Smart City Bruck

The city of Bruck an der Mur in the heart of the industrial agglomeration Mur/Mürz Furche is one of the key traffic and transport hubs in Austria. Due to its topographical location, public facilities, residential and leisure areas, commerce, tourism, transport infrastructure and industry are required to coexist sustainably in very limited space. In order for Bruck to provide sustainable ecological and economic perspectives for the future, Bruck intends to develop a “green’ vision.

Initial Situation 

The city of Bruck an der Mur is the regional capital at the heart of the industrial agglomeration of Mur/Mürz Furche and at the same time one of the most important key traffic and transport hubs in Austria.  Due to its topographical location, public facilities, residential and leisure areas of its citizens, commerce and tourism as well as transport infrastructure and industrial sites must coexist sustainably in a very limited space. In order to provide all those involved with sustainable ecological and economic perspectives, Bruck was confronted with the great challenge of developing a “green” vision that would connect the widely diverse action areas energy grids, mobility, city system, buildings, municipal supply and disposal and communication to an interactive overall system. 

Vision Developed

In a 3-stage process involving the collaboration of municipal representatives of all parties, the industrial plants, the energy suppliers, the transport services, research facilities (including social sciences), dedicated citizens of Bruck and others developed a Vision 2050, a roadmap and an action plan for a “green” and thus sustainable Bruck an der Mur.

The migration out of the region, the increasingly aging population and the high level of industrialization with the associated high energy consumption were identified as the greatest challenges for Bruck an der Mur. This situational inventory led to the development of the vision “Bruck an der Mur – (ideal) living space on the river,” with emphasis on the high quality of life and housing.  In addition, actionable measures and project ideas were developed for the various aspects of Bruck an der Mur. 

Action Plan Developed

Following many bilateral preliminary conversations among project partners and based on the first two workshops, in the last workshop, in cooperation with all stakeholders, preliminary drafts of projects were substantiated and requirements of specific city districts were more precisely articulated. For example, for the old town this meant the establishment of high-quality regional trade and development of a comprehensive mobility concept with integration of the Mur, while in the rail station district a multimodal service in the vicinity of the new train station was being worked on and a reference to the new Mur Bridge established. Ultimately, sub-project categories (beginning, end, content, objectives, non-objectives and cost estimates) were created for five concrete projects that were developed: 100% green power for households and the old town, city reframing, smart climate space with a comprehensive mobility concept as well as LED lighting for public thoroughfares.

Outlook 

Based on the outcome of the 3-stage process to develop a Vision 2050, a roadmap and an action plan, a holistic integrative master plan was implemented for the historic city center of Bruck an der Mur. It consists of innovative sub-projects that serve to enhance the attractiveness and energetic upgrade of the city center, to counteract the current trend to population migration out of the city (“Smart historic site Bruck an der Mur”). The planned innovative sub-projects encompassed an integrative mobility concept with smart mobility solutions, equipping a street with needs-oriented LED street lights, heating supply of the inner city via the organic district heating grid with industrial exhaust heat and the revival of a historic structure in the context of the vision that was created “Bruck an der Mur – (ideal) living space on the river.”