A temperature map of Vienna to guide environmental change

A Czech startup is using geospatial technology to create maps that can help high-risk cities adjust to rising temperatures

Spotted: About 4 billion people live in urban areas, meaning that more than half of the world’s population lives in a city. Human activity in these urban agglomerations ensures that cities will have higher temperatures than their surrounding areas, which can represent a big risk for the population. Czech startup ECOTEN created a temperature map of Vienna that the city will use to plan adaptations and changes in response to the climate crisis.

The map shows the ten areas that are the warmest, have the least greenery, and in which lives the largest vulnerable population: 27,000 seniors and 20,000 children. Most of these problematic areas are located in the districts near Vienna’s centre, such as Favoriten, Ottakring, Landstraße and Margareten. By knowing exactly where needs help, quick short-term measures can be taken, while long term planning is made. Trees will be planted, benches and water playgrounds built, facades greened and traffic reduced, all to ensure an overall cooling down of the neighbourhood.

To create the map, ECOTEN used satellite imaging technology and a geographic information system, which is a program that stores, manages and analyses spatial data. The company established cooperation with the Austrian metropolis at the end of 2018 and it is now preparing proposals to reach out to other European cities to fight the heat in urban areas. 

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