Spatial Energy Planning for Smart City Quarters and Smart Regions

In the project ERP_hoch3 energy related policy research in three Austrian agglomerations (Vienna – Lower Austria, Graz – Styria and Vorderland-Feldkirch) has been done, scenarios of the current state and the target state have been modelled and calculated. The aim was to develop generic transferable recommendations for spatial energy planning in agglomerations.

Short Description

Summary

Starting point / motivation

At present in Austria "integrated spatial energy planning" exists more as an idea than as a toolbox tested in the field. Thus, this research project worked especially in areas that have an extraordinary development potential, but also a pretty complex steering situation in regard to the actors' level.

Contents and goals

The project team has put its emphasis on three areas:

Focus 1: Districts (neighbourhoods)

  • How can energy scenarios on a neighbourhood level look like?
  • How can citywide energy requirements be realized on the local level – technically and organizationally, in existing built and in future (yet unbuilt) parts of the neighbourhood?

Focus 2: Public transport corridors (neighbourhoods surrounding stations and stops)

  • Which decisive role do regional infrastructure and public transport corridors play within the densification according to energy-efficiency criteria?
  • How does a holistic evaluation of a development axis have to be set up?

Focus 3: Inter-communal potentials for renewable energy sources

  • How much area do renewable energies need, and what are inter-communal cooperation approaches and activities to activate these potentials?

Methods

The main objective of the scientific research was to develop transferable recommendations of spatial energy planning. The methodology included combined methods of the quantitative and qualitative empirical research (desk research, governance analysis, comparative use of rating and simulation tools, multilayer analysis, process network synthesis, spatial potential analysis, visioneering) to discuss the current status and the target situation in 13 test areas.

Results

The results are three guidelines to disseminate spatial energy planning solutions, one focused on districts (neighbourhoods), one on neighbourhoods along public transport corridors and one to the inter-communal potential of renewable energy sources.
The synthesis of these different spatial-energy dimensions defines a scope of intervention for the Austrian agglomerations as a "Smart City Energy Region" and displays all this in an elaborated overall report.

Project Partners

Project management

Vienna University of Technology, Department of spatial Planning,
Centre of Regional Planning and Regional Development

Project partners

Contact Address

Vienna University of Technology - Department of spatial Planning
Centre of Regional Planning and Regional Development
Dipl.-Ing. Hartmut Dumke (Project manager)
Augasse 2-6, 2nd floor
A-1090 Wien
Tel.: +43 (1) 58801-280705
Fax: +43 (1) 58801-28098
E-Mail: hartmut.dumke@tuwien.ac.at
Web: http://region.tuwien.ac.at