Development of a Strategy for the Design of a Social District in Vienna through Sociological Analysis

The Viennese social housing system is worldwide famous for its historic tradition and its efficiency. The Viennese policy aims at including the largest part of the population, favouring Austrian and EU and EEA citizens. Furthermore, the system of competition and subsidies stimulate architects to design projects accounting for economic, ecological and social sustainability in addition to the architecture quality. Thus, the city offers a broad variety of design examples, each with its own characteristics, that create a remarkable projects catalogue from which it is possible to analyse the main urban development tendencies of the city. Starting from the literature that precisely describes the social housing system in Vienna and depicts the current housing market situation in the Austrian capital, the thesis aims at delineating a development strategy along the right riverbank of the Danube River, in districts 2nd and 20th (namely, Leopoldstadt and Brigittenau), integrating aspect of urban design with the main sociological and architectural features of the social housing projects. Through the sociological analysis, involving different stakeholders and experts in the field, the issues that may exist in this apparently perfect system and the urban problems of the area along the river are detected. The final strategical guideline attempts at laying the foundations for a potential development centred on the main features of social housing, fostering the social wellness of Viennese inhabitants.