Method

How the LAGE score is calculated

LAGE, our score for the location of an address, runs from 0 to 100, and higher is better. Every address in our cities gets one, from official open data and by the same rules. The name is an abbreviation:

LLärm & Luftnoise & air: quietness, air quality

AAnbindungtransport links: public transport

GGrün & Gefahrengreen & hazards: green space, natural hazards

EErledigungeneveryday errands: shops, doctors, schools on foot

In three steps

1. Every address gets six part scores from 0 to 100: quietness, air quality, public transport, green space, everyday errands and natural hazards. Each comes from official data for that exact point.
2. LAGE combines the five quality parts with a geometric mean. A weak part pulls the result down further than in a plain average, so a loud street shows in the score even where transport is good.
3. Natural hazards can only lower the result. LAGE multiplies it by a factor between 0.5 and 1. The factor is 1 outside all mapped hazards and 0.675 in a 100-year flood area.

The six parts

For each part you see what it measures, the exact rule and an example. The examples come from two addresses in the old town of Graz, Hofgasse 1 and Herrengasse 16.

LQuietness

How loud the loudest side of the building gets from road, rail and air traffic, by day and at night.

The rule: Loudest facade band, all sources, Lden: < 55 dB → 95, 55–59 → 75, 60–64 → 55, 65–69 → 35, 70–74 → 20, ≥ 75 → 8. Aircraft noise counts 8 dB louder and rail 1 dB quieter than road (WHO 2018 guideline gaps). Night (Lnight) ≥ 55 dB −8, ≥ 60 dB −15. A quiet side (≥ 15 % of the facade below 55 dB) +12.

Example: Hofgasse 1: every facade lies outside the mapped noise bands of 55 dB and more, so 95. Herrengasse 16: road noise 70–74 dB and rail noise 65–69 dB at the loudest facade, with a quiet side. The score is 17.

LAir quality

Fine dust and nitrogen dioxide in the air, against the WHO guidelines.

The rule: Worst of PM2.5, PM10 and NO₂ on a linear scale: 100 at or below the WHO 2021 guideline, 0 at the current EU limit value (Directive 2008/50/EC). A cell more than 30 % above or below the middle value of its four neighbouring cells takes that middle value.

Pollutant	100 points at (WHO 2021)	0 points at (EU limit)
PM2.5	5 µg/m³	25 µg/m³
PM10	15 µg/m³	40 µg/m³
NO₂	10 µg/m³	40 µg/m³

Example: Hofgasse 1: NO₂ 29.1 µg/m³ is 64 % of the way from the WHO guideline (10) to the EU limit (40), the furthest of the three pollutants, so 100 − 64 = 36.

APublic transport

How well buses, trams and trains serve the address. The official quality class rests on the nearest stops and how often they run.

The rule: Official ÖV-Güteklasse at the address (A=100, B=90, C=78, D=65, E=50, F=38, G=25, outside all classes=5). Classes combine stop category (mode + weekday interval) with walking distance.

Class	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	outside all classes
Score	100	90	78	65	50	38	25	5

Example: Hofgasse 1: class A, so 100.

GGreen space

Parks, gardens, woods and meadows nearby, and how far it is to the next park or forest.

The rule: 60 points for green/open land share within 300 m (full at ≥ 40 %), 40 points for distance to the nearest public park ≥ 0.3 ha or forest ≥ 1 ha (full at 0 m, zero at ≥ 1 km). Forests count because everyone may walk in them (§ 33 Forstgesetz).

Example: 20 % green and open land within 300 m and a park 200 m away give 60 × 20/40 = 30 plus 40 × (1 − 200/1000) = 32, together 62. Hofgasse 1: 21 % green and a park or forest 111 m away, so 67. Herrengasse 16: 2 % green: 32.

EEveryday amenities

Supermarket, pharmacy, doctor, kindergarten, school and more within a short walk.

The rule: Weighted share of everyday needs (supermarket ×3, pharmacy, doctor, kindergarten, primary school ×2, others ×0.5–1) with the nearest one within 800 m (half credit up to 1280 m).

Weights: Supermarket 3 · Pharmacy 2 · Doctor's practice 2 · Kindergarten 2 · Primary school (Volksschule) 2 · Bakery 1 · Drugstore 1 · Crèche (Kinderkrippe) 1 · Middle school 1 · Playground 1 · Restaurant / café 1 · Dentist 0.5 · Higher secondary school (AHS/BHS) 0.5 · Fitness / sports centre 0.5 · Post office / partner 0.5 · Bank / ATM 0.5. Within 800 m on foot (about 10 minutes) counts in full, up to 1280 m half.

Example: Hofgasse 1: supermarket, pharmacy, doctor, kindergarten and primary school all lie within a short walk. The score is 100.

GNatural hazards

Flood areas, torrent and avalanche hazard zones and landslides. At 100 the address lies clear of all of them.

The rule: 100 = outside all mapped flood areas and hazard zones. HQ300 → 65, HQ100 → 35, HQ30 → 15, within 50 m of a flood area → 85. A red hazard zone caps the score at 15, other zones at 50, a landslide area within 150 m at 70.

Example: Hofgasse 1: outside every mapped flood area and hazard zone, so 100. Herrengasse 16: in a 100-year flood area, so 35.

How the parts combine

LAGE multiplies the five quality parts and takes the fifth root, the geometric mean. After that it multiplies the result by the hazard factor:

LAGE = ⁵√(L_quiet × L_air × A × G_green × E) × (0.5 + 0.5 × G_hazards / 100)

We use a geometric mean because a plain average lets two strong parts hide a very weak one. In the geometric mean, a weak part costs more the weaker it is, so a loud street or a long way to the shops shows in the score.

Herrengasse 16 shows why. A plain average would give 57, because transport and errands score 100. The geometric mean gives 46, as quietness (17) and green space (32) are weak, and the flood area lowers it to 31.

Missing data and estimates

• Where data is missing, we name the gap and leave it open. The part then shows a reason in place of a value, and LAGE uses the known parts, at least 4 of the 5. With fewer, the LAGE score is missing too.
• A part below 5 counts as 5, so the whole score stays above zero when a single part is zero.
• In five cities the noise maps cover only major roads, railways and airports. There we estimate the quietness of side streets from the nearest street, and the value carries the label “estimated”.
• The data behind the scores differs between cities (for example the noise maps and the facility registers), so compare scores within one city.

Your own LAGE

With your priorities, each part counts as much as it matters to you: unimportant (left out), normal, important or very important (counted up to three times). You also choose which errands count, for example crèche, kindergarten, school and playground if you have children. Your LAGE follows the rule of the standard LAGE, as a weighted geometric mean, and natural hazards always count.

Example: Herrengasse 16 has a LAGE score of 31. With other priorities:

• Public transport very important · Everyday amenities (5 errands) important → 41
• Quietness very important · Green space important → 23

The same building scores higher when public transport matters most and lower when quietness does, because it is loud there. Set your priorities →

Average scores and bands

Next to an address you see the average score of its neighbourhood and of its city. It is the middle value of all their addresses, so half of them score higher and half lower. A few extreme addresses leave it unchanged. “Better than 39 % of all addresses” compares the building with every address in the city.

The same bands apply to every score and every city:

• Very good ≥ 80
• Good 70–79
• Fair 60–69
• Modest 50–59
• Weak < 50

What LAGE leaves out

• The flat itself, with its condition, floor, light, layout and price. LAGE describes the location.
• Solar potential. The report shows it, and LAGE leaves it out because it describes the roof.
• Who lives somewhere. Reports and neighbourhood pages show how many people live there and how old they are, but LAGE leaves that out. Data on residents' origin, religion or nationality, and anything that stands in for it, stays out entirely.
• What changes from day to day, such as building sites, a noisy bar or a new bus line before it reaches the official data.

Every building report lists the sources it used, with licence and date. Check an address →