TRUE URBAN SPIRIT

1 VIENNA: SETTING THE STAGE
Vienna in the 1990s
WHERE FROM?
WHERE TO?
VIENNA ON THE MOVE
In the early 1990s, Vienna had a population of
approximately 1.5 million. With the dismantling of
the Iron Curtain and Austria’s accession to the
EU, not only the geopolitical environment underwent
a change. Vienna’s position in the competition
between European cities could suddenly
be viewed from an entirely new perspective:
Vienna as an economic and cultural hub at the
heart of Europe, between “old” EU Member States
and countries striving to enter the European
Union. The process of European integration and
the aftermath of the war in Yugoslavia triggered
new migration flows all over Europe. After decades
of stagnation, Vienna’s population was once
again growing; the Internet was on the rise, with
unheard-of effects for global and local economies;
and the Donau City project laid the cornerstone
for a new economic hub on the other bank of the
Danube.
Vienna after the turn of the millennium
Since the turn of the millennium, Vienna’s population
has notably increased. Questions relating
to social inclusion, housing space provision, sustainability,
employment and innovation of the
urban economy are decisive issues of urban
development policy. Vienna continues to establish
itself as an international leader in the field of
gender equality policy. The gradual enlargement
of the European Union to include Austria’s neighbours
additionally creates novel preconditions
regarding mobility and location development; new
large-scale infrastructure projects such as the
construction of Vienna Main Station and the expansion
of Vienna International Airport are key
pointers to enhance the international attractiveness
of the city as a business location. The
increasing demands posed by modernisation and
growth are inter alia met by Vienna with its
research, technology and innovation campaign
and with the creation of target areas of urban
development, which are to serve as drivers of
concentrated transformation. In the first decade
of the 21 st century, Vienna began to take its
place as a leading international conference venue
and further improved its position in European
city tourism. The global financial crisis of 2008
triggered dramatic economic upheavals, which
had severe effects on public budgets and exacerbated
frame conditions for future development
measures and investments. With the Smart
City Wien initiative for future-oriented, resourcepreserving
urban development, Vienna wants
to set international standards in a thematic area
of global significance.
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