Local Subdistricts with High Concentration of Municipal Housing Supply

Which role does municipal housing play in the dispersion of opportunities and risks?

Municipal housing has a long-standing tradition in Vienna and is a key factor in ensuring the supply with housing. More than one fifth of all housing units used as a main residence in Vienna are municipal ones. In political discourse opinions diverge on the effects of municipal housing in terms of social integration and the dispersion of opportunities and risks of the population within the city limits of Vienna. This report provides exemplary data regarding this set of questions based on local subdistricts ("Zählbezirke" i.e. subunits of a district used for statistical data collection) in Floridsdorf in which municipal housing accounts for a high share in the total offer of dwellings.

In which parts of Floridsdorf does municipal housing play a dominant role?

Floridsdorf is a district with an above-average share of municipal housing units in the total number of apartments classified as a main residence. Within the district limits, the share of municipality-owned housing units in the total supply of housing differs greatly, depending on the prevailing land zoning regulation. In the following five local districts ("Zählbezirke") the share of municipal housing in the total of available housing units used as a main residence exceeds 70%: Jochbergen, Strebersdorf-Pragerstraße, Großfeldsiedlung, Siedlung Siemensstraße and Neu-Jedlesee. 60% of all municipal housing units in the district are situated there.

Does the sociodemographic profile of the population of the regions selected differ from the district average?

In terms of age and gender distribution, the population of the local districts selected hardly differs from the average of the local districts in Floridsdorf. The share of persons with a migration background (21%) in the total population of the sub-districts corresponds to the average of Floridsdorf. Municipal housing policy does not exclude any subgroups of the population.

Are different household types underrepresented in municipal housing?

Municipal housing offers accommodation for all types of households: more than half of the households in the local districts selected are family households. This percentage (above 40%) - just like the share of one-person households - corresponds to the district average. Municipal housing includes also housing units for multiple-person households. However, the growth of households in the regions selected is limited by various factors. Due to the limits to expansion and the small percentage of vacant housing units, in particular multiple-child families have to search for dwellings not provided by the municipality or that are located outside the respective local district.

Which sizes of housing units prevail in the local districts selected?

During many decades municipal housing has concentrated on providing affordable housing units to all population groups. Therefore, small and mid-sized housing units dominate. Four out of ten housing units in local districts with a high density of municipal housing units are smaller than 60 m2, almost half of all housing units have a useful area between 60 and 90 m2. However, the changed requirements of potential tenants have been taken into account in the housing projects of the City of Vienna for some time.

Do the inhabitants of the sample regions have less labour market opportunities?

Men and women of working age living in Floridsdorf register a high level of labour market integration. They are employed for during about 209 days on annual average (this also includes persons of working age not participating in economic activity). The working population of those local subdistricts in which municipal housing is substantial does not achieve this level of labour market integration. In 2007 this group was employed for about 197 days on average. Moreover, the average total duration of unemployment per person registered as unemployed stood at 154 days in the sample districts, exceeding the district average.

Which earned income is attained by those participating in the labour market?

The earned income of the working population in the local subdistricts selected is below that of the total of persons participating in the labour market in Floridsdorf. Half of the persons economically active who had their main residence in one of the five local districts with a high share of municipal housing had to live on earnings of less than EUR 1,790. Municipal housing units, which are still less expensive than apartments provided by the private sector, apparently continue being the preferred housing type of low-income earners.