Innsbruck, Austria, 60 years ago vs today. How greenery and no roads can transform a city centre. (Copyright for second pic goes to gisipen)

https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1ecmj7r

by DABSPIDGETFINNER

27 comments

  5. I love Austrian cities, its my favorite country to travel around. Wonderful pics, makes me want to go back there this summer.

  6. Does this mean that every balkan hellhole can become a nice pretty town 😮

  8. Sorry but nope. The point is not the absence of road and a bit of green, but the presence of people. There are countless of example where the first two elements where restored, but the absence of spaces for shops and services, and therefore the lack of people walking around created wevy shabby spaces.

  9. 1960s levels of cars weren’t even a problem tbh. I always find it cool that you could just turn up in your car and park right outside the main square/city hall

  13. Innsbruck, for me, was one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been in. Wish I was going back sometime soon.

  14. I know cars = bad but the first photo has a bit of nostalgia feel to it. It looks like a lot of average people enjoying walking and shopping. The second photo looks like a mostly empty square with a few tourists.

  15. I live in Poland. I have a car, but I rarely take it for downtown trips up to 2-3km. I live about 1,5km from the heart of the mid-sized town (150k people). I’m all for radical pedestrianization. Make most streets car free. Make street parking really expensive if you use a spot longer than 3 or 4 hours.

  16. They lacked colours back then. But the cars looked better too.

  17. Trams are still alive and well, they just redesigned the lines a little. Innsbruck is fantastic. It is surrounded by ski stations too.

  18. Nitpicking: The Mercedes /8 came out in 1968, therefore the photo can be at most 56 years old.

  20. did they also tell you what a shitshow it is to find parking there, and how much fuel you waste to do so, and how much that emits, and how toxic that is in a little valley like theirs?

  21. greenery and no roads? It is still a road that is much used even in busy hours and Innsbruck is pretty much as grey as it can be.

  22. I prefer the first! I think the second, the seating and greenery just looks cheap!

  23. Can anybody explain what happened. Means like I am not making fun. Like in the first picture it shows like a town. There is road, cars, tram etc. So people here probably travel a lot, for their office etc. But in the second picture it looks like a village. So did the town shrink. Like did the office and residential areas came closer. Means like in that area do most people travel to jobs by walking or bicycling ?? I am just curious. How did they transform this place. Or work from home jobs happened or people no longer work in office instead they own small eateries and earn money through tourism ?? By saying it looks like village I don’t intend to make fun. The second picture has more greenary. So how did the city officials convince the people to change the life style. Obviously if you have to travel long distance for work or job you cannot manage it by walking or bicycling. I am not saying walking or bicycling is backwards because they are our future. I just want to know what changes did the planners did ?? Can anybody eli5 kind of ..

  24. The first picture looks a lot like today’s Brussels lol

  27. I walk by this spot almost every day.

    The trees in the second picture aren’t there most of the year. They usually come out in late spring and are gone after the summer. I wouldn’t classify this spot as particularly green (there are spots close that are though, so it’s not wrong to call Innsbruck a green city).

    The road the photographer is standing on in the first picture is still there and in use, though it’s mostly buses, trams and the occasional car. I think it’s residents only. There is a second road crossing the frame just past the church tower where cars are allowed, it’s just doesn’t lead to anywhere convenient so it’s not used much by cars. Every minute, though, at least one bus or tram passes. The road bisects this more modern city centre with the historic one.

    That spot on the left just in front of the LS in particular is a bit iffy as buses and trams run along it all the time and loads of pedestrians are crossing the road. Same with that other road I talked earlier.

    Innsbruck is a very walkable city but especially this city centre has two busy public transport arteries running through it. It can be a bit messy…

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