New challenges, old problems, old instruments: Insights from Vienna in dealing with housing inequalities in the face of climate change adaptation

Abstract

Housing has been increasingly perceived as a commodity rather than a public responsibility driving up housing inequalities in the last decades. Re-commodification and privatisation of social housing, the reduction of brick-and-mortar subsidies in favour of person-oriented subsidies and the deregulation of rent controls are some examples how the state tuned down its regulatory power. Facing multiple challenges with the aim of a societal transformation it seems inevitable that housing (regulation) must once again become a cornerstone that centres around life quality and people’s needs. But how to design housing regulation in order to mitigate the social risks triggered by climate policies? Are the ‘old’ tools such as the local provision of public housing or rent regulation enough or do we need to take into considerations a mix of a variety of urban policy measures and their multi-level coordination? The paper focus on the context of Vienna where a) social housing and rent regulation remained largely intact and b) increasing impacts of heat waves urges the administration to ‘green’ its urban fabric via the implementation of nature-based solutions such as parks, green roofs and facades, trees along streets etc. Against this backdrop, the paper aims to reflect and explore in how far the ‘old’ instruments of social housing and rent regulation are adequate tools to mitigate unintended side effects of greening, such as increasing housing costs or the displacement of residents in greened areas. In doing so, this paper adopts a mixed-method approach to understand the potential interrelations and potential trade-offs between housing and climate adaptation policies. In a first step, a spatio-temporal assessment of how green and blue infrastructure, heat exposure relates to socio-spatial structures vis-à-vis (non‑)regulated housing segments and aims to identify key drivers for neighbourhood change and housing inequalities. Second, a qualitative analysis of policy documents and expert interviews will contextualise the findings of the quantitative analysis in terms of planning output and outcome. Preliminary findings suggest that the weakening of rent-regulation in the private, historic rental housing sector, which is also associated with a higher risk for urban heat waves and a lower density of green spaces. At the same time, these areas usually face an increased pressure on low-income householders to be (indirectly) displaced from their neighbourhoods through rising rents. The qualitative analysis will further trace how policy makers perceive the risk of gentrification associated with green infrastructure and if so, how housing regulation, social policies and planning tools at multiple government levels needs to be designed in order to cope with these challenges. The presentation will conclude on the interrelations between mechanisms of housing regulation, social policies and current (and future) climate policies.