ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on recent attempts at modernising the existing tradition of ‘gentle urban renewal’ policies in Vienna, exemplified by the implementa - tion of two pilot projects of Grätzelmanagement, that is, ‘neighbourhood manage ment’ in 2002. The institutional setting of these two projects, their aims and scope of action were highly structured by the interaction between local and EU governance dynamics, the latter emerging as the dominant force in moderating these new arrangements of governance at the local scale. The projects serve as a clear example of ‘controlled modernisation’ from above, which severely limited the potential for social innovation both in scale and scope. The importance of moving from traditional neighbourhood initiatives to more bottom-linked and multi-scalar coordination, together with the lack of democratic involvement in administrative modernisation, will be high - lighted. On the other hand, the case will be made that the socially innovative potential of the pilot projects should not be underestimated, as they did experiment with new forms of inclusive local practices.
