Today's Gahan-Free-Zone: "Public Housing Works: Lessons from Vienna and Singapore."

I try not to miss any opportunity to publish a photo of the blocks-long Karl-Marx-Hof apartment building in Vienna. It's public housing, according to Vienna's unique scheme.

When can we leave? "Vienna Offers Affordable and Luxurious Housing."

Here's a comparison of public housing in Vienna, Singapore and (briefly) New York City. I've cut to the conclusion, but the whole piece is worth reading.

Public Housing Works: Lessons from Vienna and Singapore, by Anna Bergren Miller (Shareable)

Lessons

Neither Vienna’s nor Singapore’s affordable housing programs are perfect. Yet both have achieved a level of success, measured in terms of both quantity and quality, that remains elusive for most American cities. What distinguishes these two models is their broad definition of social housing. In the United States, public housing is essentially crisis management. It offers temporary support to households who would not be able to afford housing without municipal assistance. Vienna and Singapore take a longer view, in the belief that offering subsidies to a majority of residents will benefit both society and the economy. As a result, the Viennese and Singaporean governments consistently invest both money and political capital in affordable housing, without fear of disrupting private housing market.

An effective affordable housing program benefits both residents and the community at large. Research demonstrates [pdf] that access to high-quality housing improves resident health incomes by reducing exposure to stressors and acting as a point of delivery for health care services. Affordable housing can also support residents' education [pdf], by preventing disruptions associated with residential mobility. On a community level, the construction and maintenance of public housing provides jobs and boosts the local construction industry. In addition, affordable housing supports the local economy by leaving residents with more disposable income. Affordable housing located near businesses provides employers with workers more likely to be productive, and less likely to move because they are overspending on housing.

Beyond the practical considerations lies a moral dilemma. Where Vienna and Singapore understand affordable housing as a right, American public housing programs—rhetoric aside—treat affordability as a privilege. If the latter is acceptable, then more of the same will work just fine. If not, it is time to move affordable housing from the periphery to the center of municipal policy.