The UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 states that cities and communities should be organised in a sustainable way. Vienna is one of the most liveable cities in the world – but how sustainable is our city? And will we reach the UN goal by 2030?
The students of 4B have put their own Grätzl to the test: They have analysed their neighbourhoods and documented the advantages and problems of the spaces they live in. The observations presented here were made by Theo, Mathilda and Sophie:
Theo’s observations:
The 11th Sustainable Development Goal states that cities should be planned sustainably. This means, among other things, that we have to keep the air clean. We must stop most of the traffic and plant more trees in each of the 23 districts of Vienna.
In my neighbourhood, there are lots of trees in every garden of every house. Because every house has a garden. But in the 6th district, for example, most houses don’t have a garden, so the air quality is worse than in the 18th district, and that’s not fair.
Besides, there is the traffic. Therefore, let’s have a look at the Gersthofer Platz’l. When I go to school, I have to wait at the traffic lights and every time, lots of cars pass. When I drive on Währingerstaße, there is a traffic jam because there are too many vehicles. And the air quality is bad. Why? Because there are too few trees.
So if we stop most of the traffic, Vienna would be a more sustainable city.
Written by Theo Dissmann, 4B
Mathilda’s observations:
In the area where I live we have a good public transport system. We can reach any part of the city by subway, tram or bus within 50 minutes. When I go to school I see a lot of people walking to the underground and tram stations. Although we have very good public transportoptions, too many people are still use their cars.
I think our public transport system is very well organised and I am glad to have it!
Written by Mathilda Scharka, 4B
Sophie’s observations:
The 11th Sustainable Development Goal states that cities should be planned sustainably. This means we should take care of our cities. We need more trees in the cities, less car traffic, more public transport and much more. So the cities will be more liveable for all of us.
In the area where I live there are many positive and some negative points. In my street there is a meeting place for everyone to speak together, to eat and drink and to play music together. There was a party few days ago.
I think this meeting places are very good because they are public, free and a bit of green between the cars and houses. This relates to target 11.7.
Another important fact is the public transport system. In my district we have many trams and one underground (U6). They are comfortable for disabled people and old people. It´s important that the public transport is not too expensive. For that reason it will be an attractive alternative to the car. They are also easy to use for poor people. This fulfils target 11.2.
When I go to school, I notice many construction zones. That´s a really big problem. The city planners build only high houses without gardens and trees. They cover the whole houses in concrete. The rent for the flats will be too expensive. So, it excludes poorer people.
Because of the high-rise buildings it isn´t very bright in the streets and you can´t see the sky. This topic discussed in target 11.5.
In summary Vienna is a wonderful city. Many targets apply to Vienna. Of course, there are also things to change.
I hope it will be better in 2030!
Written by Sophie Furtner, 4B