Settling and dwelling in the Swiss peri-urban areas: residential trajectories and life course events

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Thesis

Reference

Settling and dwelling in the Swiss peri-urban areas: residential trajectories and life course events

VAN DEN HENDE, Anthe

Abstract

A large amount of research has been conducted on the peri-urban area, yet alleys remain to be explored. Three of these alleys are studied for Switzerland with four longitudinal datasets (national and local level) and sequence analysis. First, the position of the peri-urban areas within lifelong residential trajectories and sequences of moves are investigated, showing the importance of both urban and more rural preceding residences. Secondly, the relation between the peri-urban area and life course events are explored to gain insight in the in-migration modes and migrant characteristics. The in-migrants are often couples and nuclear families (family formation or empty-nest) in full-time employment. Lastly, as no consensus exists on the definition of the peri-urban area, various scenarios of the spatial extend are explored to identify the most relevant in terms of life course analysis. This has shown no essential differences between the populations of the differently defined peri-urban areas.

VAN DEN HENDE, Anthe. Settling and dwelling in the Swiss peri-urban areas:

residential trajectories and life course events . Thèse de doctorat : Univ. Genève, 2015, no. SdS 6

URN : urn:nbn:ch:unige-554885

DOI : 10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:55488

Available at:

http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:55488

Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version.

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Swiss peri-urban areas:

residential trajectories and life course events

THÈSE

présentée à la Faculté des sciences de la société de l’Université de Genève

par

Anthe van den Hende

sous la direction de

prof. Bernard Debarbieux

pour l’obtention du grade de

Docteur ès sciences de la société mention géographie

Membres du jury de thèse:

M. Bernard DEBARBIEUX, Professeur, Université de Genève M. Philippe WANNER, Professeur, président du jury,

Université de Genève

M. Martin SCHULER, Professeur titulaire, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

M. Matthias STUDER, PhD., Université de Genève

Thèse no. 6

Genève, 25 02 2015

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La Faculté des sciences de la société, sur préavis du jury, a autorisé l’impression de la présente thèse, sans entendre, par là, émettre aucune opinion sur les propositions qui s’y trouvent énoncées et qui n’engagent que la responsabilité de leur auteur.

Genève, le 25 février 2015

Le doyen

Bernard Debarbieux

Impression d'après le manuscrit de l'auteur

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This study has been realized within the research project “Habiter (un temps) le périurbain en Suisse. Trajectoires résidentielles, identités et catégories géographiques (TRIG2)”.This research project has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (n°100013-122348).

This study has been realized using the data collected by the Swiss Household Panel (SHP), which is based at the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences FORS. The project is financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

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List of figures

Figure 1: Relative change in population per municipality type in

Switzerland, 1981-2010.………..………. 3 Figure 1-1: The four principal migration schedules by age ... 14 Figure 1-2: Schematic drawing of the peri-metropolitan zone... 36 Figure 1-3: The influence of Ford’s growth processes on the peri-urban

area ... 38 Figure 1-4: Schematic drawing of the French territorial types ... 54 Figure 2-1: Total number of Swiss municipalities, 1848-2013 ... 82 Figure 2-2: Evolution of the number of Swiss peri-urban municipalities,

1970-2013 ... 84 Figure 2-3: Geographical location of the peri-urban municipalities in

Switzerland, 2010... 85 Figure 2-4: Residential trajectories of the peri-urban group, SHP ... 91 Figure 2-5: Corrected residential trajectories of the peri-urban group,

SHP ... 92 Figure 2-6: Reclassification of the nine municipal types into five types ... 108 Figure 2-7: A schematic representation of the Generalised Linear

Models and Event History Analysis... 122 Figure 2-8: An example of the interpolation method for the missing

values in the income variable ... 125 Figure 2-9: Comparing a deterministic (black) and probabilistic (grey)

approach: linear ... 126 Figure 2-10: Comparing a deterministic (black) and probabilistic (grey)

approach: quadratic ... 127 Figure 3-1: The migration towards the peri-urban area from the 1980,

1990 and 2000 censuses, per territorial type ... 135 Figure 3-2: Index plot showing all trajectories which include a change in

territorial type, SHP, 1999-2012 (N=384) ... 137 Figure 3-3: Index plot showing all trajectories which contain at least

once the peri-urban area, SHP, 1999-2012 (N=366) ... 138 Figure 3-4: Clusters based on the trajectories of those individuals that

experienced a change in territorial type, SHP (N=384) ... 139 Figure 3-5: Clusters based on the trajectories of those individuals that

have at least once lived in the peri-urban area (N=366) ... 140 Figure 3-6: Index plot showing all trajectories sorted by the age they

have left the parental home, SHP Pilot (N=456) ... 142 Figure 3-7: Index plot showing all trajectories of those that have once

lived in the peri-urban area, SHP Pilot (N=85) ... 143 Figure 3-8: Clusters based on all the trajectories, SHP Pilot (N=456) ... 144 Figure 3-9: Clusters based on the trajectories of those individuals that

have lived at least once in the peri-urban area, SHP Pilot

(N=85) ... 145 Figure 3-10: Index plot showing all residential trajectories sorted on

when they have left the parental home, Saint-Cergue

(N=300) ... 147 Figure 3-11: Clusters based on the Saint-Cergue trajectories (N=300) ... 148

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Figure 3-12: Index plot of all the residential trajectories sorted on when

they have left the parental home, Palézieux (N=202) ... 150

Figure 3-13: Clusters based on the Palézieux trajectories (N=202) ... 151

Figure 3-14: The Saint-Cergue and Palézieux trajectories combined; the Saint-Cergue clusters (N=300) ... 153

Figure 3-15: The Saint-Cergue and Palézieux trajectories combined; the Palézieux clusters (N=202) ... 153

Figure 4-1: Population pyramids of a selection of municipal types, 2000 (per 10’000 population) ... 159

Figure 4-2: Population pyramids of a selection of municipal types, 2012 (per 10’000 population) ... 160

Figure 4-3: Age upon arrival in the peri-urban area, SHP ... 164

Figure 4-4: Age upon arrival in the peri-urban area, SHP Pilot ... 164

Figure 4-5: Age upon arrival in the peri-urban area, Saint-Cergue ... 166

Figure 4-6: Age upon arrival in the peri-urban area, Palézieux... 167

Figure 4-7: Municipalities where the Saint-Cerguois lived prior to their move to Saint-Cergue (indicated in pink) and their quantity ... 169

Figure 4-8: Municipalities where the Saint-Cerguois lived prior to their move to Saint-Cergue (indicated in pink) and their quantity. A zoom on the Lac Leman area ... 170

Figure 4-9: Municipalities where the Saint-Cerguois worked at the time of their move to Saint-Cergue (indicated in pink) and their quantity ... 171

Figure 4-10: Municipalities where the Saint-Cerguois worked at the time of their move to Saint-Cergue (indicated in pink) and their quantity. A zoom on the Lac Leman area ... 172

Figure 4-11: Municipalities where the Paléziens lived prior to their move to Palézieux (indicated in pink) and their quantity ... 173

Figure 4-12: Municipalities where the Paléziens lived prior to their move to Palézieux (indicated in pink) and their quantity. A zoom on the Lac Leman area ... 174

Figure 4-13: Municipalities where the Paléziens worked at the time of their move to Palézieux (indicated in pink) and their quantity ... 175

Figure 4-14: Municipalities where the Paléziens worked at the time of their move to Palézieux (indicated in pink) and their quantity. A zoom on the Lac Leman area ... 176

Figure 4-15: Clusters of the private trajectories, SHP (N=2391) ... 179

Figure 4-16: Clusters of the professional trajectories, SHP (N=2391) ... 181

Figure 4-17: Clusters of the private trajectories, SHP Pilot (N=456) ... 183

Figure 4-18: Clusters of the private trajectories, Saint-Cergue (N=300) ... 185

Figure 4-19: Clusters of the professional trajectories, Saint-Cergue (N=291) ... 187

Figure 4-20: Clusters of the private trajectories, Palézieux (N=202) ... 189

Figure 4-21: Clusters of the professional trajectories, Palézieux (N=194) ... 190

Figure 4-22: Changes in the private trajectories around the year of the move, SHP ... 208

Figure 4-23: Changes in the professional trajectories around the year of the move, SHP ... 208

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Figure 4-24: Change before and after the move to the peri-urban area in the private trajectory, SHP (N=40, t=0 is arrival in the peri-

urban area) ... 209

Figure 4-25: Change before and after the move to the peri-urban area in the professional trajectory, SHP (N=29, t=0 is arrival in the peri-urban area) ... 210

Figure 4-26: Changes in the private trajectories around the year of the move, SHP Pilot ... 211

Figure 4-27: Change before and after the move to the peri-urban area in the private trajectory, SHP Pilot (N=64, t=0 is arrival in the peri-urban area) ... 212

Figure 4-28: Changes in the private trajectories around the year of the move, Saint-Cergue and Palézieux ... 213

Figure 4-29: Changes in the professional trajectories around the year of the move, Saint-Cergue and Palézieux ... 214

Figure 4-30: Change before and after the move to the peri-urban area in the private trajectory, Saint-Cergue (N=125, t=0 is arrival in Saint-Cergue) ... 215

Figure 4-31: Change before and after the move to the peri-urban area in the private trajectory, Palézieux (N=122, t=0 is arrival in Palézieux) ... 216

Figure 4-32: Change before and after the move to the peri-urban area in the professional trajectory, Saint-Cergue (N=98, t=0 is arrival in Saint-Cergue) ... 217

Figure 4-33: Change before and after the move to the peri-urban area in the professional trajectory, Palézieux (N=65, t=0 is arrival in Palézieux) ... 218

Figure 5-1: Proportion of agreement for each type, per position... 240

Figure 5-2: Membership probabilities of the wrongly predicted municipalities ... 241

Figure 5-3: Type 5 municipalities, prediction over all other types ... 242

Figure 5-8: Correlation plot of the types in the municipal typology, with clusters ... 243

Figure 5-9: Classification tree of the 1980 Swiss municipal typology ... 245

Figure 5-10: A graphical representation of the new operationalization ... 246

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List of tables

Table 1-1: Definition of Ford’s growth processes in the peri-urban area

based on six key indicators ... 40

Table 1-2: Classification of the peri-urban municipalities of metropolitan areas, 1980 typology ... 50

Table 1-3: Classification of the peri-urban municipalities of non- metropolitan areas, 1980 typology ... 51

Table 1-4: Criteria for the suburban, employment and high income municipalities, 2000 typology ... 51

Table 2-1: Total amount of municipalities and peri-urban municipalities, per canton, 2000 and 2013 ... 83

Table 2-2: SHP selected variables; codes, labels and (regrouped) categories ... 88

Table 2-3: The living arrangement variable regrouped, SHP Pilot ... 96

Table 2-4: Saint-Cergue and Palézieux questionnaire statistics ... 101

Table 2-5: Variables derived from the Saint-Cergue and Palézieux questionnaires ... 106

Table 3-1: Migration rates, by year (1999-2012) based on the states, SHP ... 132

Table 3-2: Proportion of the specific migration types among the people that have moved, based on the events, SHP (most frequent moves in grey, row percentages) ... 133

Table 3-3: Migration rates, by year, based on the states, SHP Pilot ... 133

Table 3-4: Proportion of the specific migration types among the people that have moved, based on the events, SHP Pilot (most frequent moves in grey, row percentages) ... 134

Table 3-5: Cohorts based on the Saint-Cergue residential clusters (effectives and row percentage confidence intervals) ... 149

Table 3-6: Cohorts based on the Palézieux residential clusters (effectives and row percentage confidence intervals) ... 152

Table 4-1: Place of birth and nationality per municipal type (percentages), 2012 ... 161

Table 4-2: Civil status per municipal type (percentages), 2012 ... 161

Table 4-3: Households types by municipal type (percentages), 2000 ... 162

Table 4-4: Housing types per municipal type (percentages), 2012 ... 162

Table 4-5: Characteristics upon arrival per variable (effectives and percentage confidence intervals), SHP, SHP Pilot, Saint- Cergue and Palézieux ... 177

Table 4-6: The peri-urban dwellers versus the non-peri-urban dwellers within the private trajectory clusters, SHP ... 180

Table 4-7: The peri-urban dwellers versus the non-peri-urban dwellers within the professional trajectory clusters, SHP ... 182

Table 4-8: The peri-urban dwellers versus the non-peri-urban dwellers within the private trajectory clusters, SHP Pilot ... 184

Table 4-9: Age upon arrival and time spent in the peri-urban area, private trajectories, Saint-Cergue ... 186

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Table 4-10: Age upon arrival and time spent in the peri-urban area,

professional trajectories, Saint-Cergue ... 187 Table 4-11: Age upon arrival and time spent in the peri-urban area,

private trajectories, Palézieux ... 188 Table 4-12: Age upon arrival and time spent in the peri-urban area,

professional trajectories, Palézieux ... 191 Table 4-13: The residential and private clusters combined, SHP (row

percentages, significant under- and overrepresentation in

red and green)... 194 Table 4-14: The residential and professional clusters combined, SHP

(row percentages, significant under- and

overrepresentation in red and green) ... 195 Table 4-15: The residential and private clusters combined, SHP Pilot

overrepresentation in red and green) ... 196 Table 4-16: The residential and private clusters combined, Saint-

Cergue (row percentages, significant under- and

overrepresentation in red and green) ... 197 Table 4-17: The residential and professional clusters combined, Saint-

Cergue (row percentages, significant under- and

overrepresentation in red and green) ... 198 Table 4-18: The residential and private clusters combined, Palézieux

overrepresentation in red and green) ... 199 Table 4-19: The residential and professional clusters combined,

Palézieux (row percentages, significant under- and

overrepresentation in red and green) ... 200 Table 4-20: The effect of the demographic characteristics on the

residential clusters, SHP (multivariate models and odds

ratios) ... 202 Table 4-21: The effect of the demographic characteristics on the

residential clusters, SHP Pilot (multivariate models and

odds ratios) ... 203 Table 4-22: The effect of demographic characteristics on the residential

clusters, Saint-Cergue (multivariate models and odds

ratios) ... 204 Table 4-23: The effect of demographic characteristics on the residential

clusters, Palézieux (multivariate models and odds ratios) ... 205 Table 4-24: Discrete time logit (odds ratios), move in general and to the

peri-urban area, SHP ... 221 Table 4-25: Multinomial logit (odds ratios), move towards the centres,

suburban area, rural-commuter area, rich area and the area outside the agglomeration compared to the peri-urban

area, SHP ... 222 Table 4-26: Discrete time logit (odds ratios), move towards Saint-

Cergue versus a move to Palézieux ... 224 Table 5-1: Match between the observed and predicted types

(predictions horizontally; observed vertically) ... 239

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Table 5-2: The residential clusters of peri-urban dwellers; the official peri-urban type and the three alternative

operationalizations, SHP ... 248 Table 5-3: The residential clusters of peri-urban dwellers; the official

peri-urban type and the three alternative

operationalizations, SHP Pilot ... 249 Table 5-4: Characteristics upon arrival; the official peri-urban type and

the three alternative operationalizations (effectives and

percentage confidence intervals), SHP ... 251 Table 5-5: Characteristics upon arrival; the official peri-urban type and

the three alternative operationalizations (effectives and

percentage confidence intervals), SHP Pilot ... 252 Table 5-6: The private trajectories of the peri-urban dwellers; the official

operationalizations, SHP ... 254 Table 5-7: The professional trajectories of the peri-urban dwellers; the

official peri-urban type and the three alternative

operationalizations, SHP ... 255 Table 5-8: The private trajectories of the peri-urban dwellers; the official

operationalizations, SHP Pilot ... 256 Table 5-9: The association between the residential trajectories and the

private trajectories; the official peri-urban type and the

three alternative operationalizations, SHP ... 258 Table 5-10: The association between the residential trajectories and the

professional trajectories; the official peri-urban type and

the three alternative operationalizations, SHP ... 259 Table 5-11: The association between the residential trajectories and the

private trajectories; the official peri-urban type and the

three alternative operationalizations, SHP Pilot ... 260 Table 5-12: A combination of demographic characteristics with the

residential clusters; the official peri-urban type and the

three alternative operationalizations, SHP ... 263 Table 5-13: A combination of demographic characteristics with the

residential clusters; the official peri-urban type and the

three alternative operationalizations, SHP Pilot ... 264 Table 5-14: Multinomial logit (odds ratios), move towards the centres,

suburban area, rural-commuter area, rich area and the area outside the agglomeration compared to the peri-urban

area, SHP ... 266 Table A: The principal residential trajectories including the peri-urban

area…………...………....272

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Résumé

Tout au long de notre vie, nous éprouvons de nombreux événements et changements, dont certains sont liés à un changement de résidence. Et tant qu’enfant vous vous êtes peut-être déplacé avec vos parents dans une maison plus grande ; en tant que jeune adulte, vous vous êtes peut-être déplacé pour vivre seul et étudier ; et tant qu'adulte, vous vous êtes peut-être déplacé pour vivre avec votre partenaire. Beaucoup de ces mouvements ont donc pu être entraînés par un autre changement dans votre vie. Ces changements peuvent provoquer un déménagement afin de s’adapter à une situation nouvelle, mais un déménagement peut également marquer une anticipation de futurs changements de vie. En outre, ils peuvent également signifier un changement d’environnement, par exemple un mouvement de la ville vers le suburbain.

De la littérature, il apparaît que le groupe d'âge de 20 à 40 ans a plus tendance à se déplacer. Cela n’est pas tout à fait accidentel, car autour de ces âges de nombreux événements comme le mariage, l'entrée dans le marché du travail et l'arrivée d'un enfant, risquent de se produire, tous augmentant la mobilité du ménage. Cette dernière est particulièrement liée à un déménagement vers des zones plus rurales. Les préférences se tournent souvent vers des environnements verts, spacieux et calmes (adaptés aux enfants), avec des maisons familiales et de bonnes liaisons vers la ville et ses infrastructures.

Au cours des dernières décennies, un espace combinant vie rurale, infrastructures et services urbains, que nous appellerons périurbain dans cette recherche, s’est développé dans de nombreux pays. Cette zone périurbaine est au cœur de cette recherche sur la mobilité résidentielle et les évènements du parcours de vie en Suisse, car cette région a connu une croissance de la population considérable au cours des trente dernières années.

De nombreux chercheurs ont tenté de conceptualiser et opérationnaliser cet espace. Pourtant, les différences internationales, notamment socio-économiques, politiques et culturelles, ont généré des variations dans le développement de ce type spatial en termes de composition démographique, d’étendue et de localisation. En raison de ces variations, la zone périurbaine n’est pas un espace comparable dans le monde et il n'y a pas de modèle tout fait qui puisse être appliqué à tous les pays. Il existe en particulier une grande ambiguïté sur la localisation géographique de la zone périurbaine.

Toutefois, quelles que soient la définition du périurbain, ce dernier est presque partout décrit comme un espace agréable à vivre. Les migrants périurbains sont souvent décrits comme des jeunes couples, de 30 à 40 ans, avec des enfants de moins de 15 ans, qui recherchent des maisons avec des jardins et des régions calmes. En outre, les (pré-)retraités forment un groupe en augmentation dans les zones péri-urbaines.

Cependant, les institutions régionales et la manière dont le périurbain est opérationnalisé affectent les caractéristiques des habitants du périurbain. Il ne peut donc pas être simplement supposé que les migrants périurbains suisses sont les même qu’ailleurs ou que la relation entre leurs trajectoires résidentielles et leurs événements du parcours de vie correspondent à celle de

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leurs voisins. Le but de cette recherche est donc d’examiner les caractéristiques des migrants périurbains suisses.

Tout d'abord, nous utiliserons la littérature internationale pour dépeindre les caractéristiques privées et professionnelles des habitants du périurbain. Toutefois, de nombreuses études portent sur des pays profondément différents de la Suisse (dans la taille, l'environnement physique, la densité de la population et les règles d'aménagement du territoire). Il est donc intéressant de confronter cette littérature aux observations des migrants du périurbain suisse. Nous nous intéresserons particulièrement à leurs parcours (localisation du périurbain dans leur trajectoire résidentielle) et à leurs caractéristiques privées et professionnelles.

Deuxièmement, dans la littérature l’absence de consensus persiste dans l'opérationnalisation de la zone périurbaine. Chaque définition fournit une vue différente de la zone périurbaine, en particulier sur ses habitants et sur son étendue géographique. Cette recherche examine donc également comment les caractéristiques des migrants périurbains changent en fonction des délimitations du périurbain. En d'autres termes, nous demanderons dans quelle mesure les migrants et habitants du périurbain montrent des caractéristiques spécifiques. Ces deux aspects ont été combinés dans la question de la recherche globale suivante: « Dans quelle mesure la zone périurbaine peut-elle être identifiée à l'aide des trajectoires résidentielles et des événements de vie de ses habitants ? »

Ces trajectoires résidentielles, privées et professionnelles des habitants et migrants périurbains suisses sont examinées grâce à quatre jeux de données longitudinales. Le Panel Suisse de Ménages (PSM) fournit des données individuelles annuelles sur les trajectoires résidentielles, privées et professionnelles au cours des 14 dernières années. Le PSM Pilote, de plus, fournit des trajectoires de vie complètes pour un petit nombre de personnes.

Ensemble, ces deux jeux de données offrent une perspective actuelle et historique sur la mobilité résidentielle en Suisse.

Afin de compléter cette vue agrégée et saisir la diversité des zones périurbaines, des informations ont été recueillies au moyen de questionnaires auto-administrés envoyés aux habitants de deux communes (Saint-Cergue et Palézieux) et couvrent également l’entier de leur parcours de vie. Les données de ces deux études de cas fournissent une vue plus riche et détaillée sur la variété qui existe dans la zone périurbaine en Suisse.

A l'aide d'analyses de séquences et de clusters, les principaux motifs dans les trajectoires résidentielles, privées et professionnelles sont identifiés.

La création de trajectoires résidentielles typiques permet de caractériser les trajectoires résidentielles générales ainsi que celles contenant le périurbain.

Afin d'étudier les migrants périurbains, les caractéristiques à l'arrivée sont étudiées et les résidents périurbains sont comparés avec les résidents non périurbains. En outre, des tableaux croisés sont utilisés pour explorer l'association entre les trajectoires résidentielles et les parcours de vie. Un modèle binomial est utilisé pour étudier la relation entre les différentes trajectoires résidentielles et les caractéristiques démographiques. Enfin, un modèle à choix discret (longitudinal) est utilisé pour étudier l'influence des caractéristiques personnelles et professionnelles sur le risque de déménager vers le périurbain.

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Afin de comparer la pertinence de différentes définitions de la zone périurbaine, un modèle multinomial est utilisé sur différentes opérationnalisations possibles du périurbain. Puis, les mêmes méthodes mentionnées ci-dessus sont appliquées sur ces zones périurbaines alternatives afin d’étudier dans quelle mesure la population concernée varie d’une définition à l’autre.

Les quatre jeux de données ont fourni différents points de vue sur la position de la zone périurbaine dans les trajectoires. Dans les trajectoires du PSM, la zone périurbaine est souvent combinée avec les centres et le suburbain. Pour Saint-Cergue ces deux types spatiaux sont également importants, ainsi que les séjours à l'étranger. Les tendances observées à Saint- Cergue donnent en effet l'impression de refléter des habitudes de migration plus actuelles et internationales, qui sont probablement due à la proximité de la Genève internationale.

Les trajectoires de Palézieux montrent une tendance légèrement différente. Dans cette région, la zone périurbaine est plus souvent combinée avec les zones hors-agglomération, alors que le suburbain et les centres apparaissent dans une moindre mesure. Une stabilité complète à Palézieux est aussi un comportement fréquent. Les motifs de migration y sont plus proches de ceux observés au niveau national dans le PSM Pilote, ce qui suggère que Palézieux est en quelque sorte un cas plus « classique » de périurbain né du rural.

L’étude de la direction des mouvements a révélé de manière relativement inattendue que les deux mouvements, centrifuge et centripète, se produisent simultanément. En effet, dans tous les jeux de données, les gens quittent les centres ou le suburbain pour le périurbain, mais l'inverse est également observé. A Palézieux on note également des personnes venant des régions situées à l'extérieur de l'agglomération, dans un mouvement évitant complètement la ville.

L'examen des caractéristiques des migrants vers la zone péri-urbaine suisse a montré que ces derniers sont souvent des couples et des familles nucléaires (soit des familles en cours de formation ou de passage à un «nid vide»), ce qui était attendu. Par contre, ils occupent souvent en emploi à temps plein, ce qui ne correspond pas à l’image dépeinte par la littérature, où l'emploi à temps partiel est souvent dominant. Ceci est peut être dû à la densité du réseau de transports en Suisse. En outre, l’importance de la phase de « nid vide » est plus grande qu’attendu et pourrait être liée au phénomène relativement récent consistant à commencer une « nouvelle vie » après la retraite.

Enfin, bien que nous nous attendions à ce que l’étude des opérationnalisations alternatives du périurbain donne des résultats différents par rapport à la définition officielle, cela ne s’est pas produit. Toutes les opérationnalisations montrent l'importance de la formation de la famille et de l'emploi à temps plein, mais parfois les trajectoires à temps partiel et complexes sont également importantes. Il semble donc qu’il n’y ait pas de différence essentielle entre les populations du type spatial périurbain, et des régions adjacentes que sont le type riche et le type pendulaire. La fonction que ces types municipaux occupent dans le parcours de vie des individus est donc très similaire.

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Abstract

Throughout our life we experience many events and changes, some of which might be related to a change in residence. As a child you might have moved with your parents to a larger house. As a young adult you might have moved out to live alone and study. And as an adult you might have moved to move in with your partner. Many of these moves might thus be driven by another change in your lives. These changes may provoke a move in order to adapt to a new situation, yet a move might also be anticipation on future life course changes.

Furthermore, they might also have included a change of scenery, for example a move from the city to the suburbs.

From the literature it appears that especially the 20 to 40 year old have a higher tendency to move. This is not entirely accidental as around these ages events like marriage, entry into the labour market and the arrival of a child might occur (all increasing the mobility of the household). The latter, is especially related with a move to more rural areas. Preferences often shift towards green, spacious and quiet (child friendly) environments, with family housing and good links to the city and its facilities.

Over the last decades a space which contains this desired combination of the rural lifestyle, yet with facilities and the closeness to the urban services, entitled the peri-urban area in this research, has developed in many developed countries. This peri-urban area is central in this research on residential mobility and life course events in Switzerland, as in the last 30 years this area has shown a considerable population growth.

Many scholars have attempted to conceptualise and operationalize this area. Yet, differences in, for example, socio-economic, political and cultural development have generated variations in the development of this spatial type.

This has led to different populations, characteristics, sizes and geographical locations. As a result of these variations the peri-urban area is not a unified space all over the world and there is no ready-made model which can be applied to all countries. There especially exists a large ambiguity on the geographical location of the peri-urban area.

Nonetheless, regardless of the many different sizes and shapes attributed to the peri-urban area over the world, it is almost everywhere an attractive space to live. The peri-urban in-migrating population is often described as young. Especially young couples; couples between the ages 30 and 40, with children under the age of 15 years old, who search for homes with gardens and quiet regions. In addition, the (pre)retired are a large group found in the peri-urban areas.

However, the country specific developments and the manner in which the peri-urban area is operationalized affect these aforementioned characteristics of the peri-urban settlers and dwellers. It can therefore not just be assumed that the Swiss peri-urban migrants portray the same characteristics; that the relation between the residential trajectories and the life course events is the same. It is therefore the aim in this research to look at the characteristics of the Swiss peri-urban migrants.

First, from the international literature a picture can be painted of the private and professional characteristics of the peri-urban settlers and dwellers,

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however many of these countries can be considered quite different from Switzerland (e.g. in size, physical environment, population density and spatial planning regulations). It is therefore of interest to discover who the in-migrants to the Swiss peri-urban area are; where have they come from (how does the peri-urban area fit in their residential trajectory) and what are their characteristics (private and professional).

Second, in the literature quite a lot of variety exists within the operationalization of the peri-urban area. The many operationalizations all provide different views on the peri-urban area and especially on its inhabitants;

the geographical extend of the area appears to be very important. This research therefore also investigates how the characteristics of the peri-urban in-migrants change when the peri-urban area is operationalized differently. In other words, do the peri-urban settlers and dwellers portray a specific set of characteristics?

These two aspects have been combined in the following overall research question: “To which extent can the peri-urban area be identified with the aid of its inhabitants’ residential trajectories and life course events?”

These residential, private and professional trajectories of the peri-urban settlers and dwellers in Switzerland are investigated with the use of four longitudinal datasets. The Swiss Household Panel provides yearly information on the individual level on the residential, private and professional trajectories over the last 14 years. The Swiss Household Panel Pilot, in addition, provides lifelong trajectories for a small number of people. Together they provide a current and more historical perspective on residential mobility.

To add on to this aggregated view and in order to understand the diversity of the peri-urban areas, information has been collected with self- administered questionnaires send to inhabitants in two municipalities (Saint- Cergue and Palézieux; also containing a more historical perspective).

Especially, the data from these two case-studies provides a very rich and detailed view on the variety that exists within the peri-urban area in Switzerland.

With the aid of sequence analysis and clusters the patterns in the residential private and professional trajectories are investigated. The creation of (lifelong) residential trajectories allows for the investigation of general residential trajectories as well as the specific trajectories including the peri-urban area.

In order to investigate the in-migrants, the characteristics upon arrival are examined and the peri-urban residents are compared with the non peri- urban residents. Moreover, cross-tables are used to explore the association between the specific residential and life course trajectories. A binomial logit is called upon to study the relation between the specific residential trajectories and demographic characteristics. And a discrete time (multinomial) logit and a multinomial logit are lastly used to investigate the influence of personal and professional characteristics on the risk of moving towards the peri-urban area.

For the investigation into the most relevant identification of the peri- urban area, a multinomial logistic regression is used to create the alternative operationalizations of the peri-urban area. Following, on the resulting alternative peri-urban areas the same above mentioned methods are applied in order to find out whether or not the population changes considerably when the size of the peri-urban area is enlarged.

The four datasets have produced different perspectives on the position of the peri-urban area within the trajectories (related to their design). The

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differences between the national and local levels were expected. Within the SHP trajectories the peri-urban area is often combined with the centres and suburban area. For Saint-Cergue these two spatial types are also important as well as the abroad preceding residence. The observed patterns in Saint-Cergue give the impression to reflect the more current residential migration patterns.

The trajectories of Palézieux including the peri-urban area show a slightly different pattern. In these trajectories the peri-urban area is more often combined with the areas outside the agglomeration, however the suburban areas and the centres do also appear but to a lesser extent. Living the whole period in the peri-urban area is also important in Palézieux. Its patterns are closer to those of the SHP Pilot.

The investigation into the directionality of the moves, up or down the urban gradient, has revealed that both movements occur, which is not what was expected. Within all datasets people move from the centres or suburban area to the peri-urban area, but the inverse is also observed. In Palézieux there are also people moving from the regions outside the agglomeration towards Palézieux.

The examination of the characteristics of the in-migrants to the Swiss peri-urban area has shown that they are often couples and nuclear families (either family formation or ‘empty-nest’ process), which was expected. In addition, they are often in full-time employment. This is not exactly the same picture as painted in the literature, where family formation and part-time employment are often dominant. This may be due to the different datasets and the historical versus current perspective. The part-time employment link might not appear in Switzerland due to the dense transport network and the rather unexpected link with the ‘empty-nest’ process might be due to the fact that many people start a ‘new life’ after retirement.

Whereas it was expected that the last investigation, into the alternative operationalizations of the peri-urban area, would provide different results compared to the official peri-urban operationalization this did not occur consistently. The small differences between the SHP and SHP Pilot are most likely due to the dataset design. All operationalizations show the importance of family formation and full-time employment, yet sometimes the complex and part-time trajectories are also important. There thus appears to be no essential difference between the populations of the peri-urban area, the rich area and the rural-commuter area. The function these municipal types play in the life course of individuals is thus very similar.

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Acknowledgments

The writing of a PhD thesis is for the most part an individual endeavour;

however the work lying before you would not have had this form without the assistance of many people. They have not only aided in the development of my research, but have also provided support, advice and motivation.

I would first of all like to thank my professor Bernard Debarbieux.

During our fruitful discussions over the last three years he has transferred his large knowledge of the subject. He has provided constructive remarks to improve my research, after re-reading multiple times my chapters, for which I am grateful. He has aided me in structuring my research and at the same time he has given me the autonomy to develop my personal research interests. I appreciate furthermore the way I have been included in the research project which has allowed me to develop many of my research skills.

I must also acknowledge the assistance the other judges, whom I would like to thank sincerely to have accepted to be part of my jury. Their comments and remarks have allowed me to improve my research. Philippe Wanner, president of the jury, has especially assisted with the demographic side of my research. With his suggestions the questionnaire questions have been improved and very useful comments on the results have made me better understand and interpret them. Without the help of Martin Schuler, a large part of Chapter 5 would not have existed. The data offered by him, as well as our very much appreciated discussions on this subject, have provided me with a new insight in the municipal typology. Last, but not least, I value highly that for the methodological side of this research I could always rely on the help of Matthias Studer. I appreciate his assistance in the selection of the methods and how to execute them in R. His capacity to explain statistical methods in a comprehensive manner has also been a great help, especially with the understanding of the results.

I also extend a great thanks to my colleagues that have aided the development of my thesis. With my office colleague Mathieu Petite I have always been able to discuss our research project and I especially appreciate his input in the construction of the questionnaires. With these questionnaires Emmanuel Rousseaux has also been a great support. He has aided with the reflexion on the structure of the questionnaires and how the obtained information could be entered into a database. I also would like to thank all the members of the Research Seminar in Statistics for Social and Population Sciences, organised by Gilbert Richard, for their questions, comments and suggestions. A special thanks also goes out to Anne-Laure Bertrand and Fabienne Gigon, for their feedback on my thesis. Lastly, in moments of doubt and lack of inspiration Floriane Demont has always been there to lend a sympathetic ear, for which I am very grateful.

A very special thanks goes last of all out to my family, who have always supported me, and especially to my husband, Adrien Remund. I would not have been able to finish my thesis without him being my sounding board, his suggestions, encouragement, humour, patience and love.

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“Everyone is facing changes No one knows what's going on.

And everyone is changing places Still the world keeps moving on.”

Changes by Hugh Laurie (based on the song by Alan Price)

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Introduction

Throughout our life we experience many events and changes, some of which might be related to a change in residence. As a child you might have moved with your parents to a larger house, possibly outside of the city. As a young adult you might have moved out of your parents’ home to live alone and study.

And as an adult you might have moved to live closer to where you work or to move in with your partner. Many of these moves might thus be driven by another change in our lives, as commencing an education or a change in employment. These changes may provoke a move in order to adapt to a new situation, yet a move might also be anticipation on future life course changes.

Furthermore, all these different moves might also have included a change of scenery, for example a move from the city to the suburbs, or a move from the suburbs to more rural areas.

From the literature, as will be discussed in Chapter 1, it is known that migration is for many people not a very frequent event in their lives (e.g. Long 1992). Not many people change their residence every year, rather more every few years or every decade or so. Furthermore, migration rates vary by age. The people between the ages 20 and 40, have on average a higher tendency to move (e.g. Raymer and Rogers 2006). This is not entirely accidental as these are also the ages at which many other things in our lives might change, like changes in civil status, household size and employment. In the literature this relation between changes in residence and life course events is quite often investigated.

When considering employment, it is especially the entry and exit to the labour market, which has become much more volatile over the last decades, that has an effect. Particularly, those who are changing from education to a job and the highly educated are very mobile (e.g. Clark and Davies Withers 2007;

Geist and McManus 2008; Clark and Huang 2003; Courgeau 1985; Ihrke and Faber 2012; Kulu 2008; Mulder and Hooimaijer 1999; Linneman and Graves 1983).

Changes in the civil status can also have an influence on mobility.

Especially marriage has an effect, separation and divorce too but to a lesser extent. Furthermore, the arrival of a child, which is often perceived as a substantial change, which leads to changes in housing preferences, needs and lifestyle, increases the mobility of the household. This type of change might take a household out of its stable position and a move is then the manner with which the stability can be regained (Clark and Dieleman 1996; as cited in Clark and Huang 2003).

In addition, a change in the life course, as for instance the arrival of a child, might not just necessitate a larger residence; it might also demand a change of scenery. Preferences often shift towards green, spacious and quiet (child friendly) environments, with family housing and good links to the city and its facilities. In numerous countries the addition of a child in to the household is related with a move to more rural areas; mainly a first birth is often related with a move to rural areas, as well as the increase in family size in general (e.g.

Andersen 2011; Courgeau 1989; Détang-Dessendre et al. 2002; Kulu 2008;

Kulu and Milewski 2007; Courgeau and Lelièvre 2006; Speare and

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Goldscheider 1987). As a matter of fact, in several countries moves down the urban gradient are more prominent than the inverse.

Over the last decades a space which contains this desired combination of the rural lifestyle yet with facilities and the closeness to the urban services has developed in many developed countries. This new type of space, which is entitled the peri-urban area in this research, has received considerable attention in the international literature. This has however sketched a very diverse picture of this area, in population, characteristics, development, size and geographical location. It is therefore not easy to determine what the peri-urban area exactly is and which regions can be determined as peri-urban. Nonetheless, in many western countries (e.g. France, Belgium and the United States) this area has experienced a large increase in population over the last decades.

The peri-urban area

Central in this research, on residential mobility and life course events, is the Swiss peri-urban area. This has not been an arbitrary choice. In the last 30 years the Swiss peri-urban area (as defined by Swiss Statistics) has shown a considerable population growth. Between 1981 and 2012 its population increased from 530’000 to 868’000, an increase of over 60 per cent (Office fédéral de la statistique 2010b; Statlas 2012).

When comparing the relative change in population of the peri-urban area with the other spatial types (Figure 1)¹, it becomes clear that this growth is indeed outstanding. The rural-commuter area experiences a growth of 42 per cent in this period, the rich and suburban areas a 29 per cent growth and centres a 5.5 per cent increase. This relatively new spatial type thus seems to be attracting quite a lot of population.

Moreover, it is also a very dynamic area; many people are moving in and out. On average between the years 1981 and 2010 the net-migration in the peri-urban area is 10.5 per 1000 inhabitants, compared to for example 2.6 for centres (based on Office fédéral de la statistique 2010b). Camenisch and Debarbieux (2011) also refer to this dynamism in their research on inter- municipal migration in Switzerland.

Furthermore, whereas this new spatial type can be found in most western countries and many scholars have attempted to conceptualise and operationalize this area, the results are very much country specific. The development of the peri-urban area has not everywhere been the same, nor has this process happened in all places at the same point in time. There are countries in which the development has been quite subtle, whereas in other counties this process has been more straightforward. The distance of this new spatial type to the city, the presence of transport links and facilities and the geographical lay-out of the country have played their part. Moreover, differences in, for example, socio-economic, political and cultural development have generated variations in the development of this spatial type (Caruso 2002).

1This figure is based on the data from Swiss Statistics that includes only those municipalities which have existed between 1981 and 2010. In addition, the municipal types indicated correspond to the Swiss Statistics municipal typology.

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As a result of these variations in development, this new spatial type has different geographical dimensions, different characteristics and different combinations of urban and rural characteristics in different countries. The research conducted by many scholars to better understand this new territorial type is affected by these country specific developments.

Figure 1: Relative change in population per municipality type in Switzerland, 1981-2010

Source: Office fédéral de la statistique (2010b), calculations by author

The peri-urban area is hence not a unified space all over the world and there is no readymade model which can be applied to all countries, or from one country to another. Among the various scholars there appears to be no agreement on the concept of the peri-urban spatial type; there especially exists a large ambiguity on the geographical location of the peri-urban area (e.g. Hoggart 2005; Ford 1999; Paul and Tonts 2005; and Johnson 2001; as cited in Buxton et al. 2006).

Yet, regardless of the many different sizes and shapes attributed to the peri-urban area over the world, it is almost everywhere an attractive space to live in. The combination of urban and rural features has made this area popular.

Households from often densely populated and often unattractive urban areas for example seek residential areas with different and a better quality housing, a

90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170

1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

relative change (population 1981 = 100)

year

Centres Suburban Rich

Peri-urban Touristic Industrial-tertiary

Rural-commuters Agricultural-mixed Agricultural

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nicer (countryside) environment, more space, safety, silence, better living conditions, an easier commute and good infrastructure. In one word they search for a better lifestyle. The peri-urban area is seen by many as the place where supply and demand meet.

This perceived crossover between supply and demand in these areas has in turn led to a large influx of migrants. In many European countries, as France, Belgium, Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom, as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia, an increase in population has been observed in the peri-urban areas. The peri-urban in-migrating population is often described as young, especially young couples; couples between the ages 30 and 40, with children under the age of 15 years old, who search for homes with gardens and quiet regions. In addition, the retired and pre-retired are a large group found in the peri-urban areas (e.g. Pryor 1968; Eggerickx and Capron 2001; Buxton et al. 2008; Cavailhès and Selod 2003; Dodier 2007; Kulu 2008; Skifter Andersen 2009).

However, the country specific developments and the manner in which the peri-urban area is operationalized affect these aforementioned characteristics of the peri-urban settlers and dwellers. It can therefore not just be assumed that the Swiss peri-urban migrants portray the same characteristics; that the relation between the residential trajectories and the life course events is the same. It is therefore the aim in this research to look at the characteristics of the Swiss peri-urban migrants.

Within the triangle, of residential mobility, life course events and the peri-urban area, this research is set. The aim of this research is two-sided. First, from the international literature a picture can be painted of the private and professional characteristics of the peri-urban settlers and dwellers, however many of these countries can be considered quite different from Switzerland (e.g.

in size, physical environment, population density and spatial planning regulations). It is therefore of interest to discover who the in-migrants to the Swiss peri-urban area are; where have they come from (how does the peri- urban area fit in their residential trajectory) and what are their characteristics (private and professional).

Second, in the literature quite a lot of variety exists within the operationalization of the peri-urban area. The many operationalizations all provide different views on the peri-urban area and especially on its inhabitants;

the geographical extend of the area appears to be very important. This research therefore also investigates how the characteristics of the peri-urban in-migrants change when the peri-urban area is operationalized differently. In other words, do the peri-urban settlers and dwellers portray a specific set of characteristics?

These two aspects have been combined in the following overall research question: “To which extent can the peri-urban area be identified with the aid of its inhabitants’ residential trajectories and life course events?”

Methodological axes

Two axes are thus important in this research; the residential trajectories and the life course trajectories (i.e. the private and professional dimensions). On the international level, both have been largely investigated; however, the research on the combination of the two axes is of much more importance here. The

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residential mobility in combination with the changes in marital status, in combination with the change in family size as well as in combination with occupational changes has been largely investigated by many scholars (e.g.

Kulu 2008; Courgeau 1985; Clark and Huang 2003; Mulder and Hooimaijer 1999; Andersen 2011; Courgeau and Lelièvre 2006; Détang-Dessendre et al.

2002; Kulu and Milewski 2007; Speare and Goldscheider 1987). These various investigations shed light on the changes in the life course that have occurred around the time of a move, or more specifically a move to less urbanised areas.

In Switzerland on the other hand the two axes have been examined predominately independently. On the life course trajectories of the Swiss inhabitants as marriage, leaving the parental home and employment, considerable research has been conducted. Especially the professional trajectories are investigated, whether or not combined with family formation, often with the data of the Swiss Household Panel (e.g. Levy et al. 2007; Levy et al. 2006; Levy and Widmer 2013; Widmer and Ritschard 2009; Giudici and Gauthier 2009; Oris et al. 2009).

Besides, information on the residential trajectories is provided by Swiss Statistics and has been investigated by various scholars. They have for example obtained information for Switzerland from international datasets on employment mobility and family lives, from questionnaires distributed in Neuchâtel and Zurich and from interviews with inhabitants of multiple mountain municipalities (e.g. Beige and Axhausen 2006; Petite and Camenisch 2012;

Rérat 2012; Viry et al. 2009).

Bassand et al. (1985) on the other hand, have investigated the relation between a change in residence and a change in municipality in combination with life course events. Though, this research provides a view on the situation in the 1980s and does not focus specifically on the peri-urban area. The research before you therefore aims to add to the existing academic knowledge on the relation between the residential trajectories and the life course events in Switzerland, focussing on those that contain the peri-urban area.

The main challenge in this research is the fact that we look at residential and life course trajectories, implying the need for longitudinal data. This means that information for every year and every individual is required and not aggregated data for every five years. Panel data is needed. The problem is however that longitudinal data are a rare commodity, especially when information on multiple life course aspects is required.

For the investigation of the residential trajectories a great level of detail is needed; the places of residences need to be able to be classified, hence the spatial type or municipal number is needed in order to construct detailed residential trajectories by year for this research. It is not sufficient to know if individuals have moved to a municipality in the same canton, to another canton or abroad. This required detail has been leading in the search for datasets.

The same accounts for the investigation of the events that have happened throughout the individuals’ life course. So as to investigate these changes the life course approach is used. Elder Jr. (2006) describes this approach as relating to the variation that exists in the timing and the sequence of life events (e.g. birth, death, marriage and leaving the parental home). In order to discover this timing in the events a detailed trajectory of the private and professional events is desired.

Settling and dwelling in the Swiss peri-urban areas: residential trajectories and life course events

Thesis

Reference