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The Zuhause Project

The Zuhause Project

A 100-year timeline of social housing in Vienna, courtesy of historians of the City of Vienna.

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The “Red Vienna” Housing Model

In parallel with municipal housing construction by the City of Vienna, the non-municipal construction sector driven by non-profit or limited-profit building co-operatives and associations contributed significantly to post-1945 housing production overall. Between 1956 and 1965, these housing developers erected approx. 25 percent of all new dwellings in Vienna.


In 1973, the number of flats completed by limited- and non-profit housing developers for the first time exceeded that of new municipal flats. The (formerly) last completed municipal complex in Rösslergasse 15 (23rd municipal district) dated back to 2004. Due to the high demand for particularly inexpensive housing, the City of Vienna decided in 2015 to build another 4,000 municipal flats. For this reason, more than 4,000 new municipal flats are currently being constructed on city-owned plots in 13 districts.


Although many new housing policy approaches were developed and implemented over the decades, the key principles adopted by “Red Vienna” during the First Republic still hold true: affordability, high quality, social cohesion and a good social mix.

Red Vienna 1 Construction

100 Years of Housing: 1910-2021 Timeline

Source

1933

Around 200,000 Viennese live in municipal flats.

1933

1939

Austrofascism and National Socialism bring construction activities to a standstill.

1939

1945

Destroyed dwellings: 87,000 dwellings are destroyed; around 35,000 persons are homeless.

1945

1947

Construction of Per-Albin-Hansson-Siedlung West with 1,033 flats.

1947

1950

The City of Vienna adopts a rapid-relief construction programme, predominantly with small “duplex units”, which could be combined into one bigger flat at a later date.

1950

1951

The 100,000th municipal flat is completed.

1951

1954

The Housing Promotion Act enters into force.

1954

1960

Urban expansion: An average of 9,000 new municipal flats is built every year.

1960

1966

Beginning of construction works for Per-Albin-Hansson-Siedlung East with over 5,000 flats.

1966

1969

The 10,000th flat after the end of the Second World War is completed.

1969

1971

Completion of Großfeldsiedlung development with 5,533 flats.

1971

1975

Completion of Am Schöpfwerk housing estate with 990 flats.

1975

1980

Retrofitting of the 1,000th lift in a municipal housing estate.

1980

1981

The 200,000th municipal flat is completed.

1981

1982

The new tenancy law and the Vienna housing promotion regulations enter into force.

1982

1984

The Vienna Land Procurement and Urban Renewal Fund is set up. Every year, around 10,000 flats are rehabilitated.

1984

1989

The Vienna Housing Promotion and Housing Rehabilitation Act enters into force. The Iron Curtain is dismantled, leading to mass immigration from the neighbouring countries east of Austria.

1989

1990

A new housing construction campaign is launched. The City of Vienna subsidises up to 10,000 new flats per year.

1990

1994

Amendment of tenancy law.

1994

1995

Both developers’ competitions and the Land Advisory Board are introduced.

1995

2000

Wohnservice Wien is established. The thermal rehabilitation programme “THEWOSAN” is launched.

2000

2004

The last municipal housing estate in Rösslergasse is completed.

2004

2010

The new neighbourhood service wohnpartner takes up its activities in Vienna’s municipal housing estates.

2010

2012

Launch of SMART housing construction programme.

2012

2015

The City of Vienna adopts the new construction programme “Municipal Housing NEW”.

2015

2019

The first project of the “Municipal Housing NEW” programme is taken over by its tenants.

2019

2020

21 municipal housing projects are in the planning or construction phase and due for completion by 2026.

2020

2021

Further “Municipal Housing NEW” estates are taken into operation in the Wildgarten urban expansion area (12th municipal district) and on the premises formerly occupied by the Leopoldau gasworks in Floridsdorf (21st municipal district).

2021