259
This is why many aspects of adaptation to climate change have found their way
into programmes and activities pursued by the City of Vienna, mostly in conjunction with objectives of environmental protection:
The Municipal Department for Environmental Protection has been promoting
roof and façade greening for many years, measures to this end ranging from presentations, international congresses, publications and consultation with individual projects. It even has its own test area with several types of roof greening on the
Department’s offi ce building. Numerous studies, expert meetings and public relations activities are dedicated to forward-looking use of rainwater (rainwater management), particularly with a view to raising the rate of evaporation. There is positive
interaction with “ÖkoKauf” (EcoBuy Vienna) , a programme for sustainable procurement, and “Öko Businessplan” (EcoBusinessPlan Vienna), a cooperation initiative with the economic chamber to consult businesses on ecological measures.
The ecological criteria set out in UHI-STRAT are in line with the Environmental
Department’s wildlife conservation programme “Netzwerk Natur” (network nature),
a topic which is also addressed in the project “Nachhaltiger Urbaner Platz” (sustainable urban space), a checklist for sustainable design of urban spaces.
“Microclimate” constitutes a separate assessment category along with other
environmental goods incorporated into the “strategic preliminary assessment of
environmental impacts caused by housing projects”. This tool is to make different
locations and projects for the creation of housing more easily comparable and comprehensible with regard to their environmental impact at the urban development
level already. It is to ensure that all environmental aspects are duly considered when
choosing from different planning options.
All of the above programmes and projects are brought together in the city’s Smart
City Strategy and the Climate Protection and Adaptation Programme (KliP II).
Implementation of UHI-STRAT Vienna must be addressed both in the different
fi elds of action and at the various levels of planning. The UHI effect needs to be
considered with measures relevant to the city as a whole, as well as with those that
have a bearing on individual lots or buildings. It means acting strategically and setting specifi c measures within one’s own competence. Aside from large-scale urban
planning approaches it is also important to build public awareness and make members of different Municipal Departments and agencies with the Vienna City
Administration sensitive to today’s and tomorrow’s challenges in tackling the UHI
phenomenon.
The city administration, builders and developers, private ones too, have the right
to set measures of their own accord for the purpose of reducing the UHI effect.
Circumstances and concepts for reducing or preventing the UHI effect may vary
depending on the location and occasion. Each development task (e.g. planning a
new city quarter, adapting and enhancing existing buildings or project-related processes) has its own set of actions and measures. Political and legal settings, as well
as planning instruments provide the basis for realising urban planning and development that is sensitive to UHI. Adjustment measures to reduce Urban Heat Islands
are positioned at various political and legal levels and provide the frame for UHISTRAT Vienna.
9 Pilot Action City of Vienna – UHI-STRAT Vienna
This is why many aspects of adaptation to climate change have found their way
into programmes and activities pursued by the City of Vienna, mostly in conjunction with objectives of environmental protection:
The Municipal Department for Environmental Protection has been promoting
roof and façade greening for many years, measures to this end ranging from presentations, international congresses, publications and consultation with individual projects. It even has its own test area with several types of roof greening on the
Department’s offi ce building. Numerous studies, expert meetings and public relations activities are dedicated to forward-looking use of rainwater (rainwater management), particularly with a view to raising the rate of evaporation. There is positive
interaction with “ÖkoKauf” (EcoBuy Vienna) , a programme for sustainable procurement, and “Öko Businessplan” (EcoBusinessPlan Vienna), a cooperation initiative with the economic chamber to consult businesses on ecological measures.
The ecological criteria set out in UHI-STRAT are in line with the Environmental
Department’s wildlife conservation programme “Netzwerk Natur” (network nature),
a topic which is also addressed in the project “Nachhaltiger Urbaner Platz” (sustainable urban space), a checklist for sustainable design of urban spaces.
“Microclimate” constitutes a separate assessment category along with other
environmental goods incorporated into the “strategic preliminary assessment of
environmental impacts caused by housing projects”. This tool is to make different
locations and projects for the creation of housing more easily comparable and comprehensible with regard to their environmental impact at the urban development
level already. It is to ensure that all environmental aspects are duly considered when
choosing from different planning options.
All of the above programmes and projects are brought together in the city’s Smart
City Strategy and the Climate Protection and Adaptation Programme (KliP II).
Implementation of UHI-STRAT Vienna must be addressed both in the different
fi elds of action and at the various levels of planning. The UHI effect needs to be
considered with measures relevant to the city as a whole, as well as with those that
have a bearing on individual lots or buildings. It means acting strategically and setting specifi c measures within one’s own competence. Aside from large-scale urban
planning approaches it is also important to build public awareness and make members of different Municipal Departments and agencies with the Vienna City
Administration sensitive to today’s and tomorrow’s challenges in tackling the UHI
phenomenon.
The city administration, builders and developers, private ones too, have the right
to set measures of their own accord for the purpose of reducing the UHI effect.
Circumstances and concepts for reducing or preventing the UHI effect may vary
depending on the location and occasion. Each development task (e.g. planning a
new city quarter, adapting and enhancing existing buildings or project-related processes) has its own set of actions and measures. Political and legal settings, as well
as planning instruments provide the basis for realising urban planning and development that is sensitive to UHI. Adjustment measures to reduce Urban Heat Islands
are positioned at various political and legal levels and provide the frame for UHISTRAT Vienna.
9 Pilot Action City of Vienna – UHI-STRAT Vienna