The City of Dornbirn is part of Austria's "Pioneer City" mission and has committed to transforming a pioneer district towards climate neutrality by 2030. The central challenge and research question of the KlimaScan Quartier project was to select, from several very different existing districts, the one best suited for this pilot demonstration. Because the districts differ strongly in their structure (housing, commercial uses, campus) and stakeholder composition, a robust, data-based decision framework was developed that goes beyond subjective impressions.

Although criteria for climate-neutral districts already exist (klimaaktiv), they had so far mainly been applied to new-build projects or smaller areas. Experience with applying this standard to large, heterogeneous existing districts was lacking. It was unclear how well the criteria catalogue could capture the diversity of established neighbourhoods with a reasonable level of effort and support an objective selection.

The project's core objectives were to create comparable district profiles, develop "future visions" (target states), and derive rough action plans. On this basis, a transparent decision for a pioneer district was to be made. At the same time, the project served to further develop the klimaaktiv instrument methodologically for existing districts, in cooperation with SIR and external partners.

Originally designed for four districts, the analysis was expanded to seven districts to better reflect typical settlement structures in Dornbirn. The methodology was based on GIS data analyses and the preparation of "quick checks" using the klimaaktiv criteria catalogue. A key innovation was extending the assessment with a potential column (status quo vs. target vision). The results fed into a weighted decision matrix that, in addition to technical criteria, also considered feasibility, stakeholder willingness, and multiplier effects.

Based on the decision matrix, the "Campus" district was unanimously selected as the pioneer dis-trict. Decisive factors were its high visibility and symbolic impact, the mix of stakeholders, and ma-jor potentials in the fields of heat and mobility. For this district, a more detailed catalogue of measures and a demonstration project are now being prepared. From a process perspective, it became clear that broad citizen participation before the selection decision can be counterproduc-tive (raising unrealistic expectations), which is why the focus was placed on technical analyses and key stakeholders.

With the completion of KlimaScan Quartier, the implementation phase begins in the Campus pio-neer district. The methodological tools developed (quick check with potential assessment) have been integrated into the klimaaktiv toolkit and are available to other cities.

The City of Dornbirn will gradually roll out the methodology to further districts and closely link implementation to the resources of the Pioneer City structure.

Project management

Stadt Dornbirn

Project or cooperation partners

• Christoph Breuer, Kairos OG
• Paul Stampfl, Telesis
• Oskar Mair von Tinkhof, SIR

Thomas Pieber
Rathausplatz 2
A-6850 Dornbirn
Tel.: +43 (676) 833 065 120
E-mail: Thomas.pieber@dornbirn.at
Web: www.dornbirn.at