The in-between

The north-east of Vienna has undergone radical change in recent decades. A productive agricultural landscape has developed into a fragmented urban landscape. Although the agricultural heritage of the region is still omnipresent here on the edge of the Marchfeld, monofunctional residential neighbourhoods, commercial areas and sprawling single-family housing estates have already spread out between orchards, vineyards and fields in many places. Some of Vienna's major urban development areas are located here: Over the next few decades, tens of thousands of new flats are to be built on vacant sites in Floridsdorf and Donaustadt.

The heated debates surrounding the planned city road and the cancelled major Lobau Tunnel project have made the possible effects of this development known to a wide audience. They cast a spotlight on decades of tried and tested urban development practice, which is based on motorised private transport and the creation of the structures required for this. Vienna's population is growing and increased housing needs and new lifestyles are also leading to an expansion of the city in terms of area.

As a result, even peripheral areas such as Breitenlee are now becoming the focus of urban and private property development. In response to this pressure, the City of Vienna's Urban Innovation Think Tank has initiated a cooperation project with several Viennese universities with the aim of developing long-term development prospects for Breitenlee.