Zurich right-wing party gathers enough signatures for the anti-immigrant housing initiative; Switzerland’s six largest cities are the world’s most expensive; and more news in our roundup this Tuesday.
Zurich right-wingers gather enough signatures for their housing initiative
The Zurich branch of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has collected enough signatures for its popular initiative, “Right to a Homeland – Housing for Our People,” to be brought to the ballot box.
This move is an offshoot of the party’s ‘No to 10 million” initiative, which seeks to curb the number of foreigners allowed to settle in Switzerland once the country’ population reaches the 10-million mark
Under the new initiative, once that population threshold is met, landlords would be required to give preference to “Swiss citizens and people who have lived in Zurich for at least ten years” when allocating apartments.
Switzerland’s six largest cities are the world’s most expensive
In its new 2026 ranking, the crowd-sourced online database Numbeo lists Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Lugano, and Bern – in that order – as the most expensive among 479 cities globally.
Overall, the cost of living there is higher than even in the notoriously expensive New York, which follows the Swiss cities in the 7th place.
Interestingly though, despite the high prices, all six Swiss cities also boast the highest purchasing power – an index based on the average net salary.
READ ALSO: Where in Switzerland will your money go the furthest?
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Rail tunnel from Zurich to Winterthur will cut travel time
To travel between the two cities, trains have to take a detour rather than go in a straight line. This is because the hills between Bassersdorf and Winterthur are in the way.
But a new tunnel will change that.
The SBB will begin construction of the Brütten Tunnel in 2026, though it won’t be comlpleted until 2034.
The approximately 9-km-long twin tube will reduce the journey time between Zurich and Winterthur from 20 to 12 minutes.
At 3.3 billion francs, this project is the third-most expensive in the SBB’s history: only the Lötschberg and Gotthard tunnels had cost more.
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Gold Coast communities are up in arms about airport noise
Residents of wealthy Zurich communities known as the ‘Gold Coast’ are upset about the new regulations allowing planes in the Zurich airport to take off to the south, which is supposed to be be safer when winds are blowing a certain way.
But accustomed to peace and quiet in their prosperous neighbourhoods, people living in Gold Coast communities, which will absorb the noise of southerly departures, are urged by their elected officials to revolt against the new rule.
Markus Ernst, mayor of Küsnacht, for instance, is telling residents to “file an objection and send a signal for the preservation of our quality of life.”
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