From engineer to project coordinator, the history of town planning and that of a permanent evolution in the field of skills expected by its practitioners. This plural profession reflects society’s expectations for the cities in which we live.

In recent years, the communication surrounding urban projects have gone beyond the simple legal obligation to inform. Communication now tends more and more to support the entire planning process. In areas where the lack of available space and climate issues tend to exacerbate divisions, knowing how to convince and convey the different characteristics of your project has become an essential skills for urban planners.

This research document proposes to observe changes in communication practices in development projects. Our objective with this approach is to understand how these transformations reveal an evolution in the conception of the urban planner profession.

This exploration work is based on an analysis over time of certain major Geneva land development projects. This work is supplemented by a series of interviews carried out with collaborators from the Département du territoire and the Office de l'urbanisme de la République et Canton de Genève

Overall, it is a question of discussing the impact that political and societal changes may have had on the design of the city and the practice of urban planning.