Vienna grows in population but barely in surface

The city has proven itself as an effective model to follow when it comes to land consumption or rather the lack of it

The Vienna municipal website has boasted the city’s commendable results when it comes to avoiding unnecessary land consumption. This is quite impressive given the fact that in the past 15 years, the Austrian capital has gained some 300,000 new inhabitants.

That doesn’t mean that no new construction developments have sprung up in the city, it simply means that the administration has become more strategic and smarter in affairs of urban planning. The result is clear – while an average of over 15 hectares of land has been used across Austria every day since 2010, in the rapidly growing city of Vienna this is only 0.1 hectares per day, according to figures from the Federal Environment Agency.

Land unsealing

In fact, the city claims that it also leads the way when it comes to a policy known as “land unsealing”, that is, removing asphalt and freeing up the soil beneath it for green spaces.

Vienna is expressly committed to using land extremely economically - for many years the city has consistently pursued urban development with compact and high-quality construction methods that enable affordable living and at the same time ensure plenty of green space for recreation,” explains Vienna's planning director Thomas Madreiter. 

The greening campaign “Out of the Asphalt” (Raus aus dem Asphalt) has so far created around 50,000 m² of additional green space and another 50,000 m² of permeable paving (and therefore non-sealed area). That goes to have a direct effect on cooling the city down in summer.

Another highlight project will be the conversion of one of the currently largest inner-city heat islands, the 12,000 m² Naschmarkt car park, which will be converted into a modern park with trees, grass beds and a water feature.