From 2009 to 2014 teams of the degree programmes Social Work & Social Management, Architecture & Construction, and Energy, Transport and Environmental Management applied themselves to the question of what a long-term attractive urban environment could look like. The project involved the analysis of seven areas in Graz with different development forms and patterns. They were investigated and analysed with regard to the following quantitative and qualitative indicators:
- Spatial and structural resources
- Energy supply and energy consumption
- Traffic development and use of transport
- Social resources and social behaviour with regard to neighbourly relations, perception of safety, local identity, civic commitment and proactivity in old age.
In the course of this, several common assumptions of urban planners were empirically proven. The evaluation and analysis of extensive data material revealed new interrelations in many areas – for instance, concerning supply and use of public transport and environmental awareness.