Research focus: Living in community
The research focus covers a.o. the following questions: How to ensure the social sustainability of social housing? What housing policy instruments may help to enhance social mix and inclusion in the city? What methods of participation, of moderation between diverging resident interests and of conflict management have proved successful?

Wohnen für geflüchtete Menschen in Wien (2020): Die Entwicklung Wiens ist stark durch Zuwanderung geprägt. Der Prozess des Ankommens und der Integration stellt für viele geflüchtete und zugewanderte Menschen eine große Herausforderung dar. Wien war und ist von der Flucht- und Asylmigration überproportional betroffen. Im Dezember 2019 waren über 11.600 Personen in Wien in der Grundversorgung (vgl. FSW 2019: 2). Zahlreiche Geflüchtete haben bereits Asyl oder subsidiären Schutz erhalten. Mit der Studie soll einerseits ein Überblick über die quantitative Entwicklung des Zuzugs von geflüchteten Menschen nach Wien ermöglicht werden. Andererseits möchte die Studie die Perspektiven der Zielgruppen selbst in Hinblick auf ihre Wohnsituationen und Wohnbedürfnisse erheben und sichtbar machen. Zudem sollen abschließend Handlungsempfehlungen formuliert werden. more
60+ Comfort Living (2021): The “60+ comfort living” concept is a variation of the concept of assisted living (in according European standards, the term “sheltered housing” is applied). It was first developed and introduced within the preceding study on Assisted Living for Senior Citizens in Vienna (IIBW 2020). more
Assisted Living for Senior Citizens in Vienna (2020): The purpose of the study is to identify new approaches to assisted living in order to achieve a significant expansion of assisted living options in Vienna, specifically for younger seniors. Special attention is paid to the successful municipal SMART-Apartment programme, and the possible adaptation of units for assisted living. more
100 years of social open space (2020): This study highlights achievements in open space in Vienna’s residential landscape over the past 100 years. Types of open space, design policies, forms of use and typical shortcomings in open space are considered in a historical context. Particular attention is paid to the interaction between a housing project, open space and the neighbourhood, as well as its effect on the everyday lives of women and children. more
Working. Women. Housing: Almost 100 years after Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky developed the prototype of an “apartment for the working woman”– her contribution to the architectural question of how an apartment can be affordable for low-income, single women – our project develops a catalogue for affordable housing conditions of current Vienna. more
The Housing Situation and Housing Needs of Single Parents in Vienna: The study “The Housing Situation and Housing Needs of Single Parents in Vienna” consists of a qualitative and a quantitative part and aims to provide information about the housing situation of single parents in Vienna, their housing needs, the challenges of separation and divorce phase with regard to housing and the importance of communal forms of housing for single parents. more
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The Digital Bassena: Social Media as an Instrument of Neighbourhood Formation (2019): The importance of virtual networking is increasingly reflected in people’s neighbourly relationships. In addition to public and private spaces, the internet offers new social spaces in which a wide variety of people can network and exchange information. The Austrian Institute for Regional Studies (ÖIR GmbH) analysed the spectrum of virtual neighbourhood platforms and their influence on the real coexistence of people living in Vienna for the City of Vienna in the study “The Digital Bassena – Social Media as an Instrument of Neighbourhood Formation”. In addition to a comprehensive analysis of the situation in Vienna and the German-speaking neighbouring countries, ÖIR conducted interviews with various stakeholders and two case studies (in the “Seestadt Aspern” in the 22nd district and in the settlement "Wohnen am Marchfeldkanal" in the 21st district). more
Social Dimensions of Digitalisation in Housing (2018): We all live in socio-technical systems - in cities and towns, in the educational system, in the world of work, in the healthcare system, in the one of leisure and culture, in social associations, in the system of interaction and communication - all of these are socio-technical systems. All these socio-technical systems, including the city of Vienna, develop towards digitisation. more
Changing Neighborhood(s) (2018): The research focuses on the living together in Viennese neighborhoods mainly composed by subsidized estates. In this context, it looks at the Monte Laa neighborhood as an example. The area comprises subsidized housing estates built since the early 2000s that stand for different generations of Viennese housing policies. It houses more than 3000 apartments and is still under construction. more
Gemeinsam wachsen, gemeinsam handeln? (2018): The research project „Gemeinsam wachsen, gemeinsam handeln?“ („Grow together, act jointly?“) is in line with several studies on behalf of the Municipal Department 50, Vienna Housing Research, that are dealing with the highly relevant research question of how Vienna and its urban region can manage the increasing settlement dynamics and the resulting planning challenges in a sustainable way. more
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Arrival spaces of immigrants in Vienna (2015): The Viennese Population has been growing steadily since 2001. This study focuses especially on the group of newly arrived, foreign-born immigrants to Vienna. The report includes an overview of the population and immigration structure in Vienna. It describes patterns of growth and shrinking as well as fluctuation of inhabitants. Furthermore it identifies those quarters where immigrants find their first places of residence and where they settle for longer periods. more
Models of Communal Living in Vienna – Survey of Demand and Perspectives (2014): Recently an increasing trend towards more self-determination and a desire for community has emerged. The reasons may be found in our increasingly differentiating society regarding the stages of life, the concept of work, as well as the significance of family relationships. more
Living Together: The Integration of Living Arrangements Adapted to Aging into Subsidized Residential Buildings in Vienna (2014): This research project focuses on living arrangements that are suited to aging, such as shared buildings and apartments that – to various degrees – stimulate active communication between residents and provide age-appropriate support for their everyday needs. more
Housing for the Elderly: A potential analysis of the spatial distribution of the elderly in Vienna (2014): Demographic scenarios predict for Vienna not only a significant population growth - according to current estimates, the city will have 2030 exceeded the limit of 2 million inhabitants primarily as a result of immigration - but also to more older people in the city. This process of demographic aging – not equivalent to a general aging of the population – is associated with socio-cultural change. more
Living and quality of living in Vienna residential towers (2014): The also on international levels much-debated issues of the socio-spatial embedding of high rise buildings, of its housing quality and living culture, also in terms of its social and economic sustain-ability in vertically compressed housing, forms the starting point of the study. more
Participation in Housing Projects. A study on tenants’ motives and expectations in state subsidized council housing with participation possibilities in Vienna (2013): This study analyses participation of (prospective) tenants in the planning and design of housing space in four subsidized council housing projects in Vienna. As there has been an increased demand for participation processes, as well as a rise in opportunities for involvement, the focus of this study is on (prospective) tenants’ expectations, their motives for moving-in and the specific target groups that are interested in participation projects. Furthermore the study covers tenants’ perceptions and their assessment of the participation process. more
Organization of a Focus Event on Community Housing at the Wohnbaufestwochen 2013: At the Vienna Housing Festival 2013 one event was dedicated to the topic of community housing. Central questions were what types of community housing exist, in what forms they are realized, how far the development already went and what their relevance for the city as a whole is. The event focused on disseminating the principle of community housing and on a representation of its concrete forms existing in Vienna. more
Building Cooperatives in Seestadt Aspern, Vienna (2012): The application procedure 2011/12 and the following cooperative and individual planning of five building cooperatives in Seestadt Aspern was a singular event in Vienna up to now: Never before were building plots offered in such a systematic way, fitting to the building cooperatives needs, for such projects.The present study wants to add to this steps by securing data on the application procedure in Aspern and drawing conclusions for future similar procedures for other places. more
The analysis of resident forums as an innovative tool of housing research? (2011): In the course of the Web 2.0 chat rooms and internet forums have been popular long before the advent of facebook & co. and have been able to attract a variety of users, who could use these platforms to discuss and exchange all kinds of information. An interesting special form of such communication platforms are internet forums that are spatially and thematically oriented towards specific user groups, namely the residents of certain housing estates. Such ‘virtual staircases’ often enjoy great popularity as the number of registered users and posted contributions show. more
Our Stories (2011): At the focal point of the project stands the question, if and how a "tool" to help build community spirit in funded housing could be developed from the method of oral history, which aside from considering documentation and texts, is mainly based on interviews and stories of contemporary witnesses. more
Evaluation of the Pilot Experiment "Forum-10" (2010): The aim of this research project has been to make statements about how different parties evaluate the process of developing and establishing Forum-10 and to deduce recommendations for the further development of Forum-10 as well as for the transferability of this model. Next to a document analysis and a participant observation interviews haven been conducted with tenants' representatives, wohnpartner employees, representatives of Wiener Wohnen, the regional administration and of urban research. more
Glossary "Social Work in Public Space" (2010): The research project "Compilation of a Glosary on Social Work in Public Space" has formed the framework for an identification of terms and concepts on social work in public space. The intention of this glossary is to provide those active in the field of social work in public space with orientation on professional and content issues. more
Community Gardens in Vienna´s Communal Housing - Neighbourhood Garden Roda Roda Gasse (2010): The project discusses the possibilities and conditions for community gardens in Vienna's Council Blocks based on the experiences in the neighbourhood garden Roda-Roda Gasse. more
Building Cooperatives in Vienna. Assessment of Potential and Conditions (2009): The study addresses building cooperatives, (co-)initiated and co-designed by their future inhabitants. Central for this understanding of such projects is the amount of collaborative participation that inhabitants have in the development of their future housing surroundings, their apartments and their houses with common areas and open spaces. more
Building Cooperatives in Vienna. Legal Aspects, Manual, Building Lot Tendering (2009): This research project is based on the objective of Vienna's housing department to support building cooperatives in the future. After having conducted a study on status quo and potential of building cooperatives in Vienna, this part of the project includes a practical manual to be used by cooperatives. more
Senior Single Households in Vienna - Shrinking Households in the Ageing Society (2009): It is a major issue of social politics in central and western European cities to enable the older citizens to live as long and autonomous and self-reliant as possible in their homes. This implies restructuring and reorganising and continuous rethinking of the complex sector of social services and health care. more
Diversity in Semi-Public Space in Housing (2009): Diversity has expanded to include non-ethnic categories of citizens and their respective lifestyles. Our efforts in this study have concentrated on better understanding of housing and semi-public space and their interdependence, by analysing the question holistically, looking at best practices in various cities, and coming up with prescriptive solutions as a contribution to the debate, aimed at building better housing. more
„Measuring Social Capital“ in the urban area (2009): In 2001 the OECD initiated the international research program „Measuring Social Capital“. On the basis of this program several surveys on social capital have taken place in Austria. The administration of the Vienna city council has chosen the „Fasanviertel“ in the third district for a survey on social capital. more
Relation residential satisfaction - community facilities (2009): The focus of this study was the acceptance of community facilities and residential satisfaction in three residential complexes of subsidized housing. more
Life Sentiment in Public Housing Estates (2008): The aim of the study was to investigate the subjective attitudes and satisfaction of residents of public housing concerning the questions of security, the relationship to neighbours and the image of this specific form of housing. more
Something New to grow Old - Integration of Housing for Seniors into subsidised Housing in Vienna (2008): In the past ten years only few attempts have been made to develop new housing offers for seniors that focus rather on housing than on care - not always with great success. These projects have been taken into account in this study, focusing on how they came into being and how they are being used and accepted by the senior inhabitants and thus drawing conclusions for future projects. more
At home in my neighbourhood, Integrative concepts for housing estates with a high share of elder inhabitants (2008): The goal of this project is to find ways of making it possible that elderly people may live in their familiar surroundings as long as possible and thus also up to an old age even if this seems difficult, e.g., due to disability or other confining circumstances. This project focuses on those housing units that are already inhabited by elderly people and will remain their home for the next 20 years. more
Car-free living – evaluation of the prototype housing estate in Vienna-Floridsdorf (2008): From 1997 to 1999 a housing estate with 244 rented flats was constructed in the 21st municipal district of Vienna. Special feature: The residents had to commit themselves to abstaining from an own car. The main aim of this study is to evaluate whether the (partly diverging) objectives and expectations of the projects have been met. (German only!) more
Evaluation of the area renewal offices responsible for communal housingin Vienna (2008): The aim of this study was to evaluate the situation of the area renewal offices responsible for communal housing (short: ARO/CH). At the beginning of 2007 the area renewal offices have been restructured, and so the main interest was to identify – and counteract – problems that might have been caused by these changes. more
Art Creating City?! (2008): The present study analyses Viennese art projects which refer to the surrounding urban space. Relating to the term "new public genre art", these projects are considered urban-quarter-projects which initiate processes of upgrading, make use of existing resources and realise hidden potentials. more
Abolition of the Caretaker Law and its Impact on Caretaking (2007): The main objective of the research project was to evaluate the consequences of the abolition of the Caretaker Law and to provide empirical evidence to the political debate about implementating new legal federal regulations for the professional field of
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"Hot spots" of social conflict and area renewal offices in multi-storey blocks in Vienna (2007): The study is based on the assumption that in Vienna there are "hot spots" of social conflict or at least a potential for conflict, which can be located in certain districts as well as in certain residential facilities. Therefore the study aims at identifying the factors that are perceived as constituting a reduction in the quality of life. more
Co-housing for the Advanced - The 50+ Generation (2007): The goal of the moderated and sociologically guided project is the development of alternative forms of housing for people who are in their third stage of life and want to live independently in an apartment, but in the company of a residential community. more
"ANKER 10" - for day-to-day community engagement in the neighbourhood (2004-2006): The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the improvement of the local residents' living conditions. Their interests, ideas and problems are the main starting point, as they are considered to be experts of their immediate every-day environment. more
Park(T)Raum - Für ein gutes Miteinander: A Model Project for Intergenerational Cooperation in Public Spaces (2006): The intergenerational project "Park(T)Raum - Für ein gutes Miteinander" attempts to bring about co-operation between the official park attendants and senior citizens, primarily migrants, who work as volunteers. These senior citizens regularly contribute their share as voluntary park attendants' assistants, cooperating with children and youth care workers. more
Parti. im Bau - Parti. in Municipal Housing Estates (2006): The pilot project "Parti. im Bau", which is intended to last several years (2004-2006), aims to work with tenants' associations and young people to help them develop a respectful and strong culture of dialogue at their housing estates. The Otto Probst Estate (10th district) and the Karl Marx Hof (19th district) were chosen for this project as they have already had active tenants' associations for some years. more
Living Streets Vienna (2005): The main focus of this investigation on six housing estates in Vienna lies on the ideas people have of collaborative neighbourhood life and of communal use of access areas. more
New Services in the Housing Sector (2005): This study covers the existing supply of housing-related services for social housing and analyses in detail important parts of this supply in the course of wide-ranging monitoring of limited-profit housing associations and City of Vienna housing management. more
Independent Living for Elderly People - International living models as solution approaches for the City of Vienna (2004): Elderly people want to live independently. And they want to live in their own dwellings as long as possible. This wish of living independently can be complied today with various planning models. more
Evaluation of the area renewal offices responsible for communal housing in Vienna (2004): The aim of this study was on the one hand to evaluate how and to what extent the area renewal offices responsible for communal housing (short: ARO/CH) are coping with their tasks, and on the other hand to find out problems and deficiencies from the point of view of the ARO/CH. more
New methods of conflict resolution in municipal housing estates – theatre of memories (2004): The housing estate Koppstraße 97-101 has been one of those municipal housing estates that were chosen as location for focus programmes of the area renewal office Ottakring. (German only!) more
Demographic Aging and the Urban Fabric in Vienna (2004): The aim of the study was to contribute, particularly in times of limited funding resources, to goal-oriented action and supplies planning-relevant information about the special environmental conditions, which are required for an Independent Living of elderly people. Residential areas with an increasing population in the age-group 75+ in the coming decades are also identified. more
Home services as challenge and opportunity – evaluation of experiences and description of potentials in Vienna (2004): Traditionally, a huge variety of more or less established social home services exist in Vienna – with diverging potential for the future. The further development of home services depends on a number of societal, economic and technological factors. (German only!) more