Related projects targeted on improving the quality of housing through private renovations, while currently main attempts are made to enhance and strengthen the living quality of Viennese districts, together with residents. Individual inhabitants, local organizations, and district administrators, need to be brought together, signalling and making local needs heard among institutional actors that can pursue their fulfilment.  Hereby, especially effort is made to connect with and provide space for silent and silenced groups in these neighbourhoods.

Participation by residents is necessary and meaningful since they are the most knowledgeable on local challenges. Additionally, collaborative decision-making assists in legitimising the urban renewal process and its outcomes in a democratic system. This is especially important in Vienna, where 1 out of 3 inhabitants do not have an Austrian citizenship and therefore, cannot vote. To avoid individuals from feeling powerless, urban changes need to take place in a co-creative manner. Therefore, creating space for dialogue and building trustful relationships, as well as reaching out to people in their own public spaces instead of through bureaucratic procedures are indispensable elements. Empowering communities is the first step to build more sustainable and liveable cities. The main take-away message is that urban redevelopment must be tailored to and with the inhabitants themselves, necessitating the collaborative development and continuous assessment of guiding indicators.

Written by Chiara Tarulli & Elien Dimitry

Summer semester 2024