Settlement areas today can no longer be aptly described as either "urban" or "rural". We now live in sprawling conglomerations, collages of urban, suburban, and rural elements. New political solutions need to be found, challenging the institutional framework of federalism and the concept of local government. Commissioned by the foundation 'avenir suisse' (Think Tank for Economic and Social Issues), this publication gathers contributions by experts from the fields of sociology, geography, politics, economics and architecture, including Winy Maas' (MVRDV) vision for a Switzerland of the future. Whilst focusing on Switzerland as a case study, this book is a thought-provoking report on the gradual changes taking place in all industrialised countries. Angelus Eisinger teaches at the Department of Architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Michael Schneider is the project leader at 'avenir suisse'.