Crossing Continents - Vienna: getting housing right

Download Vienna: getting housing right

In Britain we have have failed for decades to build enough houses with good design and make living in them affordable – whether rented or bought. All this affects millions, especially young people. One place which seems to have a far better record is Vienna. Rents are affordable, the housing is high quality, there’s a good social mix with new estates designed with everyone in mind. So how has the City achieved this? And with pressures like a growing right to buy ethos, how sustainable all this in the face of future challenges? While the great Social Democratic tradition that Vienna’s housing embodies seems to have faded or disappeared across much of Europe, here it seems to have thrived. Is Vienna’s housing dream a one-off, or can it be a place everywhere else can learn from?

Reporter: Chris Bowlby
Producer: Jim Frank

Published on Thursday, 6th April 2023.

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