Last updated: November 2024
The Helmut Zilk Park, named after the late Mayor of Vienna, is located in the heart of the city, near the central train station. Surrounded by newly constructed residential and office buildings, the park serves as a vital green space, offering a variety of amenities. From playgrounds and sports fields to a community garden and cafés, it provides a space for social interaction and recreation. The park is characterized by large open meadows, which function as rainwater seepage areas, and features over 500 trees along its pathways., as well as community gardens. Flower groves enhance the park’s visual appeal while also providing habitats for local wildlife. The natural edges of the park create a diverse urban biotope that supports various plant and animal species. Grass and meadow communities have been carefully planned to enhance biodiversity and provide wet, humid habitats that help infiltrate rainwater from the surrounding paved areas. Already in its first year, the park has become home to insects, small animals, and even larger species like rabbits and snakes, contributing to its rich ecosystem. The park was developed by the local municipality of Vienna on a site that was once part of the city's railway track system. It is the largest park the city has created in the past 40 years, designed to serve as a recreational area for both local residents and travelers using the nearby train station. This project is part of a broader urban development initiative around the former Southern Railway station, led by Austria’s Federal Railways Company (ÖBB) and the City of Vienna. The plans included residential housing, office spaces, social infrastructure, and the creation of the Helmut Zilk Park. Spanning approximately 70,000 square meters, the park stands as the largest public green space created in Vienna in four decades. The central area of the park features a large lawn, perfect for picnics, ball games, and recreational activities. (Ref. 1, 2, 3, 8)
View on the Helmut Zilk park
Uniola AG
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
- Green areas for water management
- Sustainable urban drainage systems
- Other
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Conversion of former industrial areas
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Urban flooding (stormwater)
- Environmental Degradation
- Biodiversity loss
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments), Transformation of previously derelict areas, Post-industrial site regeneration
Project objectives
To create a spacious and natural green space from a former railway station
To foster biodiversity by creating habitats for plants and animals
To provide opportunities for interaction, recreation and physical activity through amenities like sports grounds, playgrounds, and sunbathing lawns
To offer opportunities for communal gardening and local food production in the community garden
To provide seepage areas for rainwater infiltration
(Ref. 1-5)
Implementation activities
In 2010, a landscape architecture firm won the design competition for the Helmut Zilk Park, named after Vienna's late mayor. Following a planning phase from 2012 to 2013, official implementation began in 2014, with the park divided into three sections. The first section was completed and opened in 2016, followed by the second in 2017 and the final section in 2020 (Ref. 1).
The park features diverse grass and meadow communities designed to support biodiversity, creating moist biotopes for rainwater infiltration. These areas help manage rainwater runoff from paved surfaces (Ref. 2). Over 520 trees were planted, and approximately 3 hectares of the park are dedicated to flowering meadows.
A community garden with 70 raised beds was established to encourage communal gardening among local residents (Ref. 1; Ref. 3). The park also includes playgrounds and a sports park (Motorikpark) to provide spaces for physical activity and endurance training (Ref. 1). Two modern play areas cater to older children, teenagers, and adults, offering seating, climbing, swinging, and relaxing options.
The natural edge areas of the park have been designed as diverse urban biotopes, providing habitats for plants and animals. These areas support various species and contribute to the park's ecological richness. In its first year, the park has already become home to insects, small animals, and larger species like snakes and rabbits. (Ref. 2)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement sustainable urban drainage schemes to manage stormwater
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The municipal city park department MA42 was the official client of the project (Ref. 2).
The landscape architecture company Hager Partner AG designed the park and was implemented by the landscape architecture office Uniola AG (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 4). The Municipal Council of Vienna paid for the project (Ref. 5). The land of the project belongs to the Austrian railway company (ÖBB), who was furthermore involved in the larger urban development project of the district (Ref. 8).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(‘Outdoor living rooms’, as part of the largest green space offensive in decades, many new green and recreational areas are being created throughout Vienna (Ref. 7). The plan is not formalised in an official legal regulation or law. )
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved stormwater management
- Expected improved stormwater management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Other
References
1.
City of Vienna (n.d.). Helmut-Zilk-Park. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Unila AG (n.d.). Helmut-Zilk-Park. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
3.
City of Vienna (2017). Sima: Der Helmut-Zilk-Park als Herzstück des Sonnwendviertels ist fertig!. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Landezine (2023). Helmut-Zilk-Park. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
5.
FragdenStaat.at (2014). Planung und Errichtung des Helmut-Zilk-Parks. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Pufler, K. (2014). Helmut-Zilk-Park als neue grüne Insel am Hauptbahnhof. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Smart City (2015). Neue Grünoasen für die Stadt – die Wohnzimmer im Freien. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Superwien (n.d.). Leben am Helmut-Zilk-Park. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Pufler, K. (2024). Im Helmut-Zilk-Park gibt es Probleme mit Jugendlichen. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Google Maps (2024). Helmut-Zilk-Park. Accessed on August 27, 2024, [Source link];
11.
City of Vienna (n.d.). Favoriten in Zahlen. Accessed on September 6, 2024, [Source link];
Sitting opportunities and large meadows
Uniola AG
Helmut-Zilk-Park
https://www.uniola.com/de/project/cui707_uit883_oag568/
Helmut-Zilk-Park
https://www.uniola.com/de/project/cui707_uit883_oag568/
Helmut-Zilk-Park
https://www.uniola.com/de/project/cui707_uit883_oag568/
Helmut-Zilk-Park
https://www.uniola.com/de/project/cui707_uit883_oag568/
Helmut-Zilk-Park
https://www.uniola.com/de/project/cui707_uit883_oag568/
Helmut-Zilk-Park
https://www.uniola.com/de/project/cui707_uit883_oag568/
Helmut-Zilk-Park
https://www.uniola.com/de/project/cui707_uit883_oag568/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.