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Vienna is making social housing available to those on higher incomes.

To understand Vienna´s unique housing-situation, you have to know its history.

It is largely due to female hands that Vienna's public life keeps running as smoothly as we are accustomed to. This is particularly true when it comes to those services, that are run for the benefit of the many, not the few: Public Services.

With its rapid public transit system, including subway lines, countless streetcar lines and bus routes, Vienna has one of the densest public transport networks in the world. Thanks to the € 365 annual pass, there are more annual public transport pass holders than registered cars.

Services of general interest are directed to the benefit of the common good. This means that essential services should be available to all people at affordable prices. Private companies on the other hand, have the aim of making the biggest profit possible. Therefore, a service, that is not profitable, is of no interest to private operators.

Public investments in services of general interest are primarily investments in infrastructure. This includes, for example, the construction and maintenance of roads and transportation networks, digital networks, energy supply, water pipes and sewage systems, hospitals, housing and educational facilities and many more.

After a company is privatized, it is usually trimmed exclusively to generate the highest possible profits. After privatization, the profits go exclusively to the private shareholders instead of benefitting the public in general. However, if the private company makes losses or even has to file for bankruptcy, the public sector is asked to intervene again in a manner, that is most of the times pretty pricy, to save the day - because water supply or energy supply e. g. cannot simply be dispensed with.

Services of general interest are focused on serving the common good. This means that essential public services are available to all people at affordable prices. Private companies, on the other hand, mainly focus on generating the biggest profit possible. An offered service, that is not profitable enough, is of no interest to private operators.

The term (re-)municipalization refers to the (re-)purchase of a company by municipalities (or municipally owned companies).

Vienna fosters and promotes developments rooted in social responsibility. This principle also serves as our guideline for digitalisation. The goal lies in actively shaping digitalisaton, so that human beings with their social and societal needs are always at the centre of this development.

In Austria, services of general interest are still predominantly provided by the public sector. In many other European countries though, water, energy supply, the housing sector and public transport have been sold off to private companies on a large scale. By and large however, Austria has resisted these privatizations of services of general interest.

Vienna is renowned the world for its high quality of living. Communal services such as water supply, waste collection, waste water management and public transport are key elements in making a city a coveted place to live.