Determinants of living space consumption. Findings on housing preferences and space efficiency in Switzerland

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14512/rur.4000

Keywords:

Living space consumption, Switzerland, housing preferences, housing use, household structure, regression analysis

Abstract

This paper examines determinants of individual living space consumption in tenant households in German-speaking Switzerland and, for the first time, includes subjective housing preferences as explanatory variables. The analysis is based on an online survey of 884 households headed by people under the age of 65 living in 3‑ to 5.5-room apartments in agglomeration municipalities. Multiple regression analysis is used to quantify economic, structural and location-related factors. The results show that household size, income, settlement density and home office use are associated with living space consumption. In addition, an index of space-related preferences is statistically significantly associated with per capita living space: households with a more space-intensive orientation occupy significantly more space. These findings provide empirical evidence that subjective housing preferences have independent explanatory power alongside traditional socioeconomic factors.

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Author Biography

  • Sibylla Amstutz, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

    Sibylla Amstutz is an architect and professor at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She is deputy head of the Institute of Interior Architecture and heads the Competence Centre in Interior Architecture. She teaches, conducts research and publishes in the fields of sustainable housing and office environments, as well as in the area of needs-based planning and design. In doing so, she explores the question of how spaces must be conceived and designed to enable new ways of living and working, as well as to meet changing user needs.

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Published

2026-09-29

Issue

Online First

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Research Article

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Copyright (c) 2026 Prof. Sibylla Amstutz, Christoph Hanisch, Prof. Dr. Gabrielle Wanzenried, Jana Z'Rotz

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Articles in Raumforschung und Raumordnung – Spatial Research and Planning are published under a Creative Commons license. From Vol. 79 No. 2 (2021), the license applied is CC BY 4.0. From Vol. 77 No. 1 to Vol. 79 No.1, articles were published under a CC BY-SA license. Earlier volumes have been re-published by oekom 2022 under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY 4.0. 

How to Cite

1.
Amstutz S, Hanisch C, Wanzenried G, Z'Rotz J. Determinants of living space consumption. Findings on housing preferences and space efficiency in Switzerland. RuR [Internet]. 2026 Sep. 29 [cited 2026 Sep. 30];. Available from: https://rur.oekom.de/index.php/rur/article/view/4000

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