Space sufficiency : how institutional real estate, single family home owners and tenants approach this challenge

Our work explores the willingness and strategies for space efficiency in Kanton Zürich. Almost 40 qualitative interviews with institutional property owners , tenants and owners of single-family homes were conducted over the last two years about chances and challenges associated with per capita living space reduction. Key questions include whether stakeholders acknowledge the issue of excessive living space, their plans to address it, and the factors that could facilitate or hinder change. The interviews dive into the role of regulations, awareness campaigns, and potential obstacles that hinder progress. By analyzing these perspectives, the research aims to identify practical solutions and policy recommendations that can promote space efficiency and reduce living space in urban settings. The findings show that most actors see the benefits of space reduction per capita, but also see a lot of obstacles on the way. Especially tenants with too much space often would be willing to reduce if it also means a financial benefits like a reduced rent. This is not possible on the free market right now, but would need support by big reals estate, where switching could be made possible and attractive. In spite of this our interviews show that here the topic is mainly present when new houses are built or rebuilt, but not for the currents tenants. Also homeowners are partly willing to reduce but often face hindering regulations for remodeling and a lack of financial incentives. The only actors that have the possibility and already act are living cooperations that have partly already established rules for occupancy rates and try to build highly space efficient new houses. All actors ask for more governmental support and also a broader recognition and discussion of the topic. With our research we hope to contribute to the broader discourse on sustainable urban development and provide insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working towards creating resilient and inclusive cities.