STATE OF THE EUROPEAN CITIES
Austria
Country Profile
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ContentsPAGE

1.0Country Profile: Austria

1.1National Urban System

1.2Competitiveness - Trends and Challenges

1.3Social inclusion – Trends and Challenges

1.4City Governance in Austria

1.5References

1.0Country Profile: Austria

1.1National Urban System

Key characteristics
  • The Austrian urban system is dominated by Vienna (Wien). The capital has more than 1.5 million inhabitants in the core city and roughly a quarter of the entire Austrian population is concentrated in its Larger Urban Zone.
  • The second and third largest cities are Graz and Linz, two modern industrial cities with core populations of respectively 230 000 and 180 000.
  • All other cities in Austria, except of Salzburg and Innsbruck (neither of which are Urban Audit cities) have fewer than 100.000 inhabitants.

1.2Competitiveness - Trends and Challenges

This section provides a snapshot of competitiveness indicators in the Austrian cities included in Urban Audit and highlights some of the main trends and challenges they face. The focus on population, economic performance, economic structure and “competitiveness drivers” (educational levels and accessibility). For each indicator, the following table presents the most recent Urban Audit data for a selection of key cities; the minimum and maximum values observed in Austrian cities; the un-weighted average of all Urban Audit cities and the national average, where available.
  • The UA cities of Linz and Graz saw a decline in population(in their core cities) between 1991 and 2001, with the core population of Linzdeclining by almost 20,000[I], despite apparently high levels of inward migration(10% of the resident population had moved to the city within the two years prior to 2001). Over the same time scale, Viennaexperiencedproportionally more moderate migration levels, with 5.9% of people having moved into the city in between 1999 and 2001.
  • In absolute terms, Viennais Austria’s wealthiest city, with an average GDP per capita1.3 times the national average. All Urban Audit cities are wealthier than the national average, although the differential between the capital and other main cities and the national average is smaller than that observed in many other EU countries. Average economic growthrates in theViennaregion were around the national averagebetween 1996 and 2001,but considerably below those achieved by Linzand Graz(average annual growth over 3% in both cases).
  • Linz also has highest participation rate in the labour market, with 69% of those of working age in employment. This said, employment rates vary little within Austria and are high (approaching the Lisbon target of 70%) in all Austrian Urban Audit citiesby European standards.
  • Manufacturing employment is highest inGraz, as in theBundesland of Styria more generally, with 26% of workers engaged in industrial or construction jobs. In contrast to many other EU Member States, there is little difference in the proportion of workers employed in public administration and other “public service” jobs between Austrian cities. This may be a reflection of both the comparatively decentralised federal government system and the lack of clear functional specialisation between the main Austrian cities (all performing a range of roles in parallel).
  • Data on the proportion of residents with higher education qualifications (ISCED levels 5-6) is only available for Vienna, which, predictably, has a higher percentage of highly qualified citizens (at 17%) than the national average (12.7%). Viennaalso scoreshighest in the ESPON accessibility index, although the differential withGraz and Linzis lower than disparities observed between cities in other EU Member States.

1.3Social inclusion – Trends and Challenges

Based on key indicators available from the Urban Audit, this section focuses on “social inclusion” in Austrian cities in terms of population composition, affordability of housing, unemployment and civic involvement. Unemployment rates provide a useful indication of overall risk of social exclusion, given the difficulty of comparing relative poverty levels. Data for housing quality and heath status are not available from the UA for Austrian cities.
  • Over 10% of the population in both Vienna and Linz is accounted for by non-EU foreign residents, while Vienna has the highest proportion of non-Austrian EU residents. The most significant foreign populations of non-EU origin are from the countries of the former Yugoslavia and Turkey.
  • The limited Urban Audit data available on housing costs in Austrian cities suggests that it is Graz, rather than the capital Vienna, that has the highest prices for apartments. Insofar as these data are comparable between EU countries, the level of flat prices is lower than in other European cities with comparable levels of wealth.
  • Unemployment is acknowledged as the most pressing social challenge facing Austrian cities. The 2001 unemployment rates reported in the Urban Audit for the three core Austrian cities are considerably above the national average (although data sources vary[II]), with Vienna having the highest rate at over 10% (compared to a 2001 national average of only 3.6%). The largely similar patterns for youth unemployment and unemployment among older workers highlight the extent of the labour market challenges.
  • Voter turnout at local elections is comparatively high in Austrian cities, taken in a European context. The higher turnout in Vienna (67%) than in Graz (58%) may at least in part be explained by the status of Vienna as both a StatutoryCity and a FederalState (Bundesland).

1.4City Governance in Austria

National context
  • Austria is a federal republic formed of nine federal states (Länder)[III]. The Länder have an elected legislature (Landtag), which in turn elects the state governor (Landeshauptmann). In comparison to other federal countries, the states have comparatively limited legislative competence (most laws are passed at the Federal level), although they play a leading role in spatial planning, environmental protection and many aspects of transport policy. The state governor is also responsible for administering many aspects of federal law in each State, which gives this position considerable political weight. The Länder also appoint representatives to the upper house of the federal parliament (Bundesrat) and thus exert further influence through this channel.
  • The intermediate level of administration in Austria is composed of 84 rural districts (Bezirke) and 15 independent cities with their own statutes (“StatutoryCities” / Statutarstädte). Rural districts exist as a unit for the implementation of federal and state law and policies, but, in contrast to Statutory Cities, are not self-governing and do not have an elected assembly. The administrative officer in each rural district (Bezirkshauptmann) is appointed by the State Governor and is bound by orders from the Land and Federal levels. Viennahas a particular status as it is simultaneously a federal state and a StatutoryCity (see below).
  • The basic unit of local government is the municipality (Gemeinde). The rural districts are subdivided into 2 359 municipalities, which have their own powers relating to local planning, health, culture and social services and are also delegated to undertake certain tasks on behalf of the state and federal levels. They are the competent authorities for fire protection and registration, pre-school, Kindergarten, primary and adult education, the housing and town planning, environment and public sanitation, sport and leisure, urban road and rail transport and local economic services such as water supply, electricity, heating and tourism services. Municipalities share competence with the Land for welfare services, welfare homes, regional and spatial planning, and gas and electricity services. In areas of secondary, vocational and technical education, hospitals and health protection, social security, environmental protection, theatres, museums, parks, religious facilities, roads and transport, airports, agriculture, economic promotion, trade and industry, municipalities share the competencies with the federal government.
Urban context
Responsibilities assigned to cities vary across the country. At city level, a key distinction can be made between:
  • Vienna, which as the capital and largest city in the country has a special status, combining functions of a Land, and StatutoryCity. As such, the mayor of Vienna combines the functions of mayor and state governor, while the municipal assembly is also Land parliament. The government of Vienna thus combines the responsibilities assigned to each government level.
  • The 14 other Statutory Cities (Statutarstädte),including Graz, Linz, Innsbruck and Salzburg. Formally, a city may request this status if it has more than 20 000 inhabitants, although some current Statutory Cities are smaller than this for historical reasons. In addition to the usual functions of municipalities, Statutory Cities assume responsibility for managing tasks that are elsewhere delegated to the rural districts by the Land or Federal government (Politische Bezirk).
  • All other towns and cities (in practice only smaller towns) are municipalities, operating within the structure of a rural district.

The Relative Power of Government Levels in Austria

Rank / Level / Remarks / Evolution in last 10 years
1 / National Level / Federal Government / Stable
2 / Region / 9 Federal States (Länder) / Increase
3 / City / 15 statutory cities (Statutarstädte) / Stable
4 / Municipality / 2 359 Municipalities (Gemeinde) within rural districts / Increase
5 / County / 84 rural districts (PolitischeBezirke) – decentralised administration for Land and Federal level – no self government / Stable
6 / Sub-city / Bezirke (Borough) - only in Vienna, which has 23 boroughs / Stable

The role of city-level government in comparison to other levels of self government(See below for definitions of spatial levels)

Spatial levels
Thematic Area / Activity / SubCity / City / Met. Area / County / Region / National / Comments
Economy and business / Developing and managing strategic regeneration plans for the City / 0 / 4 / - / - / 0 / 0
Taking planning decisions for development and granting planning permission / 0 / 2 / - / - / 2 / 0
Providing direct support for inward investors / 0 / 1 / - / - / 2 / 1
Providing direct support for small businesses / entrepreneurs / 0 / 1 / - / - / 2 / 1
Housing / Developing and managing housing strategy / 0 / 4 / - / - / 0 / 0
Planning and financing construction of social housing / 0 / 2 / - / - / 2 / 0
Ownership of social housing / 0 / 2 / - / - / 2 / 0
Health / Developing and overseeing health strategy / 0 / 0 / - / - / 0 / 4
Managing and providing primary care services / 0 / 2 / - / - / 0 / 2
Managing and providing care for the elderly / 0 / 2 / - / - / 0 / 2
Management of hospitals / 0 / 1 / - / - / 2 / 2
Policing / Developing and overseeing local policing and crime prevention strategy / 0 / 2 / - / - / 0 / 2
Managing Municipal Police / 0 / 2 / - / - / 0 / 2
Labour Market / Developing and overseeing employment strategy / 0 / 1 / - / - / 0 / 3 / Responsibility of National Employment Service: Arbeitsmarktservice - AMS
Managing public employment service / 0 / 0 / - / - / 0 / 3 / Arbeitsmarktservice - AMS
Managing active labour market schemes / 0 / 1 / - / - / 0 / 3 / Responsibility of National Employment Service: Arbeitsmarktservice - AMS
Social Security / Managing and delivering unemployment benefits / 0 / 0 / - / - / 1 / 3 / Handled by local offices of the Arbeitsmarktservice - AMS
Managing and delivering of sickness / disability benefits / 0 / 0 / - / - / 1 / 3
Managing and delivering old age pensions / 0 / 0 / - / - / 1 / 3
Learning / Strategic management of nursery schools / childcare provision / 0 / 4 / - / - / 0 / 0
Strategic management of primary schools / 0 / 4 / - / - / 0 / 0
Strategic management of secondary schools (10/11-16) / 0 / 2 / - / - / 1 / 2
Strategic management of institutions for 16-19 education / 0 / 2 / - / - / 1 / 2
Strategic management of adult education / 0 / 4 / - / - / 0 / 0
Strategic management of Higher Education Institutions / 0 / 0 / - / - / 0 / 4
Transport / Developing and overseeing local transport strategy / 0 / 4 / - / - / 0 / 0
Direct role in operating local public transport / 0 / 4 / - / - / 0 / 0
Direct role in procuring local public transport / 0 / 3 / - / - / 0 / 1
Planning and financing new local transport infrastructure / 0 / 2 / - / - / 0 / 2
Culture / Recreation / Developing and delivering a cultural strategy / 0 / 2 / - / - / 2 / 1
Direct management of libraries / 0 / 2 / - / - / 2 / 1
Direct management of museums / 0 / 2 / - / - / 2 / 1
Role of "self-governing" public authorities
  1. no involvement
  2. limited contribution / involvement
  3. partial or shared responsibility
  4. lead responsibility
  5. sole responsibility
/ Administrative Level / Name / Directly elected council / assembly?
Sub city level / Only applicable in Vienna: Borough (Bezirk) / YES
City level / Statutory cities (Statutarstädte) / YES
Metropolitan Area / NA / NA
County or equivalent / Rural Districts (Politische Bezirke) – not self-governing – functions included with Land and national level / No - appointed by the state government
Regional level / Länder / YES

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1.5References

  • Council of Europe (2000): Structure and Operation of Local and Regional Democracy, Austria, 2nd Edition, Strasbourg,France, Council of Europe.
  • Committee of the Regions (2003) Devolution in Austria, September 2003
  • European Liaison Committee for Social Housing (CECODHAS).
  • MISSOC (2006) Social protections in the Member States of the European Union: Organisation of social protection, European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs, 2006
  • Statistics Austria (2005) Statistical Yearbook 2005

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[I] The population of Linz declined from 203,044 to 183,504 between the censuses of 1991 and 2001. In the same period, the population of Graz fell from 237,810 to 226,244, while that of Vienna grew from 1,539,848 to 1,550,123.

[II]Unemployment rates for cities are calculated from the census which does not fully meet the Labour Force Survey requirements

[III]Federal states (Capital): Burgenland (Eisenstadt), Kärnten / Corinthia (Klagenfurt), Niederösterreich / Lower Austria (St. Pölten), Oberösterreich / Upper Austria (Linz), Salzburg (Salzburg), Steiermark / Styria (Graz), Tirol / Tyrol (Innsbruck), Voralberg (Bregenz), Vienna (Land Wien).