Becoming Cities, Losing Paradise? Gentrification in the Swiss Alps

Abstract

Boscoboinik examines a process of urbanization taking place in a Swiss Alps village. She contextualizes these transformations theoretically by looking at the decreasing value of dichotomies such as rural/urban and centre/periphery. New forms of mobility, multilocal dwelling and tourism are then introduced as major influences in the rural–urban transformation. Boscoboinik discusses rural gentrification as an explanatory tool to understand how peripheral regions become new centres. She shows how the city has been exported to rural and mountain areas, and how places attractive to urbanites for their natural elements have become increasingly urbanized. As a result of upper-class urbanites exporting their way of life, the natural landscape is being aggressively built up and small villages are becoming cities.

I am very grateful to Eric Bourquard for our long discussions. My writings are indeed the fruit of our exchanges and his precious ideas. I also wish to express my gratitude to Robin Smith, for editing the English language and to Viviane Cretton for our stimulating collaboration on this topic.