Börse Express – Hanke / Gaál: Zukunftshof Rothneusiedl as a prime example of sustainable urban development

The city supports further development of the former “Haschahof” with 129,000 euros

Vienna (OTS) – What began as an agricultural region in southern Vienna in the 19th century has become an international model for modern, sustainable urban development. For decades, the property in Rothneusiedl has been used in dairy farming, animal husbandry, and fruit and vegetable cultivation. As early as the 1980s, the farm was considered a leader in organic production. In 2014, the owner’s enterprise terminated the lease and sold the area to the Vienna Housing Trust. In 2019, he launched a public competition for the subsequent use of the area.

The Zukunftshof Co-operative emerged as the winner and was finally awarded a post-use contract. The goal was to create modern and sustainable urban agriculture. A project that was also successful thanks to the support of the City of Vienna. Today, Zukunftshof Rothneusiedl in Favoriten is a prime example of how urban development and regional agriculture can coordinate and work together. During a joint visit, Deputy Mayor and City Councilor for Housing, Catherine Gall, and City Councilor for Economic Affairs, Peter Hanke, learned about the current situation.

“It is good to see how ‘Haschahof’ has been brought back to life as a futuristic farm. New and fresh ideas are being realized in the brick buildings characteristic of the historic property of Favoriten. Zukunftshof is an important place where favourites can connect in this particularly exciting urban development area,” said Deputy Mayor and City Councilor Catherine Gall: “It’s a win for all Gratzel!”

Zukunftshof as a vision of urban agriculture and urban food

“Zukunftshof Rothneusiedl is not only a model of conformity to the creation of a modern living space for a large number of people with regional structures and manufacturing activities. It also focuses on issues that are also important for the city: promoting regional urban agricultural production, a city with short distances and creating awareness of the value and necessity of sustainable production and processing of agricultural products We want to continue to support this with new funding,” Hanke emphasizes.

“Zukunftshof is a valuable place because innovative ideas such as the concept of urban agriculture were born here, which combine the requirements of a modern city with the requirements of sustainable agriculture. The process of sharing the preferences of the southern region ensured that there was enough space to implement these ideas,” says District Manager Markus Franz.

“My vision is to create a place with Zukunftshof where we can experiment with urban agricultural concepts in a collaborative way. With this we want to develop Rothneusiedl into an edible city. We enable an interdisciplinary dialogue with science, politics, business and civil society and already see ourselves as a source of inspiration for urban agriculture and urban food.” Because at the moment there is a unique opportunity, also in light of global crises, to integrate agricultural concepts into the sustainable urban development of Rothenusedel right from the start”, says Andreas Gogomuk, initiator of “Zukunftshof”.

Vienna Business Agency offers support on the way to
complete process

Since the objectives of the Zukunftshof are in line with the priorities set by the Vienna Business Agency to boost urban production and strengthen the food sector in Vienna, the decision was made in May 2022 to support the Zukunftshof financially. It is now primarily a matter of providing support with resources in order to enable further professionalization of the company.

The team has done remarkable work to date, largely on a voluntary basis along with other professional commitments. However, more specialized resources are now needed, such as architects and project managers doing the basic planning work intended for the transition from current temporary use to full expansion.

The Vienna Business Agency provides around €129,000 to support the Zukunftshof during the construction phase from July 2022 to September 2023. This means that two-thirds of staff costs are covered during this period from the start-up phase (by hiring and/or commissioning external experts). This is to ensure that Zukunftshof has sufficient human resources to successfully carry out the preparations for full operation. This includes, for example, the business specification “Future Farm as Agricultural and Commercial Farm” and “Future Farm as Learning and Adventure Farm” as well as the creation of “Real Laboratory.”

Information about Future Farm: [https://www.zukunftshof.at/] (https://www.zukunftshof.at/)

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