7.1 Cool Zones

7. Projects from the Neighbourhood development pillar

A cool spot with yellow deckchairs

Fig. 85: Cool Zone © City of Vienna/Martin Votava

Cool Zones are free, publicly accessible, cool interior spaces where the temperature does not exceed 25°C. The provision of these cool environments in the hot summer months is one of the measures foreseen in the Vienna Heat Action Plan. WieNeu+ set up the city's first two Cool Zones as part of a pilot project in 2023.

The pilot project involved opening the Greiseneckergasse Senior Citizens' Club in the 20th district as a Cool Zone for use by people of all ages over the summer months. The Verein Piramidops women's education initiative was also commissioned to provide a further Cool Zone at the Volkert Market, this time for use by women and children.

The success of the first pilot year speaks for itself: the Cool Zones were heavily used. A total of over 2,000 visits were recorded, with 94% of the visitors in the evaluation survey saying that they had enjoyed their stay in the Cool Zone.

"The Piramidops Cool Zone shows how the social and climate-related measures implemented under WieNeu+ mutually reinforce one another: it's easy to access, fosters social interaction and makes life in the neighbourhood much pleasanter for families. It clearly highlights the need for places where people feel safe, welcome and able to relax." (Mag. Alisa Cela-Goldgruber, project manager, Women's Cool Zone)

A room with a tiled floor, functional tables and chairs; on one table there are cakes and lemonade laid out; in the background is a roll-up banner bearing the words ‘Cool Zone’

Fig. 86: The Cool Zone is a meeting place for women © Verein Piramidops

Key messages from the supervisor feedback surveys

With a total of 2,057 guests, the Cool Zones were very well received. Keeping to a maximum temperature of 26°C generally produced and maintained a pleasant, refreshing room climate. Besides providing a cool environment, the focus was also on creating an atmosphere conducive to social interaction. The respective local partner organisations organised language courses, celebrations (e.g. birthday parties) and other group activities, as well as offering a range of snacks (muesli bars, fruit, ice-cream, etc.) and refreshing drinks.

Survey chart showing how visitors experienced the Cool Zone (2023)

Fig. 87: Results of the guest feedback surveys. © UIV 2023

Project upscaling

The project was scaled up in the subsequent years: twelve Cool Zones were opened in Vienna in 2023, and by 2025 the number had already risen to 22. Responsibility for coordination of the Cool Zones now lies with City of Vienna's Directorate for Climate Matters.

Takeaways & challenges

Cool Zones are well received by the public.
Familiar locations with an existing programme of activities and regular guests work better than completely new spaces. The main target group and their demographic characteristics therefore varies from location to location.
Nevertheless, the Cool Zones also attracted new visitors to the locations alongside the existing regular guests.
Regardless of the target group, people's primary focus is on social interaction and the opportunity to cool down. Actively engaged staff members in the respective locations are highly important.
Staff are also instrumental in attracting new guests. Most people surveyed heard about the Cool Zones from friends and acquaintances or through recommendations from other organisations and/or initiatives.

Project partners

Urban Innovation Vienna (UIV) (City of Vienna climate and innovation agency)
Greiseneckergasse Senior Citizens' Club
Verein Piramidops (women's education initiative)

This project was supported with funding from the "Grätzlförderung" scheme.