Environment
Europe’s Urban Dilemma: Saving the Past From a Warming Future
- Trees can naturally cool Europe’s increasingly hot cities
- But a standoff in Vienna shows that they’re not always welcome
Every tourist in Vienna is at some point directed to Michaelerplatz, a circular cobblestone plaza in the heart of the Austrian capital. Framed by a medieval church, baroque buildings and the modernist Looshaus, the site’s iconic architecture attracts hundreds of thousands of people a year.
Yet in the summer months, when the square’s pavement and lack of shade transforms it into a heat island, visiting isn’t always a pleasant experience. That’s why the City of Vienna moved to expand the area’s pedestrian zones and plant beds of grass and nine saplings before the end of 2024.