The Ringstrasse Era was not only an era of urban renovation and beautification, but an era of new, liberal ideas, which changed the way of life of all Vienna residents. Though most of the buildings constructed were designed for the middle and upper classes, the lower classes benefitted from the new water supply, the newly constructed parks, called the "the lungs of the metropolis" by Mayor Kajetan Felder, the new gas lighting, the new drainage system, and the first hospital ever constructed in the city. The demand for working class housing, however, was not addressed until the Socialists came into power in 1919. This era was cut short, though, by the annexation of Austria by Germany during the beginnings of World War II.

Currently, Vienna is made up of 23 districts, of which the Ringstrasse and the enclosed old city is number one. Electric trams run along the Ringstrasse and an underground subway system, the U-Bahn, runs underneath it. The area enclosed by the Ringstrasse is closed to all motorized traffic, making the Ringstrasse area the premiere tourist destination in Vienna.