about us

The Open Urbanism Foundation is dedicated to public interest. It contributes to the development of open urbanism in Switzerland and internationally, with the aim of fostering the creation of inclusive and sustainable territories by integrating civil society into decision-making.

We are an innovative collaborative ecosystem dedicated to the co-design of territorial transformations. Our foundation is built on the principles of the free software and open source philosophy, encouraging contributory engineering and cooperaton to drive meaningful change.

At the heart of the Foundation is our Laboratory, where we conduct innovative research with academic partners and develop open-source tools as part of the Open Urbanism concept. For 15 years, we have been creating practical solutions to foster collective engagement and efficient dialogues between civil societies and local governments. One notable example is the Unlimited Cities platform, a visual and text-based collective intelligence tool used in some twenty countries. This platform enables cities, NGOs, universities and civil society to engage in co-imagination and decision-making processes for territorial transformation.

Our mission

Our core mission is to address the essential global challenge of a successful ecological transition in territorial planning. This involves;

•  Combating and adapting to climate change: Projects that help cities adapt to and mitigate climate change
•  Increasing resilience: Making territorial development more resilient in the face of environmental, economic and social risks.
• Improving quality of life and health: Promoting active mobility and reducing pollution to create healthier environments with positive economic spin-offs.

Participation is recognized as essential to achieving these objectives. The UN Habitat III Participation is internationally recognized as essential to achieving these goals. Indeed, the UN Habitat III conference in Quito emphasized the essential role of civil society in urban projects, with all 193 member countries committed to this approach. As a result, many countries and local governments have changed their planning laws and procedures to ensure greater citizen participation in territorial planning.

Our network

Our "7 billion planners" network, created 7 years ago, links cities, civic organizations and designers around the world. This thriving community exemplifies our vision of empowered, community-led urban transformation.

Global reach

In partnership with UN Habitat and based in Geneva, we operate on a global scale, ensuring that our resources and results remain accessible and contributory to everyone. We are committed to expanding our network of partners, welcoming new universities, cities, communities and designers to join us in our mission.

Collaboration 

At OUF (Open Urbanism Foundation), we believe in the power of collaboration to create innovative solutions for the future of urbanism. 

We invite you to take part in a new human adventure, that of large-scale collective intelligence for territories. We offer you the chance to experience exciting contributory dynamics that will enable you to explore the incomparable power of open urbanism to meet the challenges of ecological transition. Our various programs are accessible and enable you to share the knowledge you need to get started on your own or with others.

And because we base our social interactions on the ethics of open source software, you'll be able to quickly deploy your new capacities for action.

contact @ openurbanism.ch