Jean-Bernard Racine (1940-2026)
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our colleague and dear friend, Jean-Bernard Racine, on March 23rd, 2026. He was emeritus Professor at the Institute of Geography at the University of Lausanne, and above all one of the greatest French-speaking geographers, whose thinking and work have had a profound impact on the field of geography.
Born on 29 April 1940 in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Jean-Bernard Racine had a profound influence on the history of geography through his pioneering spirit and his unwavering commitment to understanding cities and societies. After studying geography at the University of Aix-en-Provence (1965), he spent time in Canada, teaching first at the University of Sherbrooke (1965–1969) and then at the University of Ottawa (1969–1973).
Together with Hugh French, he organised a landmark conference whose title clearly reflects his commitment to an inclusive epistemology (‘Quantitative and Qualitative: The Need for Dialogue’), held in 1971 at the University of Ottawa. Having been introduced to multivariate analysis by Brian Berry, he defended a doctoral thesis in Nice in 1973 entitled “A North American Type of Metropolitan Expansion: The Greater Montreal Urban Belt – An Experimental Factorial Geography of a Suburban Phenomenon”. Called back to Switzerland to join the University of Lausanne, he became a leading figure at the Institute of Geography and served as Vice-Dean (1980–1982) and Dean (1982–1984) of the Faculty of Arts.
He played a pivotal role in introducing and adapting quantitative geography to French-speaking Europe. As early as 1973, he published “Quantitative Analysis in Geography” with Henri Reymond, a pioneering and seminal work for the understanding and analysis of socio-spatial systems. In 1981, he published, with Hildebert Isnard and Henri Reymond, “Problématiques de la géographie”, an important book for the epistemology of scientific and pluralistic geography. He played a very active role in several discussion groups focusing on theoretical issues in geography and the social sciences, for example with the French speaking Regional Science Association, the journal “L’Espace géographique”, the Dupont Group and the Géopoint symposia (organising the 1983 event in Lausanne with Claude Raffestin), and publishing, with Paul Villeneuve in 1992, the volume devoted to Canada in the “Géographie Universelle” edited by Roger Brunet.
More recently, the interdisciplinary group “Raison et rationalités” coordinated by Giovanni Busino in association with the Revue européenne des sciences sociales.
On the international stage, Jean-Bernard Racine played a leading role within the Commission on Urban Geography of the International Geographical Union, “Urban Development and Urban Life”, serving as its vice-president from 1992 to 1996. These years were marked by numerous trips and academic exchanges on politically sensitive topics, in Vaasa in 1993 (with Mauri Palomäki), Berlin in 1994 (with Gerhard Braun), South Africa in 1995 (with Ron Davies), Sinaia in 1996 (with Ian Ianos), and Nanjing in 1998 (with Shen Dao Qi)…
His excellent international scientific reputation earned him the Vautrin Lud Prize in 1997 and an honorary doctorate from the University of Iași (Romania) in 1998.
Through his involvement in local initiatives with Swiss cantonal officials and the city of Lausanne, as well as his extensive connections within the worlds of architecture and art, Jean-Bernard Racine was a humanist intellectual, curious about all trends, passionate about anything that might help us understand the world, and always mindful of ethics and justice. We shall not dwell on his geographical work, except to say that he embraced it all with enthusiasm – from quantitative geography to phenomenology, from the geography of religion to critical geography, from the geography of well-being to the geography of emotions – whilst constantly striving for the right expression and ethical action. The work that perhaps best represents his aspirations, ‘La ville entre Dieu et les hommes’ (1993), explores the profound meaning of the urban, situated between spiritualities of all origins and social organisations.
We shall greatly miss his immense generosity, his enthusiasm for sharing knowledge and ideas, his “passion for the practice of geography”, his zest for life, his warm welcome, and the way he brought intellect and emotion together.
Denise Pumain and Céline Rozenblat
