PlaceCity

Cosima Terrasse, Veronika Hackl and Social Design Studio

What do table tennis, common composting, a plant swap, a market stall, and stools made out of re-used plastic have in common? They are all neighbour led initiatives carried out under the umbrella of a call for ideas for Floridsdorf. Within the framework of the JPI Urban Europe project “Place City”, the call invited people in Floridsdorf to share their ideas for a livelier district centre.

(c) Maria Kanzler

(c) Maria Kanzler

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(c) Maria Kanzler

(c) Maria Kanzler

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(c) Maria Kanzler

(c) Maria Kanzler

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(c) Maria Kanzler

(c) Maria Kanzler

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(c) Maria Kanzler

(c) Maria Kanzler

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If you are from Floridsdorf and you have never thought about parks, streets or public squares as a space you can use, our call was meant for you. More than 45 people – the majority directly from the area – applied for a small production budget and support to develop their ideas for the district centre. The proposals were diverse, ranging from more green seating, better lighting at night or new spaces for art. Selected to fit into the call’s both time and production frame, 15 concepts made it to the next round of realisation, but all were presented to the district mayor. The “Place City” team helps to carry out the project, ensures visibility and sustainability. How can we make sure that a series of workshops and concerts become the start of something regular, and not a one-time thing? Superwien built a transportable stage, which anyone can borrow at Floridsdorf’s public library. This gives a new meaning to the workshops and concerts: not only can you participate, but as a neighbour you know you could reiterate such events easily and bring in your own ideas. The team also helps the winners of the open call to overcome the challenges of “Place Making” in Vienna: long and winding administrative processes, for which all of our participants said, they would have given up directly, if they hadn’t had the support and assurance that it would lead somewhere.

During this project, we could pass on what we have learned during years of neighbourhood projects: don’t loose hope if your first event is not a hit. “Place Making” takes time! But most importantly: How can we change “Place Making” processes in Vienna to allow for more bottom-up activities? We will never have lively streets and squares if you need to ask so many different city administration departments for just one event.

Location
Furore Soft at Schleifgasse 11
1210 Vienna
Team
Cosima Terrasse
Veronika Hackl and Social Design Studio
Mara Haas
Anna Aigner
SUPERWIEN
Julia Tollmann
Christina Lengauer
CITY DEPARTMENT FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND URBAN PLANNING
Links
https://placemaking-europe.eu/