Seestadt: A Faded Utopia
Seestadt - “a visionary urban development project”, “where city life meets nature”, “a new district that combines housing, work opportunities, culture and activities” - if you believe the slogans on the project websites. Years, maybe a decade after I had been there for the first time, just after the first buildings had been completed, I spent a day walking around and checking out this new utopian urban space in Vienna’s 22nd district.
Although somewhat cut off from the rest of the city by the Danube, a motorway, fields, wastelands and small industrial complexes, Seestadt is very easy to reach by U-Bahn (Viennese metro). It takes about half an hour from the city centre - which I realise is nothing compared to the commuting times people are used to in larger metropolitan areas.
On a warm and cloudy Sunday in mid-October, I arrived there only to find eerily empty streets and parks. Although I appreciate some of the whimsical architecture, the greenery incorporated into certain buildings, the small swimmable lake that was built not far from the metro station and the fact that many flats have a balcony or a small garden (I would kill for that!), I found that the district’s original playful charm had faded, some streets and buildings already looked worn and lifeless, reminding me of the municipal housing blocks built by the city of Vienna in the 60s and 70s which I find very depressing (at least on the outside, and not contesting their utility or importance).
In Austria, a Sunday is a Sunday and it is normal for most shops to be closed. Still, I found the number of shops, cafes and restaurants in Seestadt to be strikingly low. However, the district does boast a number of student dorms, locations and offices for businesses, start-ups, associations and communal spaces in which, according to the posters and leaflets stuck to the closed doors and windows, residents can come together, organise events and gather ideas on how to shape community life in the district.
However, I saw none of that community life and barely any life at all. Maybe I was there at the wrong time. Maybe everyone was spending a cosy Sunday in their homes. Maybe families went to the city centre as a Sunday outing. Maybe the district is more lively during the summertime. Who knows? In spite of everything, I enjoyed rediscovering this place years after the groundwork was laid, and might come back for a swim in the lake next summer, and hope to find it bathed in a more lively atmosphere.
