Grätzltransformation - Implementing the Superblock 2.0

Sammanfattning: The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report published in 2021 shows that global warming and its consequences progress at a rapid rate. (Masson-Delmotte, V. et al. 2021, p.4) In order to mitigate and adapt to the consequences of climate change, urban planning and design play a crucial role. In 2016, transport was responsible for almost 30% of the total CO2-emissions of the EU (European Environment Agency, 2019). 72% of those 30% could be accounted for by road transport (ibid. 2019). How cities are planned strongly influences the mobility patterns of its citizens which consequently impacts the carbon footprint. The concept of the so-called superblock has been used as a tool in Barcelona to reorganise traffic and create more walkable and cyclist-friendly neighbourhoods. This facilitates less pollutant forms of mobility and creates more room for lively public spaces. The theoretical part of this thesis will explore the block as a typology and then focus on the superblock. It explores how the superblock could help to mitigate the consequences of climate change and relate it to the ecological and social dimension of sustainability. In order to do so, the concept and origin of the superblock will firstly be introduced as well as an already implemented project in Barcelona presented. In the second part of the thesis, I will delve into my research question: How could a superblock in Vienna be implemented? This second, practical part of the thesis is based on the feasibility study SUPERBE that was published by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology in 2020 (Frey et al. 2020). In the study, the authors examined which residential blocks in Vienna would theoretically be suitable for the implementation of a superblock. They did that by conducting a GIS (Geographic Information System) -based analysis of Vienna. The parameters for the selection of the suitable blocks were the following: • Good access to public transport • Little access to public green space • Few trees in public space • Higher amount of space for cars than for pedestrians • High population density Based on those parameters, a site was chosen that meets several of the stated criteria listed above. Besides that, the data of the Urban Heat Island Vulnerability Map of Vienna published in 2019 was taken into account (Bhattacharjee, S. 2019). After choosing a site, a superblock is planned in the chosen block by reorganising the traffic and proposing design solutions for the new streetscapes. Furthermore, the work explores how nature-based solutions could be integrated in the superblock as a typology to help adapt to the consequences of climate change. By doing that, an “advanced version” of the original superblock - the Superblock 2.0 is being developed.