Masterplan Dornbirn City Centre

By mid-2025, the “Masterplan Dornbirn City Centre” will provide a strategic foundation for the long-term development of the city’s downtown. The process is open, transparent, and participatory – with multiple digital surveys implemented via Senf. A major advantage: Senf allows the creation of unlimited, thematically connected participation formats within a single project – a key component of this process.

What’s Behind the Dornbirn Masterplan?

The goal is to develop a shared vision for the future of Dornbirn’s city centre. The plan will provide long-term orientation for decision-makers in politics, administration, and local business. It is being developed by a working group including the city’s planning department, city marketing, inside Dornbirn, the local economic development agency, and the planning office urbanista. The participation process includes several phases – beginning with a baseline survey and followed by a vision-oriented questionnaire.

Modular, Digital, Public: The Participation Process

Between April and May 2024, residents were invited to share their perspectives, experiences, and ideas via two digital surveys. The first survey focused on the current use and perception of Dornbirn’s city centre, while the second explored possible future scenarios. Both surveys were implemented using Senf – with interactive maps, open-ended questions, rating tools, and thematic clusters. A large public visioning workshop will follow in fall 2024.

How Senf Supported the Dornbirn Process

Senf was used as the platform for two thematically coordinated online surveys. Thanks to the ability to create unlimited participation formats within one project, the process was designed in modular phases – from the current situation to future visions.

• Multiple map types with custom planning zones and pins
• Structured surveys on usage patterns, mobility behaviour, place quality, and development ideas
• Public info pages with background materials, key updates, and contact points

Flexible Tools for Strategic Participation

Senf enabled urbanista to implement a flexible, in-depth digital participation process. The phased and coordinated structure of the surveys provided valuable insights into both present realities and future opportunities. All input is now feeding into the preparation of the public visioning workshop. The project shows how Senf supports effective, adaptable participation across complex urban planning processes.