Geneva in 2061
In 2061, Geneva is easy to find your way around, for residents and visitors alike. The lake, the Jet d’Eau, the Salève and the Old Town on its hill can be seen from many places, and each neighbourhood has its own landmark and character. Clear, consistent signs and maps showing walking times stand at every station and square, and metro, train and bus lines carry names that tell you where they go. University campuses and large public buildings are laid out logically, with clear names, colours and symbols, so that students and staff can keep their minds on their work. And children and newcomers learn early how the city is organised: the right bank and the left bank, Plainpalais between the centre and Carouge, the Old Town on its hill.
“Merci,” she said, and continued to walk around and tried to find landmarks she would recognise.Grooters, Book 1, Part 16 “2061”
Geneva today
Geneva is replacing the letters of its regional bus lines with numbers
To comply with federal rules, Geneva’s public transport operator (tpg) is gradually giving its lettered bus lines numbers, with a range of numbers for each sector. By the end of 2026, line A to Gy is due to become line 36, line E to Hermance line 30, and line G to Corsier line 35. In 2019, the tpg acknowledged that their mix of letters and numbers no longer followed any logic.
Source: Commune of Cologny, municipal council minutes (March 2025); tpg press release (October 2019)
- Campuses are often hard to read: at the University of Sheffield, a 2023 consultation found that only 4% of students and staff recognised the colour zones on the campus signs. One person pointed out that in a brand-new building, the floors were labelled with letters, the rooms with numbers, and the timetable used a third system (University of Sheffield, 2024).
- Confusing buildings have a cost: an often-cited study estimated that wayfinding problems at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta cost it about US$220,000 a year, as people who are lost interrupt staff to ask for directions (Zimring, 1990, cited in Behavioral Sciences, 2014).
Where it is already done
- London has installed a consistent pedestrian wayfinding system, Legible London, whose map signs show what lies within a five- and a fifteen-minute walk. In the pilot areas, satisfaction with finding one’s way rose from 61% to 83%, the share of test walkers who definitely felt lost fell from 26% to 9%, and 77% of users said the signs gave them more confidence to explore on foot. By 2022, about 3,000 signs stood across the capital.
- Tokyo Metro gives each line a letter and a colour, and each station a number. Ginza station on the Ginza line, for example, is G09. Passengers can see at a glance how many stops remain and whether the train is going in the right direction, without reading a word of Japanese.
- The University of York (United Kingdom) divided its campus into ten coloured zones in 2018. Signs first lead people to the right zone, then to the building, and each building is coloured to match its zone on the campus map, so that giving directions becomes simple.
A Pattern Language
Related patterns from the book A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander and colleagues (1977), a classic of architecture and town planning.
- 98 Circulation Realms: Alexander and his colleagues argue that a large complex of buildings becomes confusing when it lacks a clear structure. It should be organised as a hierarchy of realms, each with its own gateway and main path, so that people can find their way, and give directions, by moving from the larger realm to the smaller one.
How far along
Done somewhere A city or country already does it. Geneva only needs to adapt it.
The path to 2061
Milestones proposed for discussion.
- 2027Geneva adopts one consistent wayfinding standard for streets, public transport and public buildings, with maps that show walking times.
- 2031Map signs stand at every station and main squares, and the university and other large sites adopt clear names and colour or symbol systems for their buildings.
- 2041Metro, train and bus lines across the cross-border region are named logically, by direction or destination, and schools teach children how their city is organised.
- 2051New neighbourhoods and campuses are designed from the start for easy orientation, with logical layouts and landmarks that can be seen from afar.
- 2061Like Verity, anyone arriving in Geneva can find their way by its landmarks, and nobody stays lost for long.
What moves it
Human needs it serves
Open questions
- How could bus and train lines be named so that the name tells you where they go, within the federal rules on line numbering?
- How can existing campuses, hospitals and large buildings be made easier to find your way around, when their layout can no longer be changed?
- Should learning how one’s own city is organised be taught at school, and offered to newcomers?
Sources
- Commune of Cologny: Procès-verbal de la séance du Conseil municipal du 20 mars 2025 (in French)
- Transports publics genevois (tpg): Les tpg renforcent leur offre afin de développer leur réseau en vue de l’arrivée du Léman Express, press release (October 2019, in French)
- University of Sheffield: A Wayfinding & Signage Strategy, summary report (January 2024)
- Behavioral Sciences: Wayfinding in Healthcare Facilities, Contributions from Environmental Psychology (2014)
- Interreg Europe: Legible London, pedestrian wayfinding through branding and design (April 2026)
- Greater London Authority: London-wide Legible London sign audit (2022)
- Tokyo Metro: Subway map and station numbers
- University of York: Wayfinding and signage (2018)