Levels of Governance and Multi-stage Policy Process of Brownfield Regeneration: A Comparison of France and Switzerland

Abstract

This paper compares the multi-stage policy process of brownfield regeneration in France and in Switzerland, two decentralized although different countries that have not fully addressed the issue of brownfield regeneration at a national level. It makes a contribution in developing a framework to analyse the different stages of policy development, with regard to brownfield regeneration. It also fills a gap in comparative studies as French and Swiss contexts lack from coverage in the English speaking literature. It aims to understand why they have not shared and are still not sharing a similar path towards the inclusion of brownfield sites in national planning frameworks. Drawing on the examples of national policies implemented in England, in Germany and in the United States, the paper argues that whereas Switzerland is moving quickly to a national programme of brownfield regeneration highly anchored in an ambition of preserving natural spaces against urbanization, France is sustaining a persistent national concern for social housing estates giving flexibility and leeway to local and regional authorities as regards land-use management and brownfield regeneration.