Motivation and research question

Sustainable and climate-friendly urban development combines future-relevant topics such as the usage of existing buildings, 15-minutes-city and mixed use. The effective use of vacant ground floor spaces is essential in this context. The central question was how co-financing models (linking existing funding and support services with existing crowdfunding mechanisms) can be used to effectively promote the activation of vacant properties.

Initial situation/status quo

While many spaces remain unused, local makers (one-person and micro-enterprises, self-employeds, art and cultural workers, associations and initiatives) lack suitable and affordable space. Surveys in Vienna and Graz show that their space requirements are not covered by conventional real estate offers and that it is not possible for them to activate vacant space despite funding due to a lack of financial resources.

Project contents and goals

The aim was to enable local movers and shakers to activate vacant spaces by combining public funding with crowdfunding or a funding pot for space-related crowdfunding with other support services - within this context, this is totally new in Austria. This significantly increases the effectiveness of existing spatial support measures from the public sector. The campaign character of crowdfunding ensures visibility, activates the local community and promotes networking, commitment and participation. The integration of a matchfunding mechanism increases the chances of success of spatial crowdfunding (including more supporters and higher contributions) and thus the chances of realizing spatial projects - an important contribution to vibrant, social and sustainable urban districts. The aim of the project was also to gain learnings and partners for the development and establishment of a co-financing system as part of a follow-up R&D project.

Methodical procedure

In two pilot areas in Vienna and Graz, various models were developed and tested in a practice-oriented co-creation process with a transdisciplinary constellation of actors (companies, crowdfunding platform, public sector). The public-interest-oriented digital platform imGrätzl/WeLocally, which has been supporting spatial crowdfunding campaigns for three years, functioned as a real-world laboratory. As part of the crowd2raum pilot processes, it was possible to test the addition of crowdfunding and further support services to the existing Grätzlinitiative 20+2 - Call funding (Vienna Business Agency funds 50% of the rental costs for 3 years, max. €1,000 per month) in Vienna as well as a crowdfunding grant mechanism with the ViertelFonds in Graz (filled with €1,500 by the Jakomini district council). While in Vienna there was an open call for vacancy activations in the pilot area and the applicants were searching for suitable vacant spaces after qualifying for funding, in Graz the ViertelFonds call was looking for ideas for the use of a specific vacant space in the pilot area. As part of both calls, there were offers for networking and consultation (funding applications, crowdfunding, space search, etc.). In Graz, the second call for the ViertelFonds (filled with €4,500 by Volksbank Steiermark AG) is still open at the end of the project. Space projects (vacancy activation, securing existing uses) in an enlarged pilot area can take part.

Results and conclusions

The targeted four vacancy activations were actually increased to five - four in Vienna and one in Graz, where the second ViertelFonds call is still open at the end of the project. One project in Vienna was able to raise €32,475 (including €1,000 from the RaumBooster, an imGrätzl grant) through crowdfunding for activation costs in addition to the rental cost funding. For vacancy activation in Graz, two fundings were generated outside of crowd2raum and an additional €5,050 via crowdfunding (incl. €1,500 from the ViertelFonds). Considering that the activation costs (mostly min. 10.000 €) - alongside the lack of availability of suitable vacant space - proved to be the greatest challenge, this shows the enormous potential that lies in the combination of financing instruments.

Outlook

An additional increase in leverage effects is expected with the actual interlinking of different mechanisms and closer cooperation between the actors involved. As part of the crowd2raum pilot processes, actor constellations have already been tested - an important step towards being able to build a stable and transferable interlinked co-financing system that is actually developed in a cooperative manner.

Project management

morgenjungs GmbH

Project or cooperation partners

• WieNeu+ (Stadt Wien, MA25 -Technische Stadterneuerung)
• StadtLABOR – Innovationen für urbane Lebensqualität GmbH

morgenjungs GmbH
Mirjam Mieschendahl
Ottakringerstraße 94/11
A-1170 Vienna
Tel.: +43 (699) 150 282 77
E-mail: mirjam.mieschendahl@imgraetzl.at
Web: www.imgraetzl.at bzw. graz.welocally.at