Youth and single parents doing urban research

 About the project

The climate crisis repeatedly exposes existing weaknesses in democratic practice. On the one hand, groups that are most affected by the consequences of climate change are often underrepresented in the prevailing political and planning practice (participation crisis). On the other hand, social inequality and the exclusion of people from political decision-making processes increases the loss of trust in political decision-makers and institutions (democracy crisis). Therefore, dealing with the consequences of the climate crisis in research and planning cannot be done without looking at ecological and social justice. Who can have a say in crises and help develop solutions? Who suffers most from the consequences of the crises and who does urban development reach?

What is the aim of the project?

The project aims to explore possible applications of Citizen Social Science (CSS) in urban development, especially regarding the potential of involving usually underrepresented groups. The central research interest is to identify to what extent CSS can complement transformation processes, such as the redesign of a street space in an urban context, with the perspectives of marginalized groups. For this purpose, two Citizen Science experiments will be conducted with two selected groups using the participation process "zukunftsfitte Gumpendorfer Straße" in Vienna's 6th district: Single parents and students. The results of these CSS Experiments will help to understand how vulnerable groups can be better represented in transformation processes of urban development leading to environmental and social justice.

What happens with the results?

The project is gathering experience on how to involve marginalized groups in urban development transformation processes through CSS activities. Based on this experience, recommendations for the implementation of CSS in urban development will be developed regarding process design and application of methods.

Based on the perspectives of two marginalized groups, complementary knowledge bases are generated for the transformation of the Gumpendorfer Straße. This knowledge will be handed over to the planning office PlanSinn, which is implementing the participation process for the redesign of Gumpendorfer Straße in a bidding consortium with CarlaLo on behalf of the district.

How can I participate?

The project structure is divided into two dialog groups: single parents and students. The participation for the group of single parents is open to single parents in Vienna who regularly visit the area of Gumpendorfer Straße. Participation is possible at our website.

The group of students will be approached directly by the project team through interested teachers at different schools in Mariahilf. Information on the progress of the project will be published on the website of the TU Wien Library.

Who is behind the project?

The project part on the group of single parents is led by Tamara Bauer, who is currently writing her diploma thesis at the future.lab Research Center of the Vienna University of Technology. 

The project part on the group of students is led by Sebastian Harnacker, project staff member at the TU Wien Library. The project will be carried out in cooperation with partners from the participation and transformation process.

The project is part of the research project "OPUSH" at the TU Wien. The aim of the international research project "OPUSH" is to make knowledge about sustainable development visible and accessible to local communities. Project partners from the four European cities of Barcelona, Delft, Tallinn and Vienna are conducting research together with citizens; libraries and other local cultural institutions are playing a mediating role.

The research project Werkstatt Neu Leopoldau is focused on the settlement process as a workshop situation for social innovations in housing and urban development, with the aim of fostering sustainable development and creating good neighbourhoods.

As an applied research project, "Werkstatt Neu Leopoldau" (Co-creation Neu Leopoldau) accompanies the settlement process of the IBA quarter in Vienna's 21st district. The phase of residents' and users' arrival in the neighbourhood is explored, which is conceived as a potential for social sustainability in Viennese housing. Using proven and new practices as a starting point, settlement processes are viewed as learning and education processes. Furthermore, it entails socially integrative potentials that should be shaped and further developed in a collaborative and co-creative setting to think about future ways of living in the neighbourhood.

In a first step, relevant topics and questions will be developed in a co-creative process based on the experiences of the actors involved. Special attention is paid to established and future social innovations in urban development (e.g. social innovations such as social support in the settlement process, community spaces, and sharing of further resources, etc.). In a synthesis step, a selection and focus on key topics are undertaken, which are then elaborated in more depth with the target groups in collaborative workshops. The aim of the innovation project is to develop transformational knowledge in a spatial context to enable and strengthen learning and educational processes at the individual and institutional level.

The project was carried out from November 2022 until September 2023, involving residents, tenants, property management companies, and experts who are accompanying the settlement process. Werkstatt Neu Leopoldau is supported by the IBA_Wien 2022 of the City of Vienna, MA 50, and a series of further cooperation partners.

Transdisciplinary research team

• future.lab Research Center TU Vienna: Christian Peer (project leader), Magdalena Augustin, Tamara Bauer, Ruth Höpler
• Citizen scientists: residents of Neu Leopoldau
• Practice partners: GB* district management Neu Leopoldau, property management and further experts, who professionally accompany the settlement process

Podcast episode

In September 2022, project leader Christian Peer was a guest on the Österreich forscht podcast "Wissen macht Leute" - if you're interested to learn more about the project, you can listen to the episode here (in German). In addition, Maria Schönswetter, a dedicated Citizen Scientist in the project, gave interesting insights into the project in March 2023 - tune in!

Results

You can download the final report directly from IBA_Vienna 2022 website or from the future.lab website!

Read more about the findings and results in our blog entry!

In this citizen science project of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, we would like to create an overview of where animals are roadkilled and what reasons there might be for this.

In the Roadkill project, we would like to cooperate with you in many ways, because citizen science means for us an active cooperation between research and society, in which everyone can contribute expertise and is highly valued. The collaboration is on a voluntary basis and can therefore be freely designed.

You can find out in which ways you can participate in the Roadkill project in the section "Participate in research".