Vienna’s legacy of giving high priority to providing high-quality housing for the working class dates back to the “Red Vienna” period of the early 20th century, when the majority socialist government made providing quality affordable housing for city residents a priority. Vienna remains committed to this cause to this day. The November discussion in Montgomery County, Maryland was led by Pamela Lindstrom, commissioner of the Housing Opportunities Commission. Lindstrom explained that Vienna’s city government owns and manages 220,000 housing units, which represent about 25 percent of the city’s housing stock.1 These city-owned housing units, called social housing, are meant primarily for lower-income residents.
The city also indirectly controls 200,000 units that are built and owned by limited-profit private developers but developed through a city-regulated process. Vienna adopted the latter approach in the 1980s, when it decided to collaborate with the private sector to build affordable housing rather than developing and owning more public housing. The city buys land deemed suitable for residential development and retains control over the type and nature of development. The city then solicits proposals from various private developers, which will build and retain ownership of the housing units.
