Resources Developed by The Urban Commons
Key Reflections from TUC Washington Vienna Social Housing Cohort
A summary of the reflections from The Urban Common´s Washington State Vienna Social Housing Educational Cohort- September 2026
Cohort co-organized with House our Neighbors, and group consisted of representatives of the Seattle Social Housing Developer, advocates, state and city representatives, non-profits, and urban planners from Washington State.
Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13Ssqs8diXdOykOBuF37ndOqW-PjkSxuL/view?usp=drive_link
Beyond Cost-Rental: Can Co-Housing Work for Ireland´s Middle Class?
A collaborative report written by Beatriz Stambuk-Torres, The Urban Commons, alongside professor Dr. Sirr Lorcan, TU Dublin, to understand the potentialities of Vienna´s Co-Living or cooperative ownership co-living housing in Dublin Ireland.
Link: https://collections.fes.de/publikationen/search?operation=searchRetrieve&query=bib.personalName%3D%22Sirr%2C%20Lorcan%22%20and%20vl.domain%3Dfesps%20sortBy%20vl.date%2Fdesc%20sortBy%20vl.releasetime%2Fdesc
Portland´s Key Takeways from Vienna
In September of 2025, The Urban Comons organized a group of Portlanders in collaboration with Neighborhood Partnerships and Fifth Element, two local urban organizations, to teach a group of Portland architects, city planners, non-profits, city counselors, advocates and city staff on the Vienna social housing system. These were there main takeaways.
Link: https://www.portland.gov/phb/documents/housing-city-curriculum/download
Land Banking as an Important Tool to Scale Housing Affordability
Community Educational Session hosted by the City of Portland, Oregon on Land Banking, with three examples:
– An developed system of Social Housing: Vienna, Austria
– A nascent system of Social Housing: Ireland
-A U.S and nascent system: Los, Angeles, California
Developed by The Urban Commons, Fifth Element, Neighborhood Partnerships alongside the City of Portland
Vienna Social Housing Basics
Short presentation by myself, Beatriz Stambuk Torres, for California´s Housing Action Coalition on why the Vienna social housing model is important and lessons to take.
Great Resources not Developed by The Urban Commons
Housing Europe
Brief Analysis of state of Housing in EU countries.
Link: https://www.housingeurope.eu/the-state-of-the-housing-in-europe-2023/
Vancouver Social Housing Inniative
Easy explanation of the importance for cities to decomodify land and housing for long term affordability
Japanese Housing Market
- Supportive structures to add SUPPLY
- Streamlined permiting and zoning process
- Construction Technology that builds cheaply
- System is designed to favor affordability over luxury and speculation
- Oowning a home isnt deeply attached to wealth building as it is in the U.S and much of the America´s
Barcelona Plan de Vivienda
Plan de la vivienda del 2016-2025. Tambien incluye historia de la vivienda en españa, y muchos articulos y relatos sobre le importancia y experiencia del ultimo gobierno de Barcelona implementando politicas de vivienda publica inovadoras.
Link: https://www.habitatge.barcelona/sites/default/files/qh21_h_esp.pdf
Los Angeles, California
United to House Los Angeles Initiative
A permanent new housing fund that gathers amount of 300-900 million per year from a transfer tax on expensive property upon sale. Half of the money is going to the construction or rehabilitation of housing and the other half goes to
The system of limited-profit housing in Austria:
cost-rents, revolving funds, and economic impacts
Ciriec International, Gerald Koessl
Limited-profit housing plays a crucial role in Austria’s housing market, with about a quarter of households living in homes managed by limited-profit housing associations (LPHAs). These associations operate with a business model focused on cost-recovery and revolving funds, distinguishing them from for-profit and public housing. The paper discusses how LPHAs are financed, how rents are set, the components included in pricing, and how revolving funds support future affordable housing construction. It also examines the effects of the limited-profit model on rent levels and its broader economic impact, based on a recent study.
Link: https://www.ciriec.uliege.be/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WP2022-04.pdf
Preventing Tenant
Displacement
through Community
Ownership Pathways
The Los Angeles County
Community Land Trust Partnership Program
Other Urban Strategies that Enhance the Wellbeing of The Commons
Barcelona Super Blocks
Super blocks intendend to minimize the presence of cars in cities and create more pedestrian neighborhoods. Barcelona has declared car free cities a Right.
