In 1970s Vienna, civic protests against the demolition and replacement of old buildings with new ones led to both a paradigm shift and a more “gentle” approach towards interventions in the city’s historic neighborhoods. After years of investigation and experimentation, the Sanfte Stadterneuerung (gentle urban renewal) program was adopted to promote the renovation of existing residential buildings and participatory processes in neighborhoods. This volume illustrates the historic roots and evolution of this multi-award-winning approach through written contributions from experts, interviews with pioneers of the program, building and neighborhood case studies, and perspectives on the future of urban renewal. Today, the first phase of the Sanfte Stadterneuerung programme in Vienna serves as inspiration for tackling current challenges in the development of strategies for the existing building stock.

With contributions by Nicole Büchl, Charlotte Damböck, Dragana Damjanovic, Christiane Feuerstein, Angelika Fitz, Simon A. Güntner, Stephan Hartmann, Katharina Kirsch-Soriano da Silva, Bernadette Krejs, Judith M. Lehner, Bernadette Luger, Verena Mörkl, Robert Musil, Gottfried Pirhofer, Erich Raith, Christoph Reinprecht, Kurt Smetana, Christoph Stoik, Monika Stumpf-Fekete, Robert Temel, Lukas Tockner, Mara Verlic, and Gesa Witthöft

• Considers the potential of gentle urban renewal as a powerful tool in designing and implementing urban transformation projects
• Features interviews with historical witnesses and projects across five decades
• Offers inspiring insights into Vienna’s practice of gentle urban renewal