Postdoctoral researcher in urban verticality and geospatial digital observatory

EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, is one of Europe’s most dynamic university campuses and ranks among the world’s top universities.

With more than 6,500 employees, EPFL advances its core missions of education, research and innovation within an international community of over 18,500 people, including more than 14,000 students and 4,000 researchers from over 120 countries.

Within this stimulating and international research environment, the Communauté d’études pour l’aménagement du territoire (CEAT) at EPFL is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher in urban verticality, Earth Observation, environmental modelling and geospatial data science.

The position is part of Vertical Africa (VERTICAF), an interdisciplinary research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

We are looking for a full time postdoctoral researcher at EPFL Lausanne.

Information

Contract duration: 48 months

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland (EPFL, CEAT), with fieldwork assignments in Kigali, Dakar and Luanda

Activity rate: 100 %

Start date: 02/2027

Scientific supervisor: Prof. Jérôme Chenal

Project context

Vertical Africa is a four-year interdisciplinary research project funded by the SNSF, bringing together EPFL (Prof.

Jérôme Chenal), the University of Geneva (Prof.

Armelle Choplin and Prof.

Didier Péclard) and African academic and institutional partners in Kigali (Rwanda), Dakar (Senegal) and Luanda (Angola).

Against the backdrop of accelerating verticalisation in African cities, VERTICAF offers the first systematic and diachronic analysis of how cities are expanding not only horizontally but also vertically.

The project combines urban studies, remote sensing, 3D modelling, environmental science, architecture, political science and participatory approaches to investigate the environmental, social and political implications of vertical urban development.

The project has three main ambitions: (1) developing methods to measure verticality and its impacts in data-scarce contexts, in Africa and elsewhere; (2) documenting, theoretically and empirically, the interactions between vertical growth, capitalism, governance, inequalities and everyday life; (3) co-designing more sustainable and inclusive models for the future of African cities.

The research is organised into four work packages.

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to measuring urban verticality and its environmental impacts (WP1), while providing scientific coordination for the geospatial, modelling and digital observatory components of the project (WP4).

Research Focus

How can verticalisation and its environmental consequences be measured, modelled and projected in data-scarce African cities, and how can these results be translated into an open and reproducible digital observatory supporting research, planning and participatory exploration of future urban scenarios?

The postdoctoral researcher will develop an integrated analytical framework connecting:

Verticalisation → 3D urban morphology → environmental processes → climate and flood impacts → future urban scenarios

The research will operate across city, neighbourhood and building scales and along urban transects covering historical central districts, incrementally verticalising neighbourhoods and newly developed peripheral urban centres.

Tasks and responsibilities

WP1 - Environmental indicators and remote sensing

WP4 - Coordination of the digital observatory of urban verticalisation (DOUV)

Scientific production

Required profile

Education and experience

Technical skills

Soft skills

What we offer

Application

Applications (in English or French) must include:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Questions regarding the position may be sent to: director.ceat@epfl.ch

Please note that applications submitted by email will not be considered; all applications must be submitted through the online application portal.

epfl.ch/labs/ceat