[hingler36]

This is interesting analysis, but I don't think it necessarily counteracts what the book is saying. To build state-affiliated housing also involved "clearing the pipes" as the article put it.

Additionally, the Vienna housing that this article touched on is a way deeper rabbit hole that is absolutely worth looking into. They have a completely different housing paradigm than pretty much anywhere else in the world.

[tptacek]

(For the uninitiated, the government [and sponsored co-ops] owns almost half the housing in Vienna, and eligibility for social housing, which is seen as desirable, extends deep into the middle class.)

[shay_ker]

There's no free lunch. Housing costs are effectively carried by immigrants and transplants: https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Setting-the-r...

In general, the Vienna model is very difficult to copy without being in extreme conditions: https://www.threads.com/@__smiz/post/Cxpz28CIkT6

[Plasmoid]

Many people also don't know that Vienna was isolated and divided for nearly 50 years during the cold war. A significant amount of the available housing is due to Vienna having a bad economy for almost a century.

[hackandthink]

Berlin was divided.

Like Berlin, Vienna had occupation zones, but there was never a wall between them.

[eigenspace]

The reason "many people dont know" about that is that it didnt happen.

You just made it up.

[tptacek]

That's a pretty uncivil way to say "you're wrong". People are wrong about things all the time; I'm sure you have been too.

[tomjakubowski]

Huh? I thought that Vienna's partition period following WWII lasted more like ten years than sixty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Austria

[eigenspace]

Vienna was under occupation for 10 years but was never partitioned. There was mostly free movement of people and goods between the zones.

[darkwizard42]

Is this similar to Singapore where much of the housing stock is government housing?

[Terr_]

I am also reminded of (former-?) rival Hong Kong, where the government either runs or subsidizes at least half the housing. (This in turn relies on other idiosyncrasies, like the government owning all the land, a massive sovereign-wealth fund, etc.)