ABOUT
Matthias Lecoq
PhD
Thinker, researcher, and urban planning consultant Matthias Lecoq explores the dynamics of the city through a critical, social, and creative approach. At the intersection of social sciences, urban strategy, and art, he examines contemporary forms of the city and how they shape our interactions, our uses, and our imaginations.
urban planning
Building the city between pragmatism, social vision and creativity
Trained in political science and geography, his approach moves away from purely technical schemes to highlight the political, cultural, and social dimensions of urban development. His work engages a reflection on public space as a place of experimentation, where power relations, forms of appropriation, and collective imaginations are at play.
Through his research, urban interventions and institutional collaborations, he supports cities and territories in innovative urban strategies, exploring the logic of participation, inclusion and urban resilience.
As a teacher and researcher, he has taught courses in urban planning, citizen participation, and the transformation of public spaces, notably at the University of Geneva and Swiss universities. His teachings aim to deconstruct standardized practices and to rethink the city by integrating social, climate, and democratic issues.
PUBLIC SPACE
The importance of the land
His professional experience is marked by commitment at different scales: from strategic planning to concrete urban interventions.
A former employee of the Urban Planning Office of the Canton of Geneva, he worked on major urban transformation strategies, notably on the DECIDIM platform, dedicated to citizen participation and the involvement of residents in regional planning. He also developed experience in urban planning and consultation, supporting urban renewal and territorial innovation projects.
He founded ATHP , a structure dedicated to urban and territorial strategies, which supports communities and institutions in the transformation of their living environment.
ART
A thought in motion
His experiments take the form of research projects, publications, and artistic interventions, where he tests new ways to make the city more vibrant, inclusive, and democratic. His work questions how public space can be reinvested, transformed, and reappropriated, particularly through participatory projects and collective performances.
Matthias Lecoq also offers, via the LAB We Are All Meursaults , a work of painting, photography, and collective performances which explores the tensions between urban space and individual experiences.
In line with this approach, he created ATTHIA , a line of spirits designed as a conceptual work, questioning our relationship to places, stories and rituals.
His work, at the border between research, urban strategy and creation, seeks to provoke shifts, to imagine alternative urban futures and to activate new ways of inhabiting the city.
Diplomas
Double PhD in Political Science and Geography (Universities of Geneva and Barcelona)
Master's degree in political science
Master's degree in Business Management and Administration
Research
Associate Researcher at the University of Geneva (IGEDT)
Let's commit to a vision
Faire la ville ou au-delà