Who Gets to Live Where? – A Brief Socioeconomic Analysis of Vienna’s Housing Market

In Vienna, achieving social diversity is a central urban policy goal. During the interwar years of Red Vienna, a bold vision led to public housing being distributed across nearly the entire urban landscape. To this day, Vienna presents itself internationally as a city without extreme contrasts between different neighborhoods and as a place where the location of your apartment does not determine your social destiny. This attitude is also reflected in the offer on the rental market: Public housing isn’t just reserved for Vienna’s poorest residents but actually offers attractive living space for the city’s upper middle classes; at the same time, the private market does not exclusively cater to those who can afford high rents. Yet when we take a closer look at the social composition of tenants, does this narrative of social diversity across different segments of the housing market actually hold up?