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I live in Vienna. I don't understand how this is the most liveable city in the world - unless by liveable, it means "concrete jungle monstrosity - with good p

I live in Vienna. I don't understand how this is the most liveable city in the world - unless by liveable, it means "concrete jungle monstrosity - with good public transportation". I honestly think this is one of the most oppressive cities in the world, and I just don't get how it managed to gain this acclaim, every single year. I guess things must be really bad in a majority of the western world. The thing is, the city is really not beautiful. A majority of the population live in apartment buildings that were constructed in the 1870's, where the primary requirement was "pack as many people into the city block as possible but don't go over 6 stories". This means that for a majority of citizens, the sky is but a thin, dull strip. Perhaps its the public transportation, the access to food (Billa's are everywhere) and .. the welfare state. In fact, I'm convinced its only because of the state of welfare that people think Vienna is so great. Remove the AMS from the equation, and Vienna is a barely suitable concrete jungle.

stewbrew 13y ago
Chances are you're a spoiled Viennese CS student.
- fit2rule 13y ago
  There are a lot of those here, but no. I'm Australian. I think Vienna is monstrous.
  - stewbrew 13y ago
    So that's why you were surprised about the kangaroo. Anyway, do you think other European capitals like Berlin or Paris are any less "monstrous"?
    - fit2rule 13y ago
      No, I don't think they're less monstrous - the fact is that mass populations living so closely together, in architecture that does not motivate their interaction as a neighborhood, is a real problem. There are endless rows of these city-apartment buildings, built to maximize space and landlord profit, which simply puts people into boxes and discourages interaction. Europe is full of these cities. So maybe that is why Vienna - where its entirely unfashionable to despise the city for its physical oppressions - gets the accolades every year. Berlin, at least, makes an effort to build community in the neighborhood and of course Paris has centuries of history with precisely this notion in its street courses; Vienna has always been an imperial place, and it shows. The impersonality of the architecture seems to have been long-since inherited. They even re-built it this way, after the War .. so I believe in fact the "Concrete Jungle", "City-As-Machine" thing is so strong here, that its just not noticed any more ..
      - stewbrew 13y ago
        Actually, the quality of living in one of those city-apartment buildings can be quite good. Other than in many other big cities, there are no pure commuter cities in Vienna (every district also has some old village infrastructure at its core) and the level of social segregation is rather low. It sounds to me as if you were rather dissatisfied with your apartment. Maybe you should consider moving to a different part of Vienna.
        fit2rule 13y ago
        There are very few parts of Vienna that do not feature as a concrete jungle in my mind. Part of the problem is that Viennese citizens just don't know any different; they think that because they've got heating and access to the S-Bahn, that's all they need. Sorry, but no: a bit of blue sky would also be nice. Neighborhood retreats that are not commercially driven would be great. Destruction of every 5th apartment building to make a community space would be fabulous. But it seems the Viennese cannot even deal with turning a shopping district into walking streets without wanting to cannibalize each other. The problem with Vienna is that it promotes dissent between neighbourhoods; even the preposterously named Districts manifest this fact. The Viennese have segregation, isolation, and discrimination built into their city as architectural forms; without some dynamite, there isn't so much hope to change the condition, alas.
        stewbrew 13y ago
        What about the Donauinsel, the Prater, the Lainzer Tiergarten, the Wienerwald, and all those smaller parks scattered around the city? I don't think have had much time yet to learn to know Vienna.
        fit2rule 13y ago
        I know those parks quite well, and have been here quite long enough to have formed this opinion (>5 years). These parks are wonderful - but they are not within the city limits, and require the use of transportation systems to get to them. They are great places - no question about that - but the city itself remains monstrous to live in even if you are able to spend a few hours in any of those parks when you can.. Wienerwald is not in the city limits, Donauinsel - just barely - Lainzer Tiergarten also on the periphery. Prater is within the city limits, but this has to be one of the least interesting 'natural spaces' ever created..
RivieraKid 13y ago
It's somewhat similar to Prague, yes the center is nice, but most people live in very ugly buildings built during communism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panel%C3%A1k http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panel%C3%A1k).

stewbrew 13y ago

Chances are you're a spoiled Viennese CS student.

fit2rule 13y ago
There are a lot of those here, but no. I'm Australian. I think Vienna is monstrous.
- stewbrew 13y ago
  So that's why you were surprised about the kangaroo. Anyway, do you think other European capitals like Berlin or Paris are any less "monstrous"?
  - fit2rule 13y ago
    No, I don't think they're less monstrous - the fact is that mass populations living so closely together, in architecture that does not motivate their interaction as a neighborhood, is a real problem. There are endless rows of these city-apartment buildings, built to maximize space and landlord profit, which simply puts people into boxes and discourages interaction. Europe is full of these cities. So maybe that is why Vienna - where its entirely unfashionable to despise the city for its physical oppressions - gets the accolades every year. Berlin, at least, makes an effort to build community in the neighborhood and of course Paris has centuries of history with precisely this notion in its street courses; Vienna has always been an imperial place, and it shows. The impersonality of the architecture seems to have been long-since inherited. They even re-built it this way, after the War .. so I believe in fact the "Concrete Jungle", "City-As-Machine" thing is so strong here, that its just not noticed any more ..
    - stewbrew 13y ago
      Actually, the quality of living in one of those city-apartment buildings can be quite good. Other than in many other big cities, there are no pure commuter cities in Vienna (every district also has some old village infrastructure at its core) and the level of social segregation is rather low. It sounds to me as if you were rather dissatisfied with your apartment. Maybe you should consider moving to a different part of Vienna.
      - fit2rule 13y ago
        There are very few parts of Vienna that do not feature as a concrete jungle in my mind. Part of the problem is that Viennese citizens just don't know any different; they think that because they've got heating and access to the S-Bahn, that's all they need. Sorry, but no: a bit of blue sky would also be nice. Neighborhood retreats that are not commercially driven would be great. Destruction of every 5th apartment building to make a community space would be fabulous. But it seems the Viennese cannot even deal with turning a shopping district into walking streets without wanting to cannibalize each other. The problem with Vienna is that it promotes dissent between neighbourhoods; even the preposterously named Districts manifest this fact. The Viennese have segregation, isolation, and discrimination built into their city as architectural forms; without some dynamite, there isn't so much hope to change the condition, alas.
        stewbrew 13y ago
        What about the Donauinsel, the Prater, the Lainzer Tiergarten, the Wienerwald, and all those smaller parks scattered around the city? I don't think have had much time yet to learn to know Vienna.
        fit2rule 13y ago
        I know those parks quite well, and have been here quite long enough to have formed this opinion (>5 years). These parks are wonderful - but they are not within the city limits, and require the use of transportation systems to get to them. They are great places - no question about that - but the city itself remains monstrous to live in even if you are able to spend a few hours in any of those parks when you can.. Wienerwald is not in the city limits, Donauinsel - just barely - Lainzer Tiergarten also on the periphery. Prater is within the city limits, but this has to be one of the least interesting 'natural spaces' ever created..

RivieraKid 13y ago

It's somewhat similar to Prague, yes the center is nice, but most people live in very ugly buildings built during communism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panel%C3%A1k http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panel%C3%A1k).