Can Public Housing Truly Be Innovative? Lessons from Vienna to Reimagine the Future of Local Governance

Francisco Vergara-Perucich ()
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Francisco Vergara-Perucich: Nucleo de Investigación Centro Producción del Espacio, Universidad de Las Américas, Providencia, Santiago 7500975, Chile

Administrative Sciences, 2025, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: This article examines Vienna’s public housing model as an exemplary case of institutional innovation in the public sector, defined by its regulatory stability, universalist orientation, and resistance to the commodification of urban land. Through a thematic analysis of scientific sources indexed in Scopus and official documents from the City of Vienna and the Austrian legislative framework, the study identifies both the achievements and the structural tensions within the system. The findings reveal a form of slow innovation grounded in the capacity to integrate new agendas—such as social and environmental sustainability or collaborative modes of living—into an already consolidated regulatory framework. However, grey areas persist, particularly with regard to the exclusion of vulnerable groups, community fragmentation, and the limited replicability of alternative models. The study contributes to expanding the concept of innovation in public administration beyond technocratic approaches, highlighting the value of adaptive institutionalism.

Keywords: public housing; institutional innovation; public administration; urban inclusion; Vienna (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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