A Data-Informed Analysis of Population Density and Soil Sealing in Suburban Housing Types at the Plot Level

Abstract

This article examines negative environmental effects associated with suburban residential development. Low-density housing typologies are to this day the most popular housing aspiration of the Austrian population. Given that individual landowners are among the key decision-makers, plotlevel impact assessment is essential to inform adaptation and design processes. In response, a framework for data-informed analysis is proposed and applied to four common residential typologies in Vienna’s suburban areas. A quantitative analysis of plot-level metrics was conducted to assess and evaluate the typologies’ population densities and soil sealing ratios. The results support the hypothesis that population density is negatively correlated with land area. The assessment of soil sealing found that almost half of overall sealing is not related to building construction itself, but is caused by surface covering such as paths, driveways, and terraces. The findings underscore the impact and potential of individual decisions, both at the level of the individual property and on the larger scale of the neighbourhood.