NPR is focusing on solutions for climate change, highlighting Vienna's approach to social housing as a model for sustainable living. Sebastian Schublach's apartment exemplifies the benefits of such housing: with solar panels and insulated walls, it maintains a comfortable temperature year-round without air conditioning. In Vienna, about half of residents live in affordable social housing, contrasting starkly with the U.S., where high-quality, climate-friendly apartments are rare and expensive. The article underscores the need for innovative housing solutions to address climate change and housing affordability.
"It's not cold in winter times. It's not hot in summer times," Schublach says. "It's very comfortable."
In the United States, high-quality, climate-friendly apartments like this are mostly rare and unaffordable, says Daniel Aldana Cohen, professor of sociology at the University of California.
About half of Vienna's 2 million residents live in social housing. Average social housing rents are about $700 for a large one-bedroom apartment.
In the U.S., the number of households officially 'burdened by rent' has hit another record.
Collection
[
|
...
]