Coliving: A Fad or a Strategic Response to the Transformation of Cities and Housing?

  • 23.6.2026
  • Kristýna Stará, Head of Planning studia Perspektiv

In the current debate on housing, coliving is often presented as a new, flexible, and design-oriented model that responds to the lifestyles of young urban residents. However, this narrow view overlooks its broader potential. In the context of strategic planning, housing affordability, and social cohesion, coliving can be understood as a relevant housing typology that responds to structural changes in urban society.

We can look to Austria, for example—particularly Vienna—for inspiration, where housing has been viewed as part of public infrastructure since the interwar period, rather than merely as an investment commodity. The foundations for this approach were laid during the so-called “Red Vienna” period between 1919 and 1934, when the city built tens of thousands of municipal apartments financed by a progressive luxury tax.

Today, approximately 60% of the city’s residents live in municipal or publicly subsidized housing. The city itself owns around 220,000 municipal apartments, home to roughly half a million people, and another approximately 200,000 apartments were built with public support through nonprofit and cooperative developers. Vienna is thus the largest municipal owner of apartments in Europe. This model has a stabilizing effect on the entire market—the high proportion of affordable housing curbs price increases even in the private sector, so rents in Vienna are among the lowest among comparable European metropolises. Affordable housing here is not merely a social program for the poorest, but a structural component of urban policy. Approximately three-quarters of the population is eligible for it, which removes any stigma associated with living in the subsidized sector.

Another important principle is limiting the purely speculative use of apartments. Public support for construction is tied to clear rules—such as rent control, long-term low-interest loans instead of loss-covering subsidies, or the requirement that apartments be used exclusively for residential purposes. In addition, the city systematically purchases land, and since 2019, a rule has been in effect requiring that two-thirds of the area in larger new developments be set aside for subsidized housing. The result is an environment in which housing is not primarily a financial asset, but rather a fundamental part of the city’s infrastructure, much like transportation or public spaces.

This approach stands in sharp contrast to developments in many Central European cities, where the housing stock has gradually been transformed primarily into an investment vehicle. Rising real estate prices, a high proportion of investment purchases, and a shortage of affordable rental housing are creating pressure that is increasingly limiting housing affordability for ordinary residents. The difference is also evident in prices: in Vienna, new rents in the cooperative and nonprofit sectors are, on average, about a quarter lower than on the open market, which shows just how strongly publicly regulated supply can influence price levels throughout the city.

At the same time, significant demographic changes are taking place. In large cities, the number of single-person households is growing, labor mobility is increasing, and the population is gradually aging. In the European Union, single-person households account for approximately one-third of all households, and according to Eurostat, they are the fastest-growing type. The number of single-person households without children increased by about one-fifth between 2016 and 2025. In cities, this proportion is generally higher than in rural areas, and in Central and Eastern Europe, there is also a growing number of single-person households among retirees. These trends are fundamentally changing the structure of housing demand, but the housing stock is responding only to a limited extent. The result is a paradoxical situation: large apartments are often occupied by individuals or couples, while families struggle to find affordable housing.

This is precisely where coliving can offer an interesting alternative. Smaller private units, complemented by shared spaces, allow for a more efficient use of living space and the building’s infrastructure. In this sense, coliving can be understood as a contemporary variation on a broader spectrum of community-based and cooperative housing models that have a long tradition in Central Europe—ranging from Scandinavian collective housing through German and Austrian cooperative models to more recent participatory projects.

Wohnprojekt Wien

In Vienna, for example, projects known as “Baugruppen” are emerging, in which future residents participate in the design of the building and its community operations. This model, which originated in Germany, works by having a group of people act as the developers themselves. Thanks to direct collaboration with architects—without a commercial developer—the developer’s markups and marketing costs are eliminated, which can reduce construction costs by up to a third. These projects typically combine fully equipped individual apartments with shared spaces—such as communal kitchens, workshops, laundry rooms, gardens, guest rooms, and community rooms.

One example is the Wohnprojekt Wien at the former Nordbahnhof train station—a building with just under forty apartments built to a near-passive standard, where residents jointly manage the building and share a rooftop sauna, workshops, and spaces for children. The model does have its limitations—community projects often attract primarily the middle class, and to prevent them from becoming closed enclaves, a portion of the apartments in Vienna is allocated through the city’s public housing system. Similar principles can also be observed in the new Seestadt Aspern district, where community and cooperative housing are part of a broader urban planning strategy. This district, being developed on the site of a former airport, is one of the largest development projects in Europe. It is expected to have approximately 25,000 residents and 20,000 jobs, with more than two-thirds of the apartments consisting of subsidized housing, and several buildings there have been constructed specifically as cooperative “Baugruppe” projects.

From an urban planning perspective, coliving represents a hybrid form between individual housing and collective forms of residential coexistence. The combination of private units and shared spaces makes it possible to reduce the size of individual living spaces without compromising quality, while also creating the conditions for everyday social interactions.

With the right architectural and operational design, coliving can also help revitalize the ground floor, strengthen local identity, and foster residents’ connection to the area. At the same time, experiences from Vienna’s new neighborhoods show that community living works best when it is part of a broader urban planning strategy—with high-quality public spaces, accessible public transportation, and limited dominance of car traffic. Seestadt Aspern is a prime example in this regard: half of its area is dedicated to green spaces and open areas; the neighborhood is connected to the subway, with the city center reachable in about twenty-five minutes; and transportation is deliberately oriented toward walking, cycling, and shared garages rather than private car use.

One of the key benefits of coliving is its potential to reduce social isolation, which is particularly common among single-person households and older adults. This is not merely a matter of comfort. Extensive research shows that social isolation is a serious, yet often underestimated, health risk factor, comparable in its impact on premature mortality to smoking or obesity. Meta-analyses link social isolation to an approximately one-third increase in overall mortality among older adults and living alone to an increase of roughly one-fifth. Isolation is also associated with a significantly higher risk of dementia. Shared spaces encourage informal gatherings and create an environment that can help prevent loneliness and strengthen community ties.

Coliving can also be seen as a tool for intergenerational housing. For example, it allows seniors to voluntarily move out of oversized apartments into smaller units in a familiar environment with accessible services and social interaction, thereby freeing up housing stock for families with children. This type of co-living benefits both sides—younger residents help older residents with everyday tasks, while seniors offer their experience and a sense of continuity in the neighborhood.

If coliving is to fulfill its potential—that is, to contribute to the diversification of the housing stock, increase its adaptability, and strengthen the social sustainability of cities—it must be viewed not as a marginal trend, but as a legitimate component of housing policy and development strategies.

Experience from abroad shows that similar models work best where they are supported by long-term public policy, stable rules for development, and a clear vision for urban development. The Vienna model demonstrates that a combination of public regulation, the cooperative sector, and high-quality urban planning can create an environment in which housing is not merely a subject of speculation, but a fundamental prerequisite for a high quality of urban life. It is no coincidence that Vienna is repeatedly ranked among the world’s most livable cities, and its housing policy now serves as an inspiration to cities seeking solutions to the housing affordability crisis.

Coliving, therefore, need not be merely a response to changing lifestyles. It can be part of a broader transformation of urban housing policy. The question, therefore, is not whether similar models will emerge in our cities, but whether they will emerge as yet another investment product or as part of a well-thought-out strategy for affordable housing.

Sources

The Vienna Model of Social Housing

Demographic Changes and Single-Person Households

Social Isolation and Health

Baugruppe and Cooperative Housing

Seestadt Aspern

Related articles

    GET IN TOUCH

    Want to work with us?