vienna housing research

Organiser of the Vienna Housing Research Days
City of Vienna, MA 50
Dr. Wolfgang Förster
www.wien.gv.at

Project Management
Europaforum Wien - Centre for Urban Dialogue and European Policy
Dr. Johannes Lutter
Rahlgasse 3/2
1060 Vienna
T +43 1 585 85 10
F +43 1 585 85 10 30
institut.efw

europaforum.or.at
www.europaforum.or.at

Housing of the future - the Vienna Housing Research Programme

Since 2004 the City of Vienna (MA 50, Housing Department) is regularly presenting results of funded research projects in the fields of housing and urban renewal. The research focus of the department for housing, housing construction and urban renewal has been considerably extended within the last three years - not only financially, but also through the development of a framework programme for Vienna Housing Research, that is defining the current focus of the research.

A framework programme for Vienna Housing Research

It is the main objective of the framework programme to fund projects along specific research tracks dealing with pre-defined research questions. These include

	Providing facts and argument for the housing policy of the City of Vienna,
	Providing a medium-term data basis that can be updated at any time and may also be used as a basis for short-run detailed studies,
	Providing a starting point for medium-term strategies of Austrian housing research institutes,
	Broadening the future research community and enforcing competition among the research institutions.

The active role of the City of Vienna in the field of housing research becomes manifest primarily in calls for precisely defined projects, calls for projects within defined research tracks (framework projects), research cooperation and participation in superordinate research activities on housing-related topics (e.g. Life in Vienna) and the update of data on housing in Vienna.

Important questions

	How do housing supply and demand develop - regarding quantity and quality?
	How to guarantee for the affordability of housing - in particular for socially vulnerable households and migrants?
	How can housing policy react on demographic developments respectively on new forms of households (singles, multi-generation housing, living & working, serviced apartments etc.)?
	What is the impact of Vienna's old (late 19th century) fabric in connection with housing policy, private investment and urban development?
	What are the quantitative and qualitative pre-requirements for (funded) renewal of housing stock?
	What developments and innovations can be expected in Ecology, construction procedures, energy, housing-related technics?
	What are the interrelations between housing and economic development in general (living and working, new mixtures of use, construction economy, impact of housing on the business location, housing as asset of a city)?
	What do the (international) comparative data regarding the most important housing policy parameters look like (housing situation, migrants, housing speculation)?

Four research tracks

By defining specific research focuses the City of Vienna on the one hand wants to meet the diversity of research institutions in Vienna; and on the hand tries to embed research questions and results into recent developments related to housing, housing construction and urban renewal. Accordingly, projects related to four research tracks are funded from 2011 on:

	Affordable housing: cost reduction through planning, pilot projects on affordable housing construction, economic land use in housing construction, financing and funding options
	Technical and ecological qualities and standards in new housing construction: Energy consumption, flexibility, timber construction, open space, facility standards etc.
	Technical and ecological qualities and standards in refurbishment: Energy consumption, open space, facility standards etc.
	Living in community: tenants participation, new caretaker model, moderation and management, community facilities, assisted living, social mix, integration, identity etc.

At the same time these focuses help to network the housing research community in Vienna with other Austrian and European research programmes, e.g. in the framework of the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR), via participation in EU projects or through bilateral cooperation and theme-oriented partnerships with other cities.

Transparency in the dissemination of research results

It is one of the explicit aims of the new Vienna Housing Research Programme to integrate the local and regional research community and to enforce the dialogue among experts by optimised dissemination of research results. In order to meet this objective the City of Vienna

	is organising Housing Research Days (since 2005), focussing on current questions and involving also international contributions;
	has launched this website, where the reports of all housing research projects are published (since 2004).