Within the “Vienna Climate Team” participatory project, the City of Vienna is looking for the best ideas to improve the climate in the neighbourhoods. The idea contributors develop their ideas together with experts and a representative jury of district residents then decides which of these projects are to be implemented “Vienna Climate Team” started in 2022 in the 3 Viennese districts Margareten (5^th district), Simmering (11^th) and Ottakring (16^th). This year it will be extended to 3 more districts: Mariahilf (6^th district), Währing (18^th) and Floridsdorf (21^st). Approximately 20 Euros per resident are available for the implementation of the projects.

Involving citizens from the idea to the decision to the implementation

The process of the Vienna Climate Team constists of multiple stages. In April and May, all Viennese citizens can submit their ideas online, by mailing in an idea postcard or in person at the “action days” in the districts. It is precisely through the outreach and low-threshold offers on site to reach out to those target groups that are usually harder to reach. The Vienna Climate Team is looking for ideas that promote climate-friendly mobility, make use of renewable energies and thus contribute to the energy transition, make public space climate-resilient or support sustainability in everyday life, for example by raising awareness and reducing waste.

In June and July, experts from the City of Vienna examine the proposals for their feasibility and effectiveness using a catalogue of criteria. In the next step, the experts will develop the evaluated ideas into project outlines together with the idea contributors in workshops. In November, a randomly drawn representative group of residents decides on the winning projects, which will be implemented by the City of Vienna within 2 years.

1,100 ideas in the first round in 2022

In the first round of the Vienna Climate Team in Margareten, Simmering and Ottakring, the Viennese submitted 1,100 climate-friendly ideas. 232 of them made it to the next round. In the following co-creation process, the proposals were turned into 102 initial project outlines. Three representative residents’ juries from the districts selected 19 winning projects. The responsible departments of the City of Vienna will implement these from 2023 onwards.

The residents’ jury of Margareten chose façade greening and a greening zone, a regular climate day, the preparation of a “Superblock” and a repair café as winning projects. Various greening measures were also very popular in Simmering, but also better bicycle connections, “Öklos” and a worm hotel are among the winning projects. The people of Ottakring are looking forward to turning Ottakring station into a “place of good climate”, a “hip” climate quarter and a traffic-calmed and green Friedrich-Kaiser-Gasse.

Vienna Climate Team 2023 in Mariahilf, Währing and Floridsdorf

In the second pilot year, Mariahilf, Währing and Floridsdorf are on the agenda of the Vienna Climate Team. The collection of ideas runs from 17 April to 28 May. Ideas can be submitted online via the participation platform of the City of Vienna, mailing in an idea postcard or directly at the “action days”. Dates and further information can be found here. The announcement of the winning projects will take place again in December.

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Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The Vienna Climate Team contributes to the implementation of SDG 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, 13 “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” and 16 “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.

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Contact 

City of Vienna – Energy Planning (MA 20)

E-mail: klimateam@post.wien.gv.at