#45 Activating Ground Floors – Challenges and Perspectives in Vacancy Development

In this episode of the Zukunft Stadt podcast, Mara Haas and Lena Schartmüller discuss the issue of vacant ground-floor spaces and ask: How do community-oriented initiatives and micro-enterprises actually gain access to affordable space – and what role does urban planning play in this process?

Our guests are Ruth Fartacek (WieNeu+), Julia Dudas (Solidar), and Peter Halwachs (Wirtschaftsagentur Wien). The discussion explores the importance of ground-floor spaces for vibrant neighbourhoods and the “city of short distances”, as well as funding and advisory services and the challenges surrounding the financing and availability of suitable spaces. Particular attention is paid to the obstacles faced by community-oriented actors seeking to activate vacant ground-floor spaces.

Mara Haas is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at TU Wien. She studied spatial planning at TU Wien and worked at planning offices in Munich and Vienna. Her research focuses on social innovation and transformation processes as part of sustainable urban development. Her current research focuses on the activation of vacant spaces as a contribution to sufficiency-oriented urban regeneration.

Lena Schartmüller studied spatial planning and regional planning at TU Wien. Since 2017, she has been closely involved in developing the community-oriented platform WeLocally.at (in particular Raumteiler and local crowdfunding; in Vienna: imGrätzl.at). Building on this work and her two-year role as a project assistant in the R&D project Mischung: Nordbahnhof, she wrote her master’s thesis in 2020 on cooperative space use by individual entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises and the potential of this type of space for neighbourhood and regional development. Since 2021, she has been teaching and conducting research at TU Wien. Since April 2024, she has worked as a university assistant at the Department of Local Spatial Planning at TU Wien, where she is also pursuing her PhD on cooperatively used spaces.

Julia Dudas is a co-founder of the community-supported agriculture initiative Ouvertura, where she is committed to sustainable, community-oriented food systems. Ouvertura combines ecological farming with a solidarity-based economy and an active community. One of her current areas of work is the Solidar in Vienna, which Ouvertura established together with GeLa Ochsenherz. The Solidar is conceived as a place for fair and sustainable food provision, community, exchange, and sustainability in practice.

Ruth Fartacek is a geographer working for the urban regeneration programme WieNeu+, which aims to develop innovative approaches to transforming the existing city. Among other responsibilities, she focuses on ground-floor spaces and tenant participation.

Peter Halwachs heads the Grätzlwirtschaft & Produktion department at Wirtschaftsagentur Wien. Together with his team, he supports businesses of different sizes in the areas of local supply, production, crafts, and trades in implementing investment projects in Vienna. As department head, he is responsible for providing advice on funding and financing opportunities as well as supporting businesses through administrative and permitting procedures. His team provides practical, on-site support to businesses. The aim is to strengthen Vienna-based businesses in their investments and further development, thereby contributing to the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Vienna as a business location.

Podcast Credits
Episode #45

Concept and hosts: Mara Haas, Lena Schartmüller
Recording, audio and editing: Larissa Benk, Lena Hohenkamp
ZUKUNFT STADT Podcast production: Lukas Bast, Larissa Benk, Lisa-Marie Kramer, Lena Hohenkamp, Madlyn Miessgang and Nico Schleicher
Intro music: Jakob Kotal

The ZUKUNFT STADT podcast is a project of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at TU Wien. It is produced in cooperation between the future.lab and the Department of Local Spatial Planning at TU Wien.