Looking for a flat! From a shack to a vacant property

Suche Wohnung! Von der Baracke zum Leerstand

The housing issue is currently preoccupying the public and politicians more than almost any other topic. This is by no means a new phenomenon in Innsbruck – which is why the exhibition focuses on the city’s response to these problems over the last hundred years.

The barracks erected in various parts of the city during the First World War continued to be used for a long time afterwards due to the housing shortage. Over the years, these temporary structures gave way to modern buildings, but the housing shortage remained a persistent issue even after the Second World War, due to the influx of refugees and bomb damage. It was not until the 1964 and 1976 Olympic Games that the last substandard housing estates were cleared.

Today, hardly any city dwellers live in substandard accommodation. However, the overheated housing market severely limits the amount of floor space that ordinary people can afford. This inevitably raises the question of the scope for action by politicians and the administration – after all, 17,200 flats in Innsbruck are allocated by the city council. ‘Affordable housing’ has become nothing more than an empty slogan on the election posters of all political parties, whilst the debate over ‘concrete gold’, short-term lettings to tourists and the supposed or actual vacancy rates is running high.