TRUE URBAN SPIRIT

Population growth, novel demands of (city) utilisation
and economic change will alter Vienna’s
spatial structure over the coming years: “blind
spots” in the urban tissue that were formerly
used as industrial zones and traffic surfaces –
such as the big plots of the former railway stations
Nordbahnhof and Nordwestbahnhof – are
gradually transformed into fully-fledged urban
quarters. Peripheral locations are brought closer
to “the city” and hence become more urban due
to public and private investments in housing,
industry and commerce, public space and mobility
infrastructure. Through targeted urbanistic interventions,
the still often monofunctional housing
estates of the 1950s to 1970s will assume new
tasks and develop more varied and urban qualities.
In the Gründerzeit quarters of Vienna, rehabilitation
and discreet new construction projects
lead to further possibilities of quality upgrades
and the interlacing of old and new. All this is done
in full respect of the valuable architectural heritage
of Vienna while leaving sufficient leeway for
novel developments.
In a nutshell, the vision for Vienna can be defined
as vibrant urbanity. In many parts of the city, this
has already become reality. In the next few years,
many – often quite small-scale – improvements
and additions will create space for greater functional
density. This not only means reduced land
consumption for new buildings, but also short
distances and plenty of facilities in the immediate
environs, which favours eco-friendly transport
modes.
In this context, it is essential that space for up
to 120,000 housing units must be provided until
2025 to be able on the one hand to compensate
for the ongoing loss of flats – caused e. g. by
the combination of smaller dwellings or the
demolition of badly equipped units – and on the
other hand to create housing space for additional
households in this growing city: the demand is
generated both by changes in the lifestyles of
the resident population and by the arrival of
newcomers to Vienna. As in the past, part of the
demand is met by existing buildings and by a
wealth of small-scale new structures, additions
and adaptations. However, in keeping with
Vienna’s long-standing tradition, the most important
pillar of new housing construction will be
composed of multi-storey housing estates with
a high share of subsidised units. Social housing,
which in Vienna is available to many different
population groups, will continue to play an important
role. However, other forms of affordable
housing, too, are of significance here.
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