The landuni Drosendorf is an educational cooperation between the TU Wien and the federal province of Lower Austria, with the aim of conducting practice- and project-oriented research in rural areas for rural areas. Its focus lies on adressing regional challenges, future issues, trends and technologies. The project is the result of an initiative of the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Planning. The pilot region is Drosendorf in the northern Waldviertel (district Horn), which is also home to the Drosendorf Castle, the main anchor point and location of the landuni. With its prominent topographical location on a rocky spur in a loop of the Thaya River, with its enclosed town wall and a rich history, the town offers an ideal environment in which researchers and students can learn, get input and give added value back to the region.

The focus of landuni is to bundle practice- and project-related research and teaching on the rural space and this especially locally – in and with the rural space. The landuni Drosendorf creates an environment that makes the location attractive for researchers and attracts both young scientists and internationally renowned researchers. The goal is to strengthen and expand research activities and sustainably promote young scientists. The project started its pilot phase for five semesters in March 2022. TU Wien contributes teaching and research, while the Province of Lower Austria supports the educational and research cooperation.

Project duration: 03/2022 to 08/2024 (with option for extension).

Research funding project, funded by the province of Lower Austria.

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The National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKP) is the central political instrument for ensuring the achievability of the five target dimensions in the Energy Union by 2030.

The importance of renewable energy for achieving the energy and climate targets is obvious. With regard to the availability of renewable energies, there are spatial dependencies and thus possible conflicts in the use of space, for example with regard to nature conservation and the preservation of biodiversity. Challenges for spatial planning arise, especially as a result of the division of responsibilities between the federal government, the provinces and the municipalities in Austria. If one looks at the Austrian NEKP, spatial planning is mentioned as an important instrument. The central question is how the current situation could be improved with regard to the link between the national planning and reporting level of the NEKP and the local project implementation level.

The aim of the transFORMAT-LINK project is to make a contribution on the way to climate neutrality. Therefore, the following NEKP-relevant aspects are addressed:

Facilitating project implementation at the municipal level by reducing barriers resulting from insufficient transparency (presentation and accessibility of information)
Creating a consistent approach to avoid maladaptation to climate change by setting minimum requirements for community development concepts

First, the responsibilities or liabilities in fulfilling the NEKP requirements (e.g. reporting of implementation successes) between the federal, state and municipal administrative levels will be investigated, the possibilities for taking energy and climate objectives into account in the local development concept (ÖEK) will be analyzed and recommendations for action will be derived. For this purpose, a catalog of minimum requirements and criteria will be developed, which should then be applied in revisions of local development concepts. This catalog is intended to support the development of renewable energy projects and to simplify planning and reporting with regard to NEKP implementation. A selection of case studies – six municipalities with  less than 50,000 inhabitants – is presented, in which the local planning instruments (in particular the local development concepts) are analyzed with regard to their energy- and climate-relevant statements and specifications. The aim is to be able to assess possible effects with regard to the achievement of the NECP goals. In addition, interviews with experts from the federal government, the provinces and the municipalities as well as stakeholder discussions will be conducted. Approaches and recommendations for municipalities will be derived from these interviews and discussions. The findings will be incorporated into the so-called "LINK guideline". Positive examples can be used as a template for developing and achieving the goals in individual municipalities.

Project duration: 10/2022 to 04/2024

Research funding project in cooperation with SERA global GmbH and Kleboth und Dollnig ZT GmbH, financed through the Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP). 

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The Soil Walks project is investigating the contribution that the Walk & Talk format, developed together with five pilot municipalities and regions, can make to sustainable and broadly effective awareness-raising on the topics of land utilisation, sealing and inner development. The Soil Walks are a method for initiating public dialogue and preparing participatory planning processes. Current challenges and opportunities relating to land use in general and specifically for the municipality are discussed together with the population and interested parties. The resulting findings can be the starting point for forward-looking planning measures in the municipality/region and should be incorporated into further projects.

The method will be prepared in the form of training videos so that awareness-raising walks can be self-organised in all Austrian municipalities and regions by local planners, municipal administrators, those responsible for building culture, vacancy managers, land officers, teachers and many more. To support this, a data dashboard is being developed to visualise key figures on land use and sealing in Austria's municipalities and regions, which includes the new ÖROK land monitoring data.

Project duration: 09/2023 to 03/2025

Contract research project in cooperation with the Austrian Umweltbundesamt and Wallenberger & Linhard Regionalberatung KG, funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Regions and Water Management.

Further Information: Project database, opens an external URL in a new window | Project website, opens an external URL in a new window