In Vienna a citywide development plan is reviewed and adopted every ten years. Based on this plan—which is subject to broad public participation by residents, district politicians, and other stakeholders—the city organizes competitions for new subsidized estates. These juried competitions evaluate each new project on four criteria—planning and architecture qualities, ecology, costs, and social sustainability—designed to avoid the compromises of market-oriented approaches. The urban development plan pays particular attention to the challenges of infrastructure, since that is crucial when developing urban structure.
Text: Wolfgang Förster
