Housing For All – An Exploratory Review of Social Housing Models in Vienna:
This exploratory research project aims to study the socioeconomic impacts of social housing models in Vienna to assess their applicability to Vancouver. In particular, how these models are contributing to a more diverse society, inclusive of equity-seeking groups such as those with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and racialized communities.
Our research attempts to address three questions:
1. How do Vienna’s social housing projects impact and benefit equity-seeking groups?
2. What do housing experts in Vienna see as lessons learned and opportunities for growth?
3. How are the learnings from Vienna applicable to future housing projects in Vancouver?
This research is concerned with understanding how Vienna addresses social-economic outcomes for future residents of social housing. Through our research, we aim to understand how these processes benefit various equity-seeking groups to determine their viability in a Vancouver-based context.
Case Studies showcase examples of how Vienna is approaching social housing by creating affordable spaces through efficient housing design, providing supportive amenities for various groups, and enabling opportunities to create organized spaces that reflect their identities. Key Participant Interviews were used to gather first-hand perspectives from Vienna’s social housing sector.
We had the opportunity to meet with seven key participants with varying expertise and experience that were broken into three categories for further analysis: Barriers, Opportunities, and Areas for Growth. Applications to Vancouver presents Vienna-based initiatives highlighted during our interview process and explores their relevance to a Vancouver-based context. In addition, calls to action are presented to explore future possibilities for Vancouver.
This research project aims to study the socioeconomic impacts of social housing models in Vienna to assess their applicability to Vancouver. In particular, how these models are contributing to a more diverse society, inclusive of equity-seeking groups such as those with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ and racialized communities. The research is conducted under the supervision of BC Housing, a provincial Crown agency under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that develops, manages, and administers subsidized housing options across the province of British Columbia.
Our research project builds upon existing work and collaborations between BC Housing and its counterparts in Vienna. The Cities of Vancouver and Vienna signed a Memorandum of Understanding in early 2018 to strengthen their collaboration to rapidly advance green building innovation in their respective municipalities. As a cornerstone of this collaboration, each city is developing a showcase low-carbon, affordable housing project. Through these two projects (Vienna House and Vancouver House), professionals and organizations in the two cities will exchange knowledge and experiences.
BC Housing issued a Request for Proposals for its showcase project (Vienna House) in June 2018 to nonprofit housing providers, or for-profit firms that partner with housing societies, seeking to develop and operate new rental housing units. The target residents are independent seniors and families in British Columbia who qualify under the new Community Housing Fund (CHF) program. This program will provide mixed-income housing, with rents affordable for low and moderate-income households. Over the summer of 2020, SCIUS Advisory organized design charrettes for BC Housing to move forward with the design of a high-performance, mid-rise, mass timber, social housing scheme in Vancouver.
During discussions between housing representatives from Vienna and Vancouver, a notable gap for further research was identified. While the two showcase housing projects focus heavily on building techniques and innovative methods for sustainability, Vienna’s extensive history with social housing provides much broader opportunities for Vancouver to learn from. This research project aims to study the often overlooked and currently unknown social and economic impacts of social housing in Vienna to understand their applicability to Vancouver. In particular, we will research how these models can contribute and adapt to a more inclusive, diverse society.