158 ambitious emissions requirements, both in the construction and everyday functioning of aspern Seestadt. Fifty percent of the area must be kept as undeveloped green and open spaces, with paths and treelined streets. At the same time, the area’s population density is nearly twice that of Vienna as a whole. From the beginning, the City of Vienna saw aspern Seestadt as a test bed for smart city concepts, including a deemphasis on cars. The plan called for a 40-40-20 transportation infrastructure concept: 40 percent public transit, 40 percent walking and cycling, and 20 percent personal vehicles. Before any structures were built, the city built two metro rail stations in aspern Seestadt and extended the metro line to reach the site. It’s a 25-minute ride to reach Vienna’s city center, 15 kilometers away on the other side of the Danube River. Since 2018, metro and railway lines meet at the transfer station Aspern Nord on the north side of the development, which makes for a 17-minute trip to Vienna’s central train station. “What makes Seestadt unique, I would argue, is that it maintains the transportation mode split of the inner city,” said Petr Bocharnikov, a digital strategist with Sokigo, the Swedish firm that together with Sweco has developed and deployed new GIS tools for aspern Seestadt. “Historic city centers to this day allow for a significant share of travel with public transport, cycling, and walking, but new developments are much more car-oriented.” A Comprehensive Plan and a Malleable Map Something else unique about aspern Seestadt is the way its overall urban philosophy has evolved and flourished. Instead of being a top-down vision emanating from officials of the City of Vienna, it is the product of an ongoing long-term collaboration among diverse public and private stakeholders. This approach reflects what spatial planners Astrid Krisch and Johannes Suitner, in their analysis of aspern Seestadt, call “the switch from government to governance” in city planning. The priority is nurturing the emergent ideals rather than dictating them. For this reason, Wien 3420 AG was created as a publicprivate partnership with the City of Vienna and two additional shareholders in 2003. The agency serves to coordinate all the inputs, a task aided by GIS. In the early days of planning and construction, Wien 3420 AG used GIS primarily to print updated maps that displayed the project’s progress. As aspern Seestadt has taken shape, GIS has become a powerful integrated tool for planners and architects. GIS now provides a common virtual meeting space for project-related data and creates a foundation for including detailed infrastructure drawings (CAD) and building information models (BIM). The agency uses GIS to create an unfolding visual documentation of the plan. People involved with the project can take parts of the map relevant to their duties and integrate them into workflows for planning, constructing, operating, and marketing the development. Shops and eateries are located at the center of the residential area, within walking distance. Image courtesy of Wien3420, © Luiza Puiu.
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