This thesis offers a reflection on the local translation of a political project of degrowth, using the city of Vevey, in French speaking Switzerland, as its case study. Since 2021, this municipality has stood out for the presence of a local political group Décroissance Alternatives (da.), which holds a relative majority in the municipal council and is represented by two members in the city executive. This situation, unprecedented in the political landscape of French speaking Switzerland, presents a unique opportunity to explore how a post growth imaginary can be carried within institutions and materialize in urban public policies.

The aim of this research is to analyze how the degrowth project promoted by da. is translated into Vevey’s urban space and how it is perceived by different local actors, particularly residents and elected officials from other political parties. The study thus seeks to question the ability of municipalities to serve as laboratories for political experimentation, by examining the instruments of action, the imaginaries mobilized, and the concrete spatial planning practices that accompany such transformations.

This thesis adopts a situated epistemological stance. It does not claim to be exhaustive or statistically representative, but rather aims to produce a qualitative understanding of a local case study. It posits that urban space cannot be reduced to a purely technical or functional substrate it also serves as a symbolic medium, a site for projecting ideas, narratives, and desired futures.