The bipolar metropolitan region Vienna–Bratislava

Abstract

The Austrian capital Vienna and the Slovakian capital Bratislava are situated at a distance of only about 60 km from each other. Due to iron curtains, they had been separated for decades. The EU accession of Slovakia finally ended this period and created a highly dynamic metropolitan region. Static transport and land use modelling are seen as inappropriate in such circumstances. The Institute of Transportation, Vienna University of Technology has extensive experience in the application of the methods of System Dynamics in land use and transport planning. The chapter starts with a presentation of the use of the qualitative method of causal loop diagrams (CLD) as a tool to improve the understanding of a functional urban region. The findings of this qualitative analysis were used to develop the operational, quantitative land use, and transport interaction model MARS (Metropolitan Activity Relocation Simulator). The application of the model MARS is presented and discussed using a case study of the metropolitan region Vienna–Bratislava.