12.2 “Supergrätzl Favoriten” pilot project
Partners: MA 18 – Urban Development and Planning, MA 19 – Architecture and Urban Design, MA 28 – Road Management and Construction
With this future-oriented pilot project implemented under the aegis of Municipal Department 18 – Urban Development and Planning, Vienna’s first Supergrätzl was created in Innerfavoriten in close co-ordination with the Municipal District Office and the municipal departments charged with implementing this venture.
The area between Gudrunstrasse, Leebgasse, Quellenstrasse and Neilreichgasse was traffic-calmed, freed from through traffic (residents’ and delivery cars, etc. can still access the streets) and greened. The goal lay and still lies in greater atmospheric, “living” quality, higher traffic safety, especially for local schoolchildren, and reduced urban heat islands.
This neighbourhood was chosen because it is well connected to public transport, suffers from overheating and, at the same time, houses many educational institutions that benefit from traffic calming. Moreover, it is very densely populated and, therefore, needs more open spaces and outdoor areas to linger and spend time in close to where people live.
Project phases:
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Development concept: formulation of a strategic and planning basis; preparation of the pilot phase
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Pilot phase: implementation of a large part of the new traffic management system as well as of temporary interventions and participatory formats
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Structural measures: implementation of structural measures to enhance atmospheric quality, greening and cooling
The project was divided into several distinct phases: concept development phase, dialogue and communication phase (see video), pilot / test phase with monitoring, feedback loops and implementation phase as well as follow-up evaluation.
An information event in September 2021, when Herzgasse – which runs in front of a school – was opened to forms of active mobility and closed to vehicular traffic, was followed by a test phase from June to September 2022, which was characterised by temporary interventions and activities and, starting in autumn 2023, by structural measures. At the same time, the Supergrätzl was made part of an intensive, integrated expert monitoring process.
In co-operation with colleagues of Municipal Department 18 – Urban Development and Planning, the Vienna Mobility Agency and the planning team of the landscape architecture studio LAUT, WieNeu+ conducted numerous guided tours through the Supergrätzl area for international expert groups as well as for groups of schoolchildren from all over Vienna and, in this way, conveyed an understanding of innovation work in a city within the framework of Vienna’s urban renewal programme.
Outcomes
Climate change, the emergence of heat islands, a growing population and rising mobility demands as well as the desire for high quality of life, traffic safety and lively urban space provided the motivation for restructuring public space in the neighbourhood and adapt it to new framework conditions.
The model of a Supergrätzl, where several urban blocks are joined by means of traffic-calming measures and improved in multiple ways, including their atmospheric quality as well as greening and cooling (while maintaining car access for local residents, garages, emergency and service vehicles), has proven a pioneering approach, as the in-depth work and test phase realised in Favoriten show.
Maintaining an intensive dialogue with both residents and local politicians is of particular importance. Several other districts of have already stated their interest in setting up their own Supergrätzls as well.
On 12 October 2023, KFV (the Austrian Road Safety Board) honoured the City of for the “Supergrätzl Favoriten” project with the biennial Austrian traffic safety award AQUILA.
