Does Vienna Have the World's Best Council Housing? Swimming Pools, Private TV Channels & More

Sure, I can at least give you my opinion. * They eliminate a lot of street life. Towers almost always have completely dead frontages at ground level - and they are unlikely to be directly adjacent to a real street. You will be driving to a mall - private space that has none of the democratic nature of a public street. * They often reduce the connection between neighbours. Meeting someone in a lift or a corridor isn't the same as stopping to talk to someone in the street. * The 'parks' are normally poor quality. Humans tend to feel more comfortable in enclosed spaces[1], whereas the parks are open fields that feel overshadowed by the large towers. * The parks often feel unsafe too. A significant reason for this is that towers eliminate most of the 'eyes on the street'. You are likely to feel much safer walking past a row of terraced houses than between tower blocks at night. * The buildings are often poorly built/maintained and become eyesores. * They are often built in conjunction with wide roads and excessive parking. Most countries have a good example of how housing towers go wrong. France has its Grands Ensembles - many of which are really cool buildings but which have not aged well[2]. Glasgow is now demolishing many of its towers[3]. Here's an in-depth report from Create Streets, a social enterprise that studies this kind of thing in the UK[4]. For balance, there is a more positive example in Vienna's social housing[5]. [1] [link] [2] [link] [3] [link] [4] [link] [5] [VI