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AMERICAN VISITORS TO Vienna are typically struck by the absence of homeless people on the streets. And if they ventured around the city, they’d discover that there are no neighborhoods comparable to the distressed ghettos in America’s cities, where high concentrations of poor people live in areas characterized by high levels of crime, inadequate public services, and a paucity of grocery stores, banks, and other retail outlets.

Since the 1920s, Vienna has made large investments in social housing owned or financed by the government. But unlike public housing in the United States, Vienna’s social housing serves the middle class as well as the poor, and has thus avoided the stigma of being either vertical ghettos or housing of last resort. Every country in Western Europe has some version of social housing, but Vienna’s is by far the largest and most successful. It is typically ranked as one of the world’s most livable cities.

Why America Needs More Social Housing