Geneva, sustainable city: Commitments linked to society

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The City of Geneva is committed to creating a more sustainable society through the actions described below:

It promotes equality and diversity for everyone, irrespective of gender, sexual orientation and cultural origin

Geneva is a meeting place and trading hub with a highly cosmopolitan identity. Thanks to its cross-cutting public policy in terms of equality and diversity, the City of Geneva makes every effort to make this diversity one of its strengths while fighting against any form of discrimination.

Furthermore, it facilitates access to municipal services by translating numerous documents into several languages. The  social audit presents the municipality’s statistics as an employer, broken down by gender.

These figures can be consulted in the Cercle Indicateurs: The rate of naturalisations in 2017 was 28%. The number of subsidised nursery places, chosen as an indicator of equal opportunities, is high when compared to other Swiss cities: in Geneva, 387 places are subsidised per 1,000 children aged 0-3.

It encourages inclusion and social ties

The City’s local social policy in each district is developed in three stages: the community social portrait, the community social forum and the community action plan. It satisfies a dual objective: to prevent social fragmentation and to combat exclusion by strengthening social cohesion and developing solidarity. In particular, the municipality works with the following groups of people: children, teenagers, senior citizens and new inhabitants.

These figures can be consulted in the Cercle Indicateurs: Percentage of people benefiting from social assistance (6.7% in the City of Geneva in 2017) and percentage of low-income tax-payers (16.8% in the City of Geneva in 2017).

It provides social and emergency housing

The issue of housing remains problematic in Geneva, with high rent and few apartments available. The City intervenes in two ways. First, the municipal real estate administration has a large pool of rental accommodation units, most of which are subsidised. Second, the municipality provides emergency housing for homeless people.

These figures can be consulted in the Cercle Indicateurs: The average rent in the City of Geneva was CHF 30/m² in 2017, representing the highest figure of all cities participating in the “Cercle”.

It facilitates civic and cultural participation

Several types of participatory process have been, or are currently being, employed by the City of Geneva (community contracts, surveys and consultations within the framework of development, etc.). The increased presence of the City on the social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) also facilitates informal contact with its inhabitants. The City promotes civic participation through several events (civic promotions, contributions to democracy week, etc.) while encouraging a higher rate of participation in elections and votes (in 2015, the participation rate in the election of the municipal council of the City of Geneva was a meagre 34.7%).

Furthermore, the City provides numerous associations with financial, logistical and advisory support while also promoting volunteer work. In particular, the events organised during the La ville est à vous festival offer inhabitants the chance to reclaim public areas by transforming each district into a festive meeting place during the course of a weekend.

These figures can be consulted in the Cercle Indicateurs: The average participation rate in votes and elections in Geneva is 49%, a little below the Swiss national average.

It supports events, community happenings and sport

The City regularly organises and/or supports a number of major public events in the fields of culture and sport. Examples include New Year’s Eve, La ville est à vous, Race for gift, la Fête de la musique, la Fête des écoles, August 1, la Course de l’escalade, etc. These events contribute to the quality of life in the city, but are accompanied by environmental and social costs that must be minimised.

In addition to these major events, the City regularly supports a wide range of community events, as well as cultural and sporting activities and infrastructures benefiting both the inhabitants and users of the municipality.

These figures can be consulted in the Cercle Indicateurs: In 2017, the City of Geneva spent approximately CHF 2,000 per inhabitant in the field of culture and leisure activities.

It invests in international solidarity

The City of Geneva actively collaborates with the stakeholders of international cooperation to finance development and humanitarian aid projects. It is one of the Swiss cities that invests most in this field, allocating 0.62% of its budget. It implements tangible social and economic development actions in the field. The annual report of the Genève Ville solidaire Delegation is available online.

These figures can be consulted in the Cercle Indicateurs: Spending for inter-regional solidarity.

It collaborates with international Geneva and the city networks

The City of Geneva is home to numerous international institutions responsible for implementing sustainable development on a global scale. The City is fully committed to its role as a host city.

Furthermore, the City of Geneva maintains multilateral and bilateral relations with numerous cities around the world. These relations are conducive to rapprochement between municipalities who share the same objectives or must find solutions to the same problems. The most active French-speaking Swiss network in the field of sustainable development is Coord21.

Link with Agenda 2030

In the social sphere, the City is committed to a number of fields which are closely linked to the following international sustainable development goals (see Agenda 2030):