Venezia e la casa salubre : dai piani per la città alle abitazioni a premio (1891-1925)

In the late 19th century, while waiting for a general Plan for the Regeneration of Venice to be approved, the idea was floated for a ten-year premium to be offered for the construction of healthy and affordable houses. The issue of overcrowded, unplanned and underserviced houses needed to be urgently resolved. The city council determined that the only way to increase the availability of healthy housing in the short term was to encourage private landlords to build on the limited available space or to add floors to existing buildings in their ownership. The scheme was intended to reward through a ‘new housing premium’ private investment in sound homes for renting to workers’ families and the less well-off.