Lecture & Panel discussion

Living in Suburbia

How the American Dream Came to Austria — To Stay

Wed 14.05.2025, 18:00-20:00
b/w photo from a bird's eye view of a housing estate with many houses of the same size

Aerial view of Levittown, 1949 William Levitt (1907–1994) was considered the largest developer in America and declared his company to be the “General Motors of the housing industry.” The first of half a dozen suburbs he developed – Levittown on Long Island – had 60,000 residents. At the height of production, a house was built every fifteen minutes.
© Photograph: Levittown Public Library

Since the corona pandemic, living in the suburbs has once again become increasingly popular: having your own house in the countryside while still having the advantages of the city within easy reach. The lecture traces the historical beginnings of suburbia in the USA, and the panel discussion transfers the observations to the Austrian context.

The mass standardised realisation of the dream of house ownership has had a major impact on the urban fabric — and has completely restructured it in parts. In her lecture, Judith Eiblmayr addresses suburbanism as a key factor in an anti-urban movement, and takes a closer look at the causes and social, ecological and spatial effects of urban sprawl. What are the measures needed for a structural and social transformation? And where is Vienna’s suburbia actually located?

Lecture: Judith Eiblmayer, architect, publicist, Vienna

Discussion also with: Elias Molitschnig, Head of Department, Architecture, Building Culture and Conservation, BMKÖS; Rainer Praschak, deputy mayor, councillor for transport and mobility, Mödling; Gernot Stöglehner, Professor of land use planning, BOKU Wien

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