PhD: Urban provisioning systems, sufficiency behaviour and well-being

About the role

The Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS) at EPFL's School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) is offering a PhD position within an interdisciplinary research project with the University of Freiburg, Germany. The project studies how urban planning interventions and changes in provisioning systems affect citizens' perceptions, behaviour and well-being, and how these translate into changes in resource demand and material and energy flows. The position is supervised jointly by Prof. Claudia R. Binder and Dr. Maria Anna Hecher.

Key responsibilities

• Develop an interdisciplinary framework linking urban provisioning systems, resource flows, citizen behaviour, perceptions and well-being.
• Carry out a systematic review of urban interventions and demand-side options across housing, mobility and public amenities.
• Build high-resolution synthetic household populations for case-study cities using micro-census, survey and socio-metabolic data.
• Run empirical research including surveys, discrete choice experiments, interviews and stakeholder workshops.
• Analyse how behavioural changes affect resource demand and urban socio-metabolic profiles.
• Publish in peer-reviewed journals and present at conferences; contribute 20% to teaching and student supervision.

Required profile

• MSc in Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Systems Sciences, Sustainability Science, Geography, Urban Planning or a closely related field.
• Interest in socio-technical transitions, human-environment interactions, sustainability science and urban systems.
• Excellent written and spoken English; knowledge of French and/or German is a strong asset.

Required skills

• Quantitative or mixed-methods research, such as survey design, statistical analysis and choice modelling.
• Spatial data analysis and micro-data modelling.
• Strong analytical, communication and teamwork skills, able to work independently.

What we offer

• A fixed-term PhD position of up to four years at 100% activity rate.
• Structured doctoral training and close research mentorship.
• Collaboration with HERUS and the University of Freiburg.

Applications include a one-page motivation letter, CV, transcript of records and three references; the deadline is 12 November 2026, with a start date of 1 February 2027.