Innovative greening and irrigation measures in central squares to improve the urban microclimate

The "green city oasis Weiz" project deals with the redesign of the main square of the district capital Weiz. The city of Weiz - like many other cities - is confronted with two central challenges:

• Negative effects of climate change due to the phenomenon of urban heat islands.
• Increasing number of (commercial) vacancies at the main square.

The city of Weiz is very interested in revitalizing the main square in order to create space for new businesses on the one hand and to increase the attractiveness of the square for visitors on the other hand. This project requires an integrative approach, which is why user participation plays a central role.

The focus of the project is on the following topics:

Greening measures: Use of biologically active mosses with excellent microclimatic and climatic properties.

Automated irrigation system: Testing of a system that uses sensors in the soil as well as model predictive control (e.g., taking into account future weather conditions) to determine the necessary amounts of water.

Mobility concept: Consideration of integrative mobility concepts to reduce mobility pollution.

Planned results:

• Design plan for the redesign of the main square.
• Detailed planning as well as implementation of greening measures to improve the microclimate.

In addition, care will be taken to ensure that the concept can be easily transferred to other squares in Weiz as well as to other cities.

•  W.E.I.Z. Forschungs & Entwicklungs gGmbH
• AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH
• Ing. Michael Pammer Holistic Garden
• obereder | staller architektur zt gmbh
• Kampus Raumplanungs- und Stadtentwicklungs GmbH
• verkehrplus Prognose, Planung und Strategieberatung GmbH

• Press release