Growing Inwards
Growth potential of Vienna’s Gründerzeit districts

Vienna’s projected population increase of 200 000 people by 2035 presents a major challenge not only to the city expansion areas, but also to the built-up districts along the Süd- and Westgürtel. These so-called urban renewal areas have significantly contributed to the city’s growth in the last ten years (an increase of 50 000 people since 2001). For urban renewal in Vienna, this represents a completely new phenomenon, since until 2001 the population of the urban renewal areas had tended to shrink.

The paradigm shift in urban renewal

Therefore, in the coming years “gentle urban renewal” should shift the focus from the previous strategies, such as gentrification and enhancement of the existing housing stock, to sustaining and expanding social diversity and usage mixture. Many Gründerzeit districts are characterised by the following two processes:

First, the influx of newly arrived residents (Gründerzeit area as arrival space); second, the influx or relocation of more affluent residents (Gründerzeit area as an attractive residential location). The sensitive balancing of the both processes will be a major challenge for urban renewal in the next decade, as the quality of the Gründerzeit area primarily depends on its equitable social mix, which in turn derives from diverse housing. Only by promoting this diversity can one maintain the balance between static and dynamic populations in Gründerzeit districts.

Urban renewal in a growing city

City growth is a collective responsibility for the whole municipality, which should be borne by the city and its society as a whole. In other words, the Gründerzeit districts, along with the peripheral expansion areas, have to provide an appropriate contribution to urban growth. This requires the development of effective strategies for creating new living space by refurbishing, extending lofts, and adding storeys, as well as for preserving and creating affordable and easily accessible housing.

In addition, the dual function of the Gründerzeit area as an arrival space and as an attractive residential location should be further maintained.

Expected population increase requires attention

In the last decade, 40% of Vienna’s population increase occurred in the Gründerzeit area. This fact, as well as the available development area (according to the zoning and development plan – “Flächenwidmungs- und Bebauungsplan”), allows planners to expect further population growth in Gründerzeit districts in the coming years. From the point of view of urban renewal (data from the Area Renewal Office for the districts 7, 8 and 16), the current situation requires a profound examination of the topic “Population growth in a densely built-up city”. Such a focus will allow one to swiftly adapt existing urban development instruments, strategies, and procedures to the changing circumstances of a growing city.

The extent of population growth in the Gründerzeit area ultimately relies on the successful implementation of urban renewal projects and on available funding, as well as on activation of the “growth potential” in other city areas (city quarters from the 1950s-70s). It would thus be possible to take some pressure off the Gründerzeit area, but not to such an extent that might stifle further building modifications or other kinds of urban development. Internal city development should be and will be promoted as a sustainable and affordable form of urban growth. In contrast to the big urban development projects, the internal development program can be quickly scaled back in case of a drop-off in demand.

Furthermore, the reconstruction of buildings over 100 years old has long-term effects. It allows the Gründerzeit city core to be preserved for future generations, and be developed according to residents’ needs. Accessibility, energy efficiency, open-air areas, such as balconies and roof terraces, represent a modern quality standard applicable when refurbishing individual buildings or whole districts.

From “gentle urban renewal” to “socially equitable urban development”

Urban renewal is a necessary and ongoing process, which derives from both aging of buildings and social change. In Vienna this process tends to be highly concentrated in time and space. This can be explained by the fact that during high and late Gründerzeit periods (1870-1914), whole city quarters were built within a very short timeframe according to very similar standards of construction, hygiene and spatial planning. Therefore, whole districts became “old” at the same time, exhibiting very similar “deficiencies”. This contributes to the challenges of urban renewal, as it has to embrace the whole city quarters and not just individual buildings! The City of Vienna has been meeting this challenge for the last 40 years, with changing focus and intensity, thus distinguishing itself from all the other cities. Though urban renewal can be carried out equally well by private actors, they tend to prioritize economic factors, thus contributing to the displacement process.

The second part of the present paper outlines the necessary changes to the Viennese model of “gentle urban renewal”. Inner development – i.e. urban growth in built-up areas – must be possible and must be managed according to the principles of “gentle urban renewal”. This also means that inner development – i.e. urban densification – shouldn’t be ruled out per se. Similarly, the lack of open space in densely built-up areas shouldn’t automatically exclude any possibilities of growth. Inner development should become an essential urban renewal strategy for the City of Vienna, as only in this way can the city secure its influence on the socio-political goals of urban renewal and ensure that it isn’t reduced to a purely technical task.

The 12-point Program

The 12-point Program presented at the end of this paper summarises the most important measures designed to deal with future challenges of varying complexity. The goal of this program is to develop the Gründerzeit area such that “social diversity” and “affordable housing” are preserved and promoted, whilst new living space is provided. To achieve these objectives, it is necessary to introduce more targeted support schemes and initiate a wider range of different housing types.