Gender Planning Walk
Do you like exploring new urban development areas in Vienna? Are you interested in gender-conscious planning? Then the walk through the Sonnwendviertel in Vienna is just the thing for you!
Exploring the Sonnwendviertel through gender planning glasses
Do you enjoy exploring new urban development areas in Vienna and are you interested in gender-conscious planning approach? Take a walk through the Sonnwendviertel neighbourhood in Vienna! Explore a neighbourhood that shows how innovative design and social sustainability can go hand in hand. Put on your gender planning glasses and be surprised at what the Sonnwendviertel has to offer!
First things first: what do we actually mean by gender planning?
Gender planning is an approach to urban planning that aims to take different needs and realities of life into account in planning in order to achieve a more equitable design of urban space. In concrete terms, this means that perspectives that are often overlooked in planning are actively taken into account, such as unpaid care work like housework, childcare and caring for relatives. These are activities that are still two thirds performed by women. Urban planning can respond in many different ways with appropriate infrastructure, for example through the ‘15-minute city’ concept, where the aim is to make many different uses in neighbourhoods within walking distance or to offer all-day care and educational facilities or (barrier-free) means of transport. In Vienna, this approach has been implemented for over 30 years through various measures and projects to make the city more liveable for all genders.
The Sonnwendviertel is a new urban development area in Vienna and is considered an example of such gender-conscious planning. We start our walk at the Hotel Schani, near the main railway station, and immerse ourselves in the Sonnwendviertel. We will visit pilot projects on relevant urban planning topics.
A little input on the Sonnwendviertel in advance…
The Sonnwendviertel is located south of the main railway station in Vienna’s 10th district of Favoriten and was built on the approximately 34-hectare site of the former freight station. With 5,500 flats, a new home for around 13,000 people with around 20,000 jobs has been created here. The first flats were already occupied in 2013. The local infrastructure of the Sonnwendviertel is characterised by a wide range of shopping facilities, educational institutions and excellent public transport connections, which makes the district particularly attractive. The fact that the neighbourhood is largely car-free underlines the modern urban concept.
We now set off for our first stop in the first construction phase, the western part of the Sonnwendviertel, to the “wohnzimmer” (“living room”) housing project.
Social housing: ‘wohnzimmer’ housing project
In the ‘wohnzimmer’ housing project, we see the success of cross-building site cooperation. The project not only offers living space, but also a swimming pool that is also open to the public, a theatre/cinema, childcare rooms and much more. Here, living is literally connected to numerous communal spaces by footbridges. It is also an example of a property developer competition and the 4-pillar model in state-funded housing development, which combines architecture, economy, ecology and social sustainability. The residential project offers observable semi-public spaces that are equipped with play equipment and are partially protected from the weather. This public use of space can create social control, which can contribute to an increase in the subjective feeling of safety and is also conducive to a child-friendly infrastructure.
We continue our walk along Antonie-Alt-Gasse or the inner courtyards of the neighbouring housing blocks to the “Sonnwendviertel” educational campus.
Social infrastructure: ‘Sonnwendviertel’ educational campus
Since its opening in 2014, the Sonnwendviertel educational campus has followed the innovative Viennese campus model, which enables a close integration of education and leisure. The educational centre is run on an all-day basis to make it easier for all parents and guardians, regardless of their gender, to combine work and family life. The architectural design of the campus promotes the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces by making open spaces directly accessible from the classrooms. This concept brings together 11 kindergarten groups, 17 primary school classes and 16 secondary school classes under one roof, creating a seamless transition between the different educational levels. A special offer for young people is the Sovie youth centre, which is actively present in the public space and offers a safe and supportive space for girls and young women with its girls‘ afternoon on Saturdays.
Continue right past the educational campus in the direction of Sonnwendgasse to the “WirWasser” (“WeWater”) anniversary fountain.
Public infrastructure: ‘WirWasser’ anniversary fountain
The anniversary fountain was designed by the GELATIN collective to mark the 150th anniversary of the 1st Vienna High Spring Pipeline in 2023. The 33 figures holding the water basin together symbolise social diversity. A drinking water dispenser is integrated into one of the figures: an ideal time for a little refreshment! The fountain was purposely built at the intersection between the existing and the new part of the city in order to promote networking between ‘old and new’. Each drinking fountain makes it easier to spend time in public spaces and saves countless plastic bottles that don’t have to be bought and disposed of.
Now we head back to the Sonnwendviertel and the heart of the neighbourhood, Helmut-Zilk-Park.
Public space: Helmut-Zilk-Park
With its 70,000 square metres, Helmut-Zilk-Park is the green lung of the Sonnwendviertel. The highlight is the motor skills park, which is very popular with its 10 obstacles. The motor skills park is an integrative meeting spot for children and young people from different backgrounds and age groups and challenges and promotes the balance and skills of the various park visitors. There is also a large open-use grass area that is used for everything from ball games to picnics. There is also a pavilion with a café and public toilets.
We are now moving on to the second construction section, the eastern part of the Sonnwendviertel, which was recently completed.
Public Space: Sonnwendviertel youth playground
The youth playground is a good addition to the largely open-use Helmut Zilk Park. Here there is space for exercise and socialising with a focus on young people. In addition to fitness equipment, there are also numerous seating areas, some of which are covered. The mixture of open-use (open meadow in Helmut-Zilk-Park) and functionalised (playground) open areas as well as sub-areas of different sizes contributes to a gender-sensitive open space design. In this way, the occupation of larger sub-areas, as is often the case in the classic ball game cage, can be avoided and different user groups, especially girls and young women, are given easier access.
Local economy: neighbourhood house ”Mio – (d)ein lässiger Typ” (“Mio – your/a laid-back guy”)
The ‘Mio’ neighbourhood house is located directly on the opposite side of the Sonnwendviertel youth playground. Throughout the eastern part of the Sonnwendviertel, neighbourhood houses with different focal points are distributed, which enrich the district beyond housing and promote community life. The concept becomes tangible in the ‘Mio’ neighbourhood house. Here, micro-shops have been created on the ground floor, which support a lively ground floor zone with favourable rents. There is a colourful mix, from a bookshop to an organic food shop to a centre for single parents and those going through a separation.
Now we walk a few steps past the ‘Mio’ neighbourhood building to “Gleis 21”, which we can recognise by the impressive wooden structure that looks a bit like a ship.
Innovative social housing: “Gleis 21” housing community
Four building groups have also found their place in the eastern section. One housing community is a communal housing project that is designed in a participatory manner by the residents. These projects also make a valuable contribution to the new neighbourhood through cultural offerings, shared spaces and much more. One of these projects is “Gleis 21”. In addition to the 34 individually planned flats, there is a bistro, a multifunctional room and a media workshop that are open to the public.
Behind the row of houses in the direction of the railway tracks are a few high-rise garages.
Mobility: High-rise garages in the Sonnwendviertel
The high-rise garages are also one reason why the Sonnwendviertel is largely car-free and the street space offers plenty of room for people from young to old on foot, in a wheelchair, with a walking stick or walking walker, buggy, scooter or bicycle. Compared to underground car parks, high-rise garages are much cheaper and easier to repurpose. So if one day the residents no longer need a parking space, a new use for the building or building site can be considered.
In addition, there is also car sharing and a Wien Mobil station with rental bikes in the centre of the Sonnwendviertel, making it easy to live and work here without a car. Some of the rental bikes are equipped with child seats, which greatly increases their suitability for everyday use.
Public Space: Women conquer Vienna’s streets
Let’s take a look at the street signs in the Sonnwendviertel neighbourhood. Some of you may have noticed that, compared to the rest of the city, there are a lot of streets named after women. These include Antonie-Alt-Gasse, which commemorates the Viennese politician and social democrat, Maria-Lassnig-Straße, which honours the Austrian painter, and Bloch-Bauer-Promenade, where we were last located. The street honours the couple Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. The couple supported contemporary artists and cultivated a friendship with Gustav Klimt. The artist also created the famous painting Adele-Bloch-Bauer I, known as the ‘Golden Adele’. In all Viennese urban development projects, more and more women’s names are currently being chosen as street names, and in this way women are also gradually conquering the streets of Vienna.
We walk along the Bloch-Bauer-Promenade back towards the main railway station.
Innovative social housing: Bikes and Rails
We recognise the next station by the numerous bicycles in and around the building. Here, the name says it all: Bikes and Rails is another communal housing project characterised by the shared enthusiasm for cycling. The project is part of the habiTAT Mietshäuser Syndikat („apartment-house syndicate“) and focuses on solidarity-based and affordable housing and living as well as affordable living and working spaces. In addition to various communal spaces, there is a bicycle repair shop and a café on the ground floor.
It continues in the direction of the main railway station, where the Bloch-Bauer-Promenade leads into Maria-Lassnig-Straße.
Social infrastructure: Cape 10
Cape 10 combines numerous healthcare infrastructures and social facilities under one roof with a beautiful wooden structure. There are various doctors here, which are mainly visited by residents of the existing neighbourhood. There are also health promotion services and facilities for homeless people, such as the Obdach Ester day centre. This is aimed exclusively at homeless women and is therefore of great importance far beyond the district borders.
We have now reached the end of the walk. This tour through the Sonnwendviertel has shown how gender planning is coming to life in Vienna and how well thought-out urban development can improve the quality of life for everyone.
