Funding Fairness and Gender Equality: An Exploration of School Streets and Financial Organizations in Vienna

Let's talk about walking, babes! It ain't just a means of getting from point A to B, it's a question of fairness, accessibility, and making sure everyone, from little ones to grannies, gets their sidewalk slice of the pie.

You see, when it comes to public spaces, there's a hierarchy problem. Long story short, we've been focusing on crammin' as many cars through as possible, neglecting the multilayered needs of the people who use those spaces. It's all about time and money, ya feel me?

But Vienna, the 10-time World's Most Liveable City, ain't buying it. With a keen eye for gender equity, they're doin' things a bit differently. Petra Jens, Vienna's walking commissioner since 2013, dropped some knowledge on us about walking in the capital. Here's the lowdown:

Gender Equity: Who's Really King of the Road?

Walking is a democratic, free, and accessible mode of transport. But when it comes to public space allocation, the picture ain't so pretty. The people who need it most—kiddos, grannies, parent pals—don't get much love. And it's about time we gave them some!

So, we gotta question the peckin' order: who gets the green light in traffic, and how can we ensure vulnerable groups get their rights on the road too?

The Street Ain't Just a Transit Space

We've become accustomed to viewing the street as a transit space, but it's so much more. Every traffic planner asks themselves the same question: "How can I get as many cars through there as fast as possible?"

A multi-dimensional perspective is what we need. It's high time to see streets as multi-functional hubs that benefit the whole community, not just those with a lead foot.

Gender-Equitable Planning: A Vienna Perspective

Petra spilled the beans on Vienna's gender-equitable planning approach: "The Vienna tradition of gender-equitable planning and building traces back to pioneer Eva Kail. It's all about social space analyses before renovation works, considering and involving different user groups."

"How do they use this space? What can I do so that these people are better off after the renovation and have access to this space?"

From lighting and benches to parks and housing projects, gender differences are at the heart of urban planning in Vienna.++; Gender mainstreaming is a big thing in Vienna, and it's been that way since the 90s, despite the initial hullabaloo. Further insights can be found in our article on feminist cities and gender mainstreaming, as well as in a 2013 manual on gender mainstreaming in urban planning and development.

For the full scoop on the dedicated department set up to guide the administration through its gender mainstreaming processes, peep https://www.wien.gv.at/dmpg.

Interdepartmental Cooperation and the Funding Catch-22

"Although there are calculation models on how to quantify the economic health benefits of active mobility, it's yet to be included in any funding models", Petra admits. Ideally, walking would be included in all sorts of strategies, including intersectoral ones, but it's a catch-22:

"If you want to operationalize this, it's suddenly over, because there are completely different logics at work. What does a transport politician care whether some measure has a health benefit and vice versa? We know that these things influence each other. But we have no mechanisms that would allow a health department to have a say in the design of a road. The economic benefit is never distributed; at the concrete practical level, these departments do not come together", Petra points out.

Petra's on a mission to develop processes out of pilot projects. This is standard operating procedure in the Anglo-American zone, where the "Healthy Streets" concept strongly links the transformation of street space to health issues.

Financing Our Way Forward: Investing in Healthy Feet

In Austria, walking is the responsibility of the municipalities. Applied to Vienna, this would be the districts, the smallest municipal unit. Municipalities don't exactly swim in cash, and they're mainly concerned with maintainin' their roads. There's not much incentive to change 'em for walkin'.

This can be changed: about 15 years ago, Austria published the Cycling Master Plan. For the first time, there was a nationwide strategy for cycling, which, like walkin', is actually the responsibility of the municipalities.

Through that, a lot has happened: a funding programme—Klimaaktiv:mobil—has been set up, which has allowed the federal government to support municipalities with transport infrastructure. There are now bicycle coordinators in every federal province, as well as nationwide meetings, and joint efforts.

For walkin', on the other hand, there was no such thing until very recently. On May 25, 2021, there was a news release announcing the first nationwide fund for infrastructure that promotes walkin'. A much-needed step, according to Petra: "as soon as there is some kind of support from a higher authority, it is an incentive for municipal units to move in the same direction. It also enforces the development of organizational and content-related structures in that regard."

However, there's another funding logic snag. According to Petra, "Klimaaktiv:mobil funding is environmental funding, which means that every measure must be converted into a theoretical CO equivalent saved."

When we walk, however, we're coverin' short distances. We don't burn up the odometer 'cause the network effectiveness (meaning the contribution of walkin' to a full trip using other modes of transport) ain't taken into account and evaluated. This is the second dilemma for walkin'. It would only be fair to consider the health effect walkin' has.

"We're not all the way there yet," Petra says, "but it is an approach where you can recognize a societal added value and operationalize it that way, so that walkin' infrastructure can also be promoted and eligible for funding."

Infrastructure and Awareness Measures: Stepping Through Vienna

When it comes to pedestrian-friendly infrastructure measures, you gotta take walkin' pros into account. Mappin' the infrastructure of pedestrian traffic is tougher than for cyclin'. Walkin' is all over the joint – it ain't channelled like cyclin'.

Improvements in pedestrian infrastructure start with the simple question: what actually is pedestrian infrastructure? At first glance, there's the pavement, the traffic light, and the zebra crossing. But a broad view must be taken. Petra elaborates:

"Walkin' has a lot to do with the width of the pavements and qualitative features such as greenery, trees, shade, seating. All of this is regularly not recorded as a pedestrian traffic measure."

The infrastructural adaptation that has likely saved the most lives in Vienna since the 80s is the "ear conch" (Ohrwaschl in Viennese). These are pavement extensions in intersection areas. "At the beginning, this caused a lot of commotion because cars used to park illegally in intersection areas," recalls Petra, "but the widening of pavements in intersection areas has improved visibility, which has drastically reduced the number of accidents. Measures like these, which slow down cars in intersection areas, are also part of the pedestrian infrastructure."

In any case, the most important measures are those that do good for as many people as possible – i.e., in places where many people walk every day. According to Petra, this especially applies to school environments:

"If you invest there, you can achieve a lot. Above all, you can influence the routines in families towards active mobility."

"If you make it more difficult to drive to the school gates, but easier to get there on foot or by bike, if you can stay there, maybe have a chat with neighbours, with other parents – if children can play together, then that is also a very important social function", she says.

School mobility management and school streets are therefore a central approach (not only in Vienna). The share of parent taxis has decreased significantly from 2010 to 2019 (data from the modal split survey)[1]. "This means that regularly informing parents about the impact mechanisms and the importance of the way to school has had an effect after all", she sums up.

What Makes Vienna So Pedestrian-Friendly? The Quick and the Not-So-Quick Wins

In fact, two key factors that make Vienna a pedestrian-friendly city are not "quick wins" and cannot be directly replicable by other cities: first, pedestrian-friendliness is strongly related to long-term factors, such as urban development or the organization of spatial planning. Vienna is lucky to be a very compact city with a high mix of uses (no mono-functional districts).

Petra sees a second factor in the fact that Vienna, unlike other cities, has never abolished trams. While many cities did so with the construction of underground railways, Vienna still has a dense network of trams—and thus has not completely relegated public transport underground.

Of course, this shouldn't be an excuse for other cities to avoid putting pedestrian-friendly measures into place.

Time for Walkin', Babes!

Bust a move, walkers! Vienna sets an example with its commitment to gender equality, sustainable funding, and awareness-raising measures. To dig deeper into Petra's role as a pedestrian representative, check out her CityChanger portrait: https://www.wmf.org/p/petra-jens

And while you're strutting your stuff, enjoy this cheerful video of folks boogieing down in Europe's longest pedestrianized shopping boulevard: https://youtu.be/L6PimzUOt0s

Enrichment Data

Gender Mainstreaming:

Petra Jens, Vienna's walking commissioner since 2013, explained the city's approach to gender mainstreaming in urban planning. By considering the diverse needs of city residents, especially women and marginalized groups, Vienna is leading the way in creating inclusive and safe spaces.

Pedestrian-Friendly Infrastructure:

Vienna prioritizes pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, executing diverse projects that might not always be recorded as pedestrian traffic measures, such as greenery, trees, shade, and seating on city pavements.

Walking is a major focus in Vienna, a city known for its gender equity, as Petra Jens, the walking commissioner, emphasizes the need for considering different user groups and social space analyses before renovations.
Gender differences are critical in urban planning in Vienna, influencing everything from lighting and benches to parks and housing projects, serving as an example of gender mainstreaming in the city.
Gender equity in traffic management is about ensuring vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly, receive attention and protection on the roads.
Vienna's approach to gender-equitable planning involves questioning the priorities in traffic and considering the needs of various user groups to promote fairness and accessibility.
Gender-equitable planning in Vienna dates back to pioneer Eva Kail, resulting in a holistic approach to urban development that prioritizes the needs of all residents.
While financial support for walking infrastructure is limited, initiatives such as Klimaaktiv:mobil have provided funding for cycling infrastructure in Austria, inspiring hope for similar programs for walking in the future.
To enhance pedestrian safety, Vienna has implemented infrastructure improvements like the "ear conch," which widens pavements at intersection areas, reducing accidents and improving visibility.
Pets, relationships, fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, home-and-garden, education-and-self-development, personal-growth, shopping, career-development, sports, sports-betting, and weather can all be incorporated into the city's pedestrian-friendly lifestyle, making Vienna a vibrant city where people come together organically.