
Collaborators: Prof. Ye Hong (Co-I, Lund University), Prof. Elsa Arcaute (University College London), Prof. Chen Zhong (University College London), Prof. Martin Fleishmann (Charles University), Prof. Stephan Law (University College London), Prof. Hyesop Shin (The University of Auckland)
Funding: UZH Global Champion Fund

TRACK-UK develops high-resolution indicators of travel behavior and transport decarbonization across the UK. Combining travel survey and Census data with small-area estimation and synthetic population methods, the project examines spatial inequalities in mobility patterns and supports evidence-based transport and energy policy.

Period: 2025-2027
Team: Prof. Esra Suel
Collaborators: Dr. Anna Freni Sterrantino (Co-I, Imperial College London), Dr. Gerry Casey (Co-I, University College London), Prof. Adam Dennett (Co-I, University College London), Dr. Clara Peiret-Garcia (University College London), Shaun Hoang (University College London)
Funding: UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

MorphoTRACK-SDGs: Morphology-Based Multimodal Learning for Global Mapping of Infrastructure Deprivation and Monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals develops multimodal machine learning methods to map infrastructure deprivation and monitor progress towards SDGs. 

Period: 2027-2029
Team: Prof. Esra Suel
Collaborators: Dr. Kenneth Harttgen (ETH Zurich NADEL), Dr. Michele Volpi (ETH Zurich, SDSC), Dr. Shirin Goshtasbpour (ETH Zurich, SDSC), Nathanael Schmidt-Ott (ETH Zurich NADEL)
Funding: Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC)