For the bachelor project P2 (Spatial Development Planning), the excursion to the municipality of Retz in the Weinviertel region took place from 8 to 11 October. The appearance of the town is characterised by the historic main square and the surrounding vineyards and is very popular with tourists. Like many other places, Retz is facing climate change-related challenges that threaten its identity-defining features.

The excursion included a presentation of the municipality by the mayor in the town hall tower, a round table discussion with the town and municipal councillors, a tour of the town and cellar, and a visit to Retz's landmark windmill in the vineyards. Accompanied by specialist lectures, the excursion time was also used for observation, research, enquiry and discussion, so that the groups were able to start working on their projects with many impressions.

In the first part of the bachelor's project, the students dealt analytically with 12 key topics: they looked at the regional context, the natural space and the environmental situation; the historic town and the town centre; the building structures, the building stock and zoning; they also analysed the population and social infrastructure; the traffic organisation as well as non-motorised and public transport; trade, tourism, culture; municipal finances and the property market as well as Retz's planning culture.

Taking into account the current requirements in the planning discourse, the students are now further developing their ideas and approaches in order to formulate a local development strategy for the municipality of Retz. The results will be presented in January 2025 both at TU Wien and in the local community.

The PR Spatial Development Planning Retz, opens an external URL in a new window is supervised by Andreas Voigt, Werner Tschirk and Amila Smajlovic (FOB Local Planning) as well as Bardo Hörl (FOB Transport System Planning) and Helena Linzer.