- Mixed-use for a liveable tomorrow    879 kb by    Aichinger, Wolfgang | aichingerw2@yahoo.de    Short Outline Mixed-use neighbourhoods are essential for a sustainable way of organising future settlement in the Vienna Region. Though, recent developments seldom comply with these criteria. This text assesses the main refraining forces. Abstract In the light of the striking need for cutting down Co2 emissions, liveable and compact mixed-use neighbourhoods are essential for a sustainable way of organising future human settlement in Vienna Region. Though, recent developments seldom comply with these criteria. So, what are the main restraining forces impeding their implementation? To let those neighbourhoods become reality, a clear political commitment and vision are a basic prerequisite. Strict compliance between development policies is needed, since public zoning policies, infrastructure investments or subsidy schemes have high impacts on land use patterns. Thus, they need to be utilised as powerful instruments in order to tackle a set of basic challenges: Compact neighbourhoods, for example, are the result of pricing, since low density is only possible where cheap land and mobility are available. This is why internalisation of follow-up costs and trading systems for land use credits need to be implemented. Liveable neighbourhoods require more attention towards the aesthetics in the built environment or the quality of public space, as well as adequate means of participation and civic responsibility. Suburbanisation can be reverted, if the urban areas are attractive enough. For attractiveness, mixed-use is indispensable. Favoured by compactness and structural flexibility, it permits dense networks of interpersonal relationships and therefore the development of liveable areas with identity and a local sense of place. One can conclude, that societal value patterns are changing, as they are being shaped by society and politics. So are settlement patterns, which are tangible for intervention. Promoting the principles of mixed-use and urging for an adequate adaption of the regulatory framework and planning policies are therefore the tasks for today’s planners. This text summarizes a series of interviews with scientists and practitioners, conducted for an international planning project at TU Vienna. Keywords Mixed-Use Vienna Region Sustainable Development Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2009: Low Carbon Cities   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper