@ ISR / Daniel Dutkowski

PD MMag. Dr.

Robert Musil

Director
Research Group Leader “Housing and Urban Economy”

T +43 1 51581 – 3524
robert.musil(at)oeaw.ac.at

Biography

Robert Musil studied geography and history at the University of Vienna and finished his PhD at the University Innsbruck in 2005. His cumulative habilitation work in the field of human geography was approved in 2015 at the University of Vienna. Since 2001, Robert Musil has been a researcher at the Institute for Urban and Regional Research (ISR); between 2007 and 2009 he was post-doc assistant at the University of Salzburg, and between 2014 and 2016 he was visiting professor for economic geography at the University of Vienna. Robert Musil has led the research group „Innovation and Urban Economy“ since 2016 and since January 1, 2026, he has been appointet director of the ISR. His research interests lie at the juncture of economic and urban geography, including the areas of housing-market research, spatial innovation, and comparative urban research. His current methodology includes small-scale analyses at the level of individual buildings and building complexes, as well as the geostatical analysis on the individual scale.

Research Areas

  • Property and housing-market research
  • Small-scale processes of urban transformation
  • Innovation processes in the urban context
  • Comparative urban research

Research Projects

Memberships and additional functions

  • Lecturer at several Austrian universities and universities of applied sciences
  • Member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the "Biosphärenpark Wienerwald" (biosphere park Vienna Woods)
  • General Secretary at the Austrian Geographical Society
  • Member of the ARL Working Group on “Living in Small Towns”
  • Member of Review Commission 13 (Geography) at the Federal Ministry of Education

Recent publications

Peer reviewed Articles

Musil, R., Maloutas, T., Matznetter, W., Budović, A., Ratkaj, I., Schnelzer, J. & Siatitsa, D. (2026): Varieties of urban housing regimes. Comparing housing provision and ownership changes in Athens, Belgrade, and Vienna. In: Journal of Urban Affairs, online first, p. 1-21. DOI doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2026.2649237

Musil, R., Kaucic, J. (2024): Housing-market segmentation as a driver of urban micro-segregation? An in-depth analysis of two Viennese districts. In: Land, 13, 1507. DOI doi.org/10.3390/land13091507

Schnell, P., Musil, R. (2024): Strategies for Measuring Homelessness in a Federally Organised State – The Case of Austria. In: European Journal of Homelessness, 18(2), p. 189-216

Musil, R., Brand, F., Punz, S. (2024): The commodification of a rent-regulated housing market. Actors and strategies in Viennese neighbourhoods. In: Housing Studies, 39(8), p. 1930-1950.
DOI doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2022.2149707

Arandelovic, B., Musil, R. (2023): The renovation, rehabilitation and adaptation of Historical Heritage Buildings in Public Ownership. The case of historical buildings of exceptional importance in Vienna. In: Building and Environment, 110937. DOI doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110937

Reiner, Ch., Musil, R. (2023): The regional variation of a housing boom. Disparities of land prices in Austria, 2000–2018. In: Review of Regional Research, 43/1, p. 125-146. DOI doi.org/10.1007/s10037-022-00176-z

Musil, R., Brand, F., Wonaschütz, M. (2022): Wem gehört die gebaute Stadt? Eigentumsanalyse als Strategie der Bestandsstadt-Entwicklung. In: Standort, 47, p. 333-339. DOI doi.org/10.1007/s00548-022-00809-y

Musil, R., Brand, F., Huemer, H., Wonaschütz, M. (2022): The Zinshaus-market and gentrification dynamics: The transformation of the historic housing stock in Vienna, 2007–2019. In: Urban Studies, 59(5), p. 974-994. DOI doi.org/10.1177/00420980211051906

Musil, R., Seethaler, J. (2021): Evaluating M&As from a regional perspective: media discourses on the asymmetric internationalization of Vienna’s banking sector. In: European Planning Studies, 30 (10), p. 1872-1891 DOI doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2021.1965548

Monographs and Edited Books

Musil, R. & Kaucic, J. (2025), Synthetische Registerdaten. Sozialräumliche Analysen als Anwendung für die Datensynthetisierung des Wiener Bevölkerungsregisters, ISR-Forschungsberichte, 62. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Vienna. DOI: 10.1553/ISR_FB062

Musil, R., Schnell, P., Dlabaja, C. (2024): Obdachlosigkeit, Wohnungslosigkeit und prekäres Wohnen. Aktuelle Datenlage und Vorschläge für eine österreichweite Erhebung. ISR-Forschungsbericht 59. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Vienna. P. 164.  DOI 10.1553/ISR_FB059

Musil, R., Smigiel, Chr., Zeller, Chr. (eds., 2024): Stadt.Land.Wohnen. Regionale Wohnungsmärkte zwischen Boom und Krise. Tagungsband. ISR-Forschungsbericht 61. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. P. 154. DOI 10.1553/ISR_FB061

Musil, R., Brand, F., Huemer, H., Köck, P., Wonaschütz, M. (2021): Die Transformation der Wiener Gründerzeitstadt. Dynamiken am Wiener Zinshausmarkt 2007-2019. ISR-Forschungsberichte 55. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Vienna. P. 121.DOI 10.1553/ISR_FB055

Publications