La selectivite spatiale de l'elite politique locale: Une analyse exploratoire du lieu de residence des elus communaux de Zurich et Lausanne (1980-2016)

This article studies the spatial dimension of the social selection of local elected officials that takes shape through the geographical selectivity of the elected officials' places of residence. Based on data on the places of residence of local elected officials in Zurich and Lausanne (1980-2016), we show that the residential dispersion of local elected officials is not random but driven by a logic of class socio-spatial selectivity. We also show that this spatial selectivity varies according to the partisan affiliation of elected officials and the existence or not of electoral districts at the municipal level. By analysing the concentration or absence of elected officials according to the socio-economic level of the neighbourhoods of Lausanne and Zurich, this article explores a new approach to the sociology of political elites: by adding a spatial dimension - the place of residence - we thus refine the study of the profile of elected officials and their representativeness.