Lessons Learned at the Vienna Social Housing Academy

Cristian Ahumada, Holos Communities CEO, Recounts Lessons From Vienna Social Housing Academy

In early September I had the privilege of spending a week in Vienna at the Vienna Social Housing Academy, hosted by the Global Policy Leadership Academy. Known for being the most livable city in the world, Vienna has essentially solved homelessness and is producing housing meeting the needs of the region. Along with a delegation of other housing developers and political leaders, I spent the week touring various social housing and learning the secret sauce for their success.

It was an incredibly humbling experience to learn from a program that has evolved over 100 years and to recognize that we are still in our infancy. While there were many lessons and ideas, programs and models to learn from, here’s the bottom line: We are not going to solve the homeless and housing crisis through a single solution. There is no silver bullet.

We must discard what is not working, which is a lot, and keep what is (LIHTC for instance) and derive new models while looking at housing as a part of a living ecosystem and a greater economy.

After WWII, Vienna had 30,000 homeless individuals living in its streets and countless more living in squatter conditions. In order for Vienna to solve their problem, they had to bridge political and ideological divides, and create a collective, solution-based model.

Perhaps most directly applicable is the starting point; the creation of an acquisition body. In Vienna, they have the Wohnfonds Wien (which is a land bank that purchases land for Vienna for its next 15 years).  All land acquisitions are tied to the City’s regional planning goals and the forecasted need for housing. In the words of Bill and Ted, “That is most excellent!”

Los Angeles needs its own public land bank if we are ever going to secure enough land to meet our housing needs. Short of fundamentally restructuring our capitalist society (universal health care, limiting land speculation, having a social safety net, etc) this is where we need to start. Thereafter we must create new tools, financing, policies, and otherwise if we are ever to solve our homeless and housing crisis.

I invite you to watch my travel diary that I posted daily as I explored and learned, both on Instagram and on YouTube below.

- Cristian Ahumada
CEO, Holos Communities