Fifteen minutes to anywhere and no new shopping malls – Initiative for Vienna to get city life centers

A new joint initiative of the City of Vienna and the Vienna Chamber of Commerce aims for Vienna to become a city where going to a store, a doctor's office, a craft shop or a park takes no more than fifteen minutes on foot.

In order for this to be achieved, centers need to be established in the entire city which would serve each individual neighborhood. Around 50 such areas have been defined and presented through the concept of “City Life Centers – A Polycentric Vienna” by Birgit Hebein, the vice-mayor of Vienna, and Walter Ruck, the president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, as announced by the Belgrade office of the City of Vienna.

The concept does not just entail the establishment of new centers, such as, for example, in the developing parts of the city, or reviving old parts of the city, but also the strengthening of the neighborhoods which function well.

The City and the Chamber of Commerce thereby aim to prevent the raising of shopping malls on the outskirts of Vienna. The defined zones are the basis for where new shopping malls should be raised.

– The times when a shopping mall could be raised on a grassy field has passed. We are bringing commerce back to the cities – Hebein explains.

Ruck added that stores needed centers in order to survive the online competition.

Stadt Wien - Grad Beč

Grad Beč | Međunarodne kancelarije – Beograd

Vienna Chamber of Commerce

Belgrade Office of the City of Vienna

Walter Ruck

Birgit Hebein

city centers

shopping malls

shopping centers