Two researchers of the Institute of Landscape Development, Recreation and Conservation Planning (ILEN) received the research award of the City of Vienna-BOKU Research Funding Program for their new projects. The awards were granted by the Anniversary Fund of the City of Vienna for BOKU for the year 2021 on March 10, 2022 in the BOKU Festsaal.

#WienerErholungsgebiete

#WienerErholungsgebiete

Rafaela Schinegger was able to successfully acquire the project #WienerErholungsgebiete - Ecological implications of changing recreational use during the COVID19-pandemic in recreational areas of the city of Vienna.

In the #WienerErholungsgebiete project, social media data in the area of Vienna and around are analysed jointly with data about the status of ecosystems. By bringing together novel research approaches and data sources, we are trying to better understand how leisure activities, freshwater- and terrestrial ecosystems and their use are interrelated. The project will be conducted by a BOKU team (Christa Hainz-Renetzeder, Alice Wanner and Michael Binder from ILEN; Florian Borgwardt and Sigrid Scheikl from the Institute of Hydrobiology and Water Management and Lena Ortega Menjivar and Friedrich Leisch from the Institute of Statistics) during the next 2 years.

SUCCESS

Another grant was awarded to Brenda Maria Zoderer for the project SUCCESS - Natural Succession as a Solution for Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Cities. In collaboration with Christa Hainz-Renetzeder, SUCCESS identifies for the first time where nature develops spontaneously across the city of Vienna and investigates how emerging urban wilderness areas are accepted and perceived by different groups of citizens. Based on spatial analysis and cartographic presentations of the results, we will show which social groups particularly benefit from the spontaneous development of nature in their neighbourhoods and which local adaptations are necessary to make urban wilderness areas attractive for all residents. The study provides an important basis for the socially just distribution and design of urban greenspaces in Vienna.