1. home and garden

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AHRC
AUSTRALASIAN HOUSING RESEARCHERS CONFERENCE
18-20 FEBRUARY 2015, HOBART-TASMANIA
AUSTR ALASI
AN H OUSIN G
R ES EAR CHERS CONFER ENCE
H ANDB OO K
18 — 2 0 FEB R UARY 2 015
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UNIV ERSIT Y O F TAS M ANI A
Hosted by the Housing and Community Research Unit, University of Tasmania.
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 1
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CO NTENTS
W ELCOM E 3
AB O UT THE H O USIN G AND COM MUNIT Y R ES EAR CH UNIT 4
INFO R M ATIO N FO R CH AIR PERSO N S AND PR ES ENTERS
5
GENER AL INFO R M ATIO N 7
UNIV ERSIT Y O F TAS M ANI A M AP 10
K EYN OTE SP EA K ERS
12
PR O GR A M
19
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 1
20
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 2 AND PANEL S ES SIO N 1
21
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 3 AND PANEL S ES SIO N 2
22
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 4 AND PANEL S ES SIO N 3
23
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 5
24
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 6
26
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 7
27
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 8
28
SO CI AL PR O GR A M 2 9
PR ES ENTER AB STR ACTS 3 0
SPO N SO RS 107
2
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W ELCOM E
Dear friends and colleagues,
Welcome to the 8th Australasian Housing Researchers Conference. The conference has
attracted a strong response from the national and international housing researcher community
as well as from policy makers and service providers, and promises to be a valuable experience.
We have been fortunate in attracting four outstanding keynote speakers, and have an
engaging range of topics covering both established and emerging fields of interest. The three
days of the conference will provide opportunities for debate and an exchange of ideas, as
well as a chance to hear the latest findings from research being undertaken in Australasia,
Europe, and the USA. Our keynote speakers will discuss areas of crucial interest to scholars
and policy makers, including the policy implications of the increasingly tough housing
affordability landscape, and some of the issues surrounding housing and climate change.
This year the conference is being held in Hobart. Tasmania used to be described as
Australia’s best kept secret but the arrival of MONA, and other developments, have increased
its visibility on the national, and international stage. In some ways, Tasmania stands as
an exemplar of a progressive state that embraces change. Yet the political and economic
profile of Tasmania remains largely unchanged, with sharp political and social divisions, and
significant areas of stagnation. The state is often described as a social laboratory, profoundly
imbued with a sense of place and a microcosm of the forces of globalisation. It is a good
place to hold a conference that invites us to think about the future of housing and how this
shapes who we are, and how we live our lives.
Housing researchers have a number of valuable national and international annual conferences
to choose from. This conference is unique in its invitation to shift attention from industry and
policy agendas to scholarly concerns. The conference provides a space for exploration of the
theoretical and empirical issues that are often squeezed out by the strength of the policy and
service delivery imperatives but which can afford new knowledge that changes the way we think
about housing and the institutional forms that shape how it is delivered and managed. This focus
is complemented by the size of the conference, which is large enough to ensure a good mix of
participants, yet small enough to provide that sense of a productive community of interest.
We hope that this will be your experience and that you will enjoy the social program as much
as the academic one, so that when you leave Tasmania you will do so with a sense of time
well spent.
Associate Professor Daphne Habibis
Conference Convenor
Housing and Community Research Unit
University of Tasmania
3
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AB O UT THE H O USIN G AND
COM MUNIT Y R ES EAR CH UNIT ,
UNIV ERSIT Y O F TAS M ANI A
The Housing and Community Research Unit is located in the School of Social
Sciences at the University of Tasmania, and is affiliated with the University’s Institute
for the Study of Social Change. It is an interdisciplinary research unit covering
the areas of sociology, geography, demography, social work, architecture and
criminology. It receives core funding from Housing Tasmania and the University
of Tasmania, and grant and consultancy funding from the Australian Housing and
Urban Research Institute, the Australian Research Council and non-government
and philanthropic and organisations. The unit began in 2002 as a collaborative
research venture between Housing Tasmania and the University of Tasmania
with the goal of undertaking housing and community related research that would
support the policy environment in which Housing Tasmania operates, and produce
rigorous academic work of national and international standing. The research unit
produces peer-reviewed articles, articles for the housing policy press, seminars for
housing practitioners and government and non-government reports. The core work
of the unit is centred on social housing issues but extends more broadly to a wide
range of urban community issues including housing affordability, gentrification and
neighbourhood change, Indigenous housing, community development, regional
housing issues, community safety, the housing impacts of demographic change
and housing sustainability in the context of climate change.
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AHRC
AUSTRALASIAN HOUSING RESEARCHERS CONFERENCE
18-20 FEBRUARY 2015, HOBART-TASMANIA
Institute for the Study of Social Change
4
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INFO R M ATIO N FO R CH AIR P ERSO N S
AND PR ES ENTERS
CONCURRENT SESSION CHAIR RESPONSIBILITIES
As chair you have agreed to take on an important role which will prove critical to the smooth
operation and success of the AHRC 2015 conference. An attentive chair can help ensure that
the speakers are able to present their papers successfully and encourage discussion with the
audience.
The responsibilities of the chair include:
• meeting presenters in the designated room ten minutes before the start of the session
• introducing the session and the speakers to the audience
• ensuring the session starts and ends on time and that the individual papers keep to their
time of 20 minutes presentation and 10 minutes discussion. This should be done by
providing ten, five and one minute signals to presenters as they reach the end of their
allotted time.
• Inviting questions from the audience, and being prepared to pose questions to encourage
discussion and debate
• closing the session by thanking presenters and the audience.
PRESENTER RESPONSIBILITIES
As presenter you should transfer the file for your presentation onto the computer in the
designated room at least two hours before your session starts. To assist in uploading
presentations, volunteers (look for the blue t-shirts) will be available in the rooms during
morning and afternoon tea breaks.
Please arrive for your presentation no later than ten minutes before the session is due to start.
It is important for the smooth running of the session that you keep to your allotted time.
As a way of stimulating audience discussion, it could be helpful if your concluding slide
includes some questions raised by your presentation.
SPEAKERS ROOM
Social Sciences Room 210 is available for presenters requiring preparation facilities.
5
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LO CAL O R GANISIN G COM M ITTEE
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UNIV ERSIT Y O F TAS M ANI A
........
........
Assoc Prof Daphne Habibis
........
Prof Keith Jacobs
........
........
Verdouw
........ DrGinaJuliaZappia
STEER IN G COM M ITTEE
Assoc Prof Emma Baker, University of Adelaide
Prof Scott Baum, Griffith University
Assoc Prof Daphne Habibis, University of Tasmania
Prof Keith Jacobs, University of Tasmania
Prof Steven Rowley, Curtin University
Prof Hal Pawson, University of New South Wales
Dr Will Sanders, Australian National University
Dr Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology
Assoc Prof Deborah Warr, University of Melbourne
CO NFER EN CE M AN AGERS
Leishman Associates
113 Harrington Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Phone: 03 6234 7844
Fax: 03 6234 5958
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.leishman-associates.com.au
6
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GENER AL INFO R M ATIO N
REGISTRATION DESK
On the morning of Day 1 of the AHRC, the registration desk will be located in the foyer of the
Centenary Theatre. Afterwards the registration desk and staff from Leishman Associates will
be located in the foyer of the Physics Building.
The Registration Desk will be open:
Wednesday 18 February 2015 – 8:00am – 5:00pm
Thursday 19 February 2015 – 8:30am – 5:00pm
Friday 20 February 2015 – 8:30am – 2:00pm
The team from Leishman Associates will be available to assist with any enquiries.
For urgent matters, please SMS or call
Kate on 0418 325 927
| Emma on 0457 815 122 |
Paula on 0412 875 390
CONFERENCE NAME BADGES
All delegates, speakers and sponsors will be provided with a name badge, which must be
worn at all times for access to Conference sessions within the Conference venue, and for
social functions.
INTERNET ACCESS
Complimentary wireless internet access will be available throughout the Conference
venue for the duration of the Conference. To gain access, please use the following
network name and password:
Network Name: UConference
Password: Conf@UTAS_2015
If you have trouble connecting please see the staff from Leishman Associates or one
of the volunteers.
MOBILE PHONES
As a courtesy to other delegates, please ensure that all mobile phones are switched off
or put on silent mode during all sessions and social functions at the Conference.
7
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ACCOMMODATION
If you have any queries relating to your accommodation booking please first
contact the staff at your hotel, or alternatively ask one of the team from Leishman Associates.
Your credit card details were supplied to the hotel you have selected, in order to secure your
booking. If you have arrived 24 hours later than your indicated arrival day then you may find
that you have been charged a fee. You will be responsible for all room and incidental charges
on check out and may be asked for an impression of your credit card for security against
these charges. This is a standard policy at many hotels.
SPECIAL DIETS
The caterers has been advised of any special dietary requirements you have indicated on your
registration form. Please indicate this to the staff – they will be happy to assist in providing
you with your appropriate food.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE
For any medical emergency please phone 000. The staff at your hotel will have information
if you require details for doctors, dentists or other health professionals.
SMOKING
The University of Tasmania Sandy Bay Campus is a non smoking venue.
PARKING
There are many parking options on the Sandy Bay Campus, please see map on page 10.
BOOKSHOP
The Co-op Bookshop is a not-for-profit co-operative that sells textbooks, reference books,
study guides, stationery and secondhand books. It is located next to the TUU Building off
Churchill Avenue.
DISCLAIMER
The Australasian Housing Researchers Conference reserves the right to amend or alter any
advertised details relating to dates, program and speakers if necessary, without notice, as a
result of circumstances beyond their control. All attempts have been made to keep changes
to an absolute minimum.
8
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VENUE INFORMATION
The AHRC will take place in these locations at the Sandy Bay Campus.
Plenary sessions will occur in the Centenary Theatre, Centenary Building
Concurrent Sessions will occur in either the Physics Building or Geology Building
Arrival tea and coffee will be served in the foyer of the Centenary Building on Wednesday
and Thursday. Lunch will be served in the University Club on Wednesday and Thursday.
All other refreshment breaks and lunch on Friday will be served in the Physics Building.
Please check the program for your room location; remember to ask one of the volunteers
in blue for directions.
FEDERAL MINISTER’S AWARD FOR EARLY CAREER
HOUSING RESEARCHER
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) is committed to encouraging
excellence in housing and urban research, and to supporting continuous professional
development opportunities that sustain and grow Australia’s research capabilities in this field.
The Federal Minister’s Award for Early Career Housing Researcher is sponsored by AHURI
and awarded at each Australasian Housing Researchers Conference.
The purpose of the Federal Minister’s Award for Early Career Housing Researcher is to
recognise excellence among those beginning their careers in housing and urban research.
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 9
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Campus Map
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AA
AB
Sandy Bay
AC
AD
No.
AC06
AD07
BB39
AX33
AW21
BA22
AR15
AX16
AX17
AD07
AU28
AX33
BE20
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AR19
AR19
AG10
AJ10
AX19
AS13
AY31
AX33
BB39
AH10
AR15
BE20
AK12
BF31
AX33
AW31
AQ18
AP16
AW31
BE26
AW21
BE20
AS13
AW21
AC06
AX24
BN25
BE20
AZ16
AW31
BE20
AJ13
AL14
AL14
AX19
AU19
AR15
BA22
BB26
AX33
AU14
AU14
AT15
AS25
AC06
BE26
AR20
AU14
BA22
AX14
AX17
BE20
AS25
AU28
AC06
AW31
AW21
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24 hr Emergency Number
62267600
North
0 metres
50
Maps for other UTAS campuses are available at
www.utas.edu.au/campuses/campus-maps
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 10
100
150
AE
Grid Ref.
AFClub
Rugby
Science, Engineering & Technology, Faculty of
Security
AG
Social Sciences, School of
Source
AH Food Co-op
Staff Development & Training
Steps
AIBuilding
Student Centre
Studio
AJGallery
Surveying & Spatial Sciences Building
Tasmanian
University Union (TUU)
AK
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA)
Tasmanian
Institute of Learning & Teaching (TILT)
AL
Tasmanian Partnership for Advanced Computing
TILES (Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies)
AM
TUU Building
Unigym
AN
Uniprint
University Centre
AO Club
University
University Secretariat
AP School of
Zoology,
AI08
AR15
AD07
AX17
AR29
BE20
BI21
AW21
AW20
AN16
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BC24
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UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA
301 Sandy Bay Road
6 Grace Street
Accommodation Services
Accounting & Corporate Governance, School of
Administration Building
Agricultural Science, School of
Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems CRC
Arts Lecture Theatre
Arts, Faculty of
Aus. Clearing House for Youth Studies
Australian Innovation Research Centre
Business, Faculty of
Campus Services
Centenary Building
Central Science Laboratory
Chemistry, School of
Child Care Centre - Lady Gowrie
Child Care Cottage
Classics Museum, John Elliott
CODES ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits
Commerce Annex
Commerce Building
Commercial Services & Development Admin.
Community Health Clinic
Computing and Information Systems, School of
Corporate Services Building
Cricket Pavillion
CSIRO Forestry
Economics & Finance, School of
Education, Faculty of
Engineering Workshop
Engineering, School of
English Language Centre
Environment, Centre for
Events and Protocol
Financial Services
Geography & Environmental Studies, School of
Governance & Legal Office
Graduate Research Office
Herbarium, Tasmanian
Horticultural Research Centre
Human Resources
Humanities, School of
Hytten Hall
Information Technology Resources (ITR)
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS)
Law Reform Institute
Law, Faculty of
Lazenby's
Library, Morris Miller
Library, Science
Life Sciences Building
Life Sciences Glasshouse
Management, School of
Marine & Antarctic Futures Centre (MAFC), IMAS
Mathematics & Physics, School of
Mathematics Building
National Tertiary Education Union (Tas. Div.)
Office of Research Services
Old Medical Sciences Building
Pharmacy, School of
Physics Building
Plant Science, School of
Psychology Research Centre
Psychology, School of
Records Management Unit
Refectory
Research House
Research Office Commercialisation Unit
Riawunna
Risk Management & Audit Assurance
Grid Ref.
BJ
BK
BL
BM
BN
Room codes - what they mean
For example: SB AX33 L02 204
SB
AX33
Campus
(Sandy Bay)
Grid Reference
(Commerce Building)
L02
Level in Building
(Level 2)
204
Room 204
BO
BP
45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 2
This map was last updated 24.06.13
Commercial Services & Development
www.utas.edu.au/csd
10
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K EYN OTE SP EA K ERS
PR O FES SO R
GEO FFR EY M EEN
UNIV ERSIT Y O F
R EADIN G ,
UNITED K IN GD OM
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Geoff Meen is Professor of Applied
Economics at the University of Reading
and Adjunct Professor at RMIT
University. Until recently, he was Head
of the School of Politics, Economics
and International Relations at the first
institution. He specialises in housing
economics at different spatial levels
and is currently working on a book
on historical approaches to housing
economics.
16/02/2015 9:23 am
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that do not arise only because of
the Global Financial Crisis. In terms
of “what policies work” it is wellworthwhile examining what historical
housing experience tells us. For
example, the suggested international
panacea for improving affordability
and promoting home-ownership is to
increase the number of new homes, but,
internationally, there is little evidence
that this is achievable on a sustained,
long-term basis. A further problem for
regulatory authorities is the appropriate
policy response to rising ratios of
mortgage debt to household incomes,
which have fallen only modestly, if at
all, in most European countries after the
GFC. Policy has typically concentrated
on the introduction of lending controls,
which primarily affect potential future
home owners rather than the current
owners, who are the main source of
the problem.
AB STR ACT
H O USIN G FUTUR E
GENER ATIO N S IN
EUR O PE : IS SUES FO R
CUR R ENT PO LICY
IN A LO N G - R UN
CO NTEX T
By its nature, housing is
intergenerational; the decisions made
by the current generation have longlasting effects on future generations
and, indeed, the decisions made by
past generations affect the current
generation. Furthermore, the spatial
structure of European cities still largely
reflects construction activities carried
out decades if not centuries ago.
Housing might be considered as a
process of long-run social progress
interspersed with periodic episodes
of major crisis, although the progress
does not necessarily arise from housing
policy. But given short-term memories,
we tend to focus on the crises rather
than the progress.
Given these general issues, the
presentation concentrates on two
aspects;
(i) Recent international trends in
European and international housing
and mortgage markets
Most of the housing problems faced
by current and future generations are
not new; housing supply, affordability,
the adequacy of housing finance and
socio-economic segregation are prime
examples of long-term problems
(ii) A longer-term analysis of policy
issues in the UK, concentrating on
young households and their tenure/
location choices.
In both cases, an attempt is made to
draw lessons for Australia.
13
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PR O FES SO R
LAUR EN CE MUR PH Y
UNIV ERSIT Y O F
AU CK LAND ,
NEW ZEALAND
Laurence Murphy is Professor of
Property at The University of Auckland
Business School and had held posts
at Trinity College Dublin, Queen’s
University Belfast and the London
School of Economics. He has published
widely on property topics including
home ownership, social rental housing,
mortgage securitisation, office
development, the institutional evolution
of listed property trusts, finance capital
and entrepreneurial urban governance.
macro-prudential regulatory guidelines
holds significant implications for the
creation of new housing futures. In
this paper I address issues relating
to the dynamics of housing policy
formation paying particular attention to
international policy transfer and the rise
of ‘fast policy’ circuits.
AB STR ACT
PO LICY DYN A M ICS
AND H O USIN G
FUTUR ES
In the wake of the US subprime
mortgage market crisis, governments
and regulatory authorities have
struggled to address issues relating to
housing supply, housing affordability
and possible asset price bubbles. The
search for appropriate ‘evidence based’
policies and effective central bank
14
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PR O FES SO R
B R ENDAN GLEESO N
UNIV ERSIT Y O F
M ELB O UR NE ,
AUSTR ALI A
Brendan Gleeson joined Melbourne
University in January 2012 as Professor of
Urban Policy Studies and then took on the
directorship of the Melbourne Sustainable
Society Institute in early 2013.
Professor Gleeson came from the
position of Deputy Director of the
National University of Ireland’s National
Institute for Regional and Spatial
Analysis. Prior to that he set up the
Urban Research Program at Griffith
University and was its inaugural Director.
He is the author or editor of thirteen
books, three of which have won national
and international prizes, and numerous
journal articles. His research interests
include urban planning and governance,
urban social policy, disability studies,
and environmental theory and policy.
His recent work has focused on sociospatial analysis of suburbs, their
vulnerability to oil shocks and the need
for better public transport options.
Professor Gleeson has made significant
scholarly contributions in urban and
social policy, environmental theory and
policy, and is a regular commentator
in newspapers, television and radio.
He has qualifications in geography and
urban planning, including a masters
degree from the University of Southern
California and a PhD from the University
of Melbourne. Professor Gleeson is a
Fellow of the Australian Academy of
Social Sciences.
15
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 15
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central concern surely to urbanists
must be the increased decoupling
of urbanisation from its modernist
impulses; notably to create human
life spaces where basic needs are
met, broad aspirations are pursued
and freedom cultivated. (To be sure,
impulses rarely satisfied.) More and
more it seems urbanisation is shackled
to the imperatives of accumulation, not
species improvement, and nowhere
is this more apparent than in the
production of housing. The compact
city ideal of progressive urbanism
has been redeployed to the work of
(vertical) accumulation. In western
cities, a hypertrophied but strangely
impoverished urbanism abounds. Much
of the rest is consigned to a Planet of
Slums (Davis). What can stop these
dangerous trends? A revivified planning
would be a start. Planning must first,
however, acknowledge that it has
been the handmaiden not the victim of
disaster-borne urbanism. Positive not
just regulatory planning must stem the
tide of destructive urban accumulation.
Direct intervention in urban land markets
is needed to improve the affordability,
quality and location of housing. This is,
of course, anathema to the dominant
neo-liberal order. Can it be done?
AB STR ACT
THE UR BAN
AGE AND ITS
DISCO NTENTS
An urban age has been declared and
honked by global institutions and in
expert commentary. Triumphalism
abounds. A rapidly increasing majority
of humanity now resides in urban
settings, especially the fast growing
‘meso-cities’ of the developing world.
Glaeser (Triumph of the City) casts it as
a new epoch of human achievement
and opportunity. Brugmann stages a
Welcome to the Urban Revolution. Hollis
insists that Cities are Good for You. To
be sure, the urbanisation project that
has been central to modernisation and
has reached a new ebb of species’
significance. It cannot be denied that
urbanisation has been the Long March
of human improvement (with all of the
pitfalls suggested by the metaphor).
And yet, despite the insouciance of
expertise, the new urban preponderance
also marks a dangerous unravelling
of human prospect. The testimonies
of manifest environmental, social and
economic defaults struggle to be heard
above the chorusing of the urban age.
‘The Horsemen of the Apocalypse’
(Žižek) are the unheeded town criers
of an endangered modernity. Of
16
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AS SO CI ATE
PR O FES SO R
HEATHER LOV EL L
THE UNIV ERSIT Y
O F TAS M ANI A ,
AUSTR ALI A
Associate Professor Lovell is an
Australian Research Council (ARC)
Future Fellow at the University of
Tasmania (UTAS), Australia. Formerly
an Associate Professor in Geography
at the University of Edinburgh, UK, in
early 2015 she moved to UTAS and is a
member of the Housing and Community
Research Unit (HACRU), within the
School of Social Sciences. Her ARC
Future Fellowship is investigating the
societal and policy drivers for smart
grids, and assessing how smart grid
implementation varies from place-toplace, and the implications of this for
theories of innovation and learning.
More generally, her research analyses
processes of innovation catalysed by
climate change, playing close attention
to the policies, practices and politics
of change. It has focused empirically
on housing, for instance through recent
work on a UK Research Council Energy
Programme grant assessing district
heating in urban areas - ‘Heat and the
City’, and a second study working
with computer scientists to implement
smart sensors within homes to better
understand energy behaviours. These
two projects build on previous research
she has done looking at the role of
pioneering low energy ‘zero carbon’
housing in catalysing policy change in
the UK. Associate Professor Lovell is
the author of over 20 academic papers
and has recently published a book with
Routledge ‘The making of low carbon
economies’.
17
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 17
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AB STR ACT
THE M A K IN G O F
LOW CAR B O N
ECO N OM IES :
CO N CEPTUALISIN G
THE R O LE O F
H O USIN G
AR E YO U
STAYIN G THE
W EEK END IN
H O BART ?
Salamanca Market opens at
8am till 3pm on Saturday.
If you enjoyed your visit
to MONA at the Welcome
Reception and want to spend
more time, you can catch the
ferry. There is a $20 entry fee.
The paper draws on a book recently
published by Associate Professor Lovell
‘The making of low carbon economies’
(Routledge, 2015) to explore the role of
housing in responding to the problem of
climate change. It examines the diversity
of practices and objects that have been
enrolled into, and framed as, low carbon
economies. Economies and markets
are defined using a mixed Foucauldian
and Science and Technology Studies
conceptual framing as something integral
to society, rather than a separate sphere
of activity, and as necessarily involving
heterogeneous actors (technologies,
texts, people, standards and so on)
(Caliskan & Callon, 2010; MacKenzie,
2008; Foucault, 2007). The paper draws
on two UK housing case studies – district
heating in the city of Edinburgh, and
the UK’s zero carbon homes policy – to
demonstrate the diverse ways in which
climate change as a policy issue has
manifested and been understood within
the housing sector.
Get a bird’s eye view of Hobart;
and travel to Mt Wellington. If
you don’t have your own vehicle
that’s OK, you can travel to the
mountain via the Hobart Shuttle
Service. On Saturday it departs
from the Tasmanian Visitors
Centre, Davey Street at 1.30pm.
Bookings are essential.
For further information visit:
http://www.hobartshuttlebus.
com/mt-wellington.html
If you want more information
on Tasmania visit
www.discovertasmania.com.au
18
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PR O GR A M
TUESDAY 17 FEB R UARY 2 015
6.00 – 7.00pm
Government House Reception, 7 Lower Domain Road, Hobart Tasmania 7000
Her Excellency Kate Warner has invited participants of the AHRC to a reception at
Government House. The reception will take place from 6pm-7pm. Drinks and canapés
will be served.
Dress Code Applies: No denim jeans, thongs or singlets.
COACH TRANSFER TO GOVERNMENT HOUSE
Transport is provided for delegates to and from Hobart city to Government House. If you
wish to catch the bus, please meet at the Cnr of Davey & Campbell Streets Hobart at
5.40pm. The coach will depart at 5.45pm
W EDNESDAY 18 FEB R UARY 2 015
8.00am –
5.00pm
Registration desk open - Day 1 only - Centenary Lecture Theatre, Centenary
Building
Arrival tea and coffee will be served. Please join us. For enquiries on site,
please contact, Kate on 0418 325 927 or Emma on 0457 815 122
Centenary Lecture Theatre, Centenary Building
8.30 - 8.40am
Welcome Associate Professor Daphne Habibis; Conference Convenor
8.40 – 8.50am
Welcome to Country Kartanya Maynard
8.50 – 9.00am
Introduction Professor Susan Dodds, Dean, Faculty of Arts; University of Tasmania
9.00 – 9.20am
Opening Address Peter White, Director, Housing Tasmania
9.20 – 10.30am Keynote Presentations
Professor Geoffrey Meen, University of Reading
Professor Laurence Murphy, University of Auckland
Chair: Keith Jacobs, University of Tasmania
10.30 – 11.00am Morning Refreshments to be served at the Physics Building
19
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 19
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 1
11.00am –
12.30pm
Location
Chair
Housing &
Planning
Geology
Lecture
Theatre 211
Physics room
333
Drivers of
Transforming
Homelessness Neighbourhoods
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 2
Centenary
Lecture
Theatre
Housing
Governance
and Policy
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 1
Steven Rowley
Maree Petersen
Cameron Parsell Michael Darcy
Dallas Rogers
Peter Walsh,
Swinburne
University of
Technology
Planning
reform for
fairer housing
outcomes? A
new conceptual
framework
using transitions
theory.
Laurence
Murphy,
University of
Auckland
Home
ownership
and ageing:
Examining
house price
dynamics and
downsizing in
NZ
Deb Batterham,
Hanover Welfare
Services
Structural
drivers of
homelessness
in Australia
2001-2011
Peter Phibbs,
University of
Sydney
Reviewing
nation building
innovation:
the Lakewood
project,
Melbourne
Keith Jacobs,
University of
Tasmania
Understanding
Neoliberalism
and its Influence
on housing
policy
Anitra Nelson,
RMIT University
When the
‘fringe’ is the
future: land
development
for housing in
Melbourne’s
growth areas
Dianne
Johnson,
Griffith
University
Building a new
housing equity
withdrawal
aspirations
of Australian
retirees
Anna Ritson,
Australian
Institute of
Health and
Welfare
Vulnerability to
homelessness
and its impact
on housing
outcomes
Jennifer
Borrell, Yarra
Community
Housing
Terry Burke,
Swinburne
University of
Technology
Using a holistic
and integrated
approach to
social housing
Julia Lawson,
RMIT
Context,
comparison
and the differing
roles of social
entrepreneurs
in Australia and
Austria
Daniel Attard,
La Trobe
University
How can
the housing
market and the
homelessness
sector identify
and address
the growing
demand for
housing caused
by household
breakdown?
Glen Williams,
Housing SA
Connecting
people to
place: the
missing piece
in the housing
sustainability
puzzle
Marcus Spiller,
SGS Economics
and Planning
Revisiting the
economics of
inclusionary
zoning
12.30 – 1.30pm
Housing &
Population
Ageing
Lunch to be served at the University Club
20
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 20
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 2 AND PANEL S ES SIO N 1
1:30pm –
3:00pm
Housing &
Planning:
Infill Housing
Development
Energy
Efficient
Rental
Housing
PANEL:
Housing New
Australians
Policy Tools
and Evaluation
International
Housing
Markets
Location
Geology
Lecture
Theatre 211
Physics room
333
Centenary
Lecture
Theatre
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 2
Chair
Andrea Sharam
Heather Lovell
Deborah Warr
Anne Badenhorst Tony Dalton
Alison Reid,
Auckland
Council
A grounded
analysis of small
scale residential
developers’
operations in
the Auckland
housing market
Phillipa Watson,
Michelle Gabriel,
University of
Tasmania
The thermal
comfort
and energy
performance
of low cost
housing
Hazel
Easthope,
University of
NSW
The challenge
of private
housing market
settlement for
newly arrived
migrants
Judy
Sutherland,
Housing
Choices
Measuring the
social return on
investment of
public housing
transfers
Dallas Rogers,
University of
Western Sydney
Enabling
individual
foreign
investment
in residential
real estate:
on becoming
a foreign real
estate investor
Heather
MacDonald,
University of
Technology,
Sydney
Discrimination in
the multi-ethnic
metropolis:
evidence from
Sydney
Judy Kraatz,
Griffith
University
Rethinking
social housing:
effective,
efficient and
equitable
Sha Liu,
University of
Sydney
Chinese foreign
investment
in Australian
housing
markets:
understanding
investor and
developer
motivations
Wendy Stone,
Swinburne
University of
Technology
The lived
experience of
recently arrived
and longerterm migrants:
how housing
is reshaping
opportunity
Angela Ballard,
Griffith
University
Transforming
methodologies:
an emergent
approach in
support of
policy, planning,
practice and
evaluation
Sandra Moye,
RMIT University
From housing
futures to
professionalisation household
of strata title
futures: A
managers:
case study
What are the
in changing
implications for aspirations and
governance?
energy efficiency
in social housing
in Chile
Erika Altmann,
University of
Tasmania
Industry
3.00 – 3.30pm
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 1
Afternoon Refreshments to be served at the Physics Building
21
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 21
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 3 AND PANEL S ES SIO N 2
3.30 – 5.00pm
Location
Chair
Housing
Affordability
& Multigenerational
Living
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 2
Housing
Design:
Australian &
International
Experiences
Physics room
333
PANEL:
Indigenous
Housing
& Welfare
Conditionality
Housing for
Low-income
Households
Housing
Markets &
Planning
Centenary
Lecture
Theatre
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 1
Geology
Lecture
Theatre 211
Marcus Spiller
Paul Burton
Anitra Nelson
Ralph Horne
Angela Spinney
Terry Burke,
Swinburne
University of
Technology
Generational
change in
home purchase
opportunity in
Australia
Esther Chew,
Mulloway Studio
Architects
PARK(ed): a
$30k single
occupancy
housing
strategy. The
great Australian
dream?
Rhonda
Phillips,
University of
Queensland
Emma Baker,
David Pevalin,
University of
Adelaide
Changes in
Inclusion or
low-income
assimilation? A
critical examination households in
South Australia
of social housing
2008-2013
mainstreaming
Alan Peters,
University of
NSW
Edgar Liu,
University of
NSW
“I’m never alone
and lonely”:
Multigenerational
living in
Brisbane, QLD
Heather
Shearer,
Griffith
University
The “tiny house”
movement: its
implications
for housing
affordability
and urban
sustainability
Daphne
Habibis,
University of
Tasmania
Welfare
conditionality
and Aboriginal
lifeworlds:
establishing
recognition as a
policy principle
Kath Hulse,
Swinburne
University of
Technology
Investor-led
activity in
areas of socioeconomic
disadvantage
Shanaka
Herath,
Macquarie
University
Identifying
urban planning
priorities
through a house
price model
Daphne Nash,
University of
Queensland
Do you want
to change
your life?
Conditionality
and innovation
for Indigenous
tenants in
Tennant Creek,
NT
Craig Cosier,
Sydney
University of
Technology
Pernille
Christensen,
University of
Technology
Penny Lysnar,
University of
Auckland
Enriched and
enabled or
desperate and
despairing? The
experiences
of multigenerational
households in
New-Zealand
cities
policy agendas
Developing urban
sustainability:
A proposal
for expanding
current Australian
affordable housing
assessment
methods using
international case
studies
Current housing
price trends and
future population
trends: what do
they imply about
the future of
density?
Investigating
alternative
solutions to
the affordable
housing supply
challenges in
Sydney, Australia:
lessons from
three global case
studies
5.15pm
Coach transfer from UTAS to Brooke Street Pier – will depart at 5.15pm promptly from
the University Club If for some reason you are not able to catch the ferry, the cost of a taxi
to MONA is $30. We will be returning to the city by coach.
5:30 – 9:00pm
Welcome Reception - Museum of Old & New Art
Participants are invited to join with other conference attendees at Tasmania’s number one
visitor attraction and one of the world’s best privately owned museums. Attendees will board
the MR1 at Brooke Street Pier, promptly at 5.30pm to enjoy a ferry trip up the Derwent River to
MONA. Upon arrival attendees will be given a private viewing of the museum, followed by the
reception in The Void. Food and beverage will be served on board MR1 and at the reception.
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 22
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THURSDAY 19 FEB R UARY 2 015
8.30am – 5.00pm
Registration desk open, Physics Building
Centenary Building
9.00 – 10.30 am
Keynote Presentations
Professor Brendan Gleeson, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Heather Lovell, University of Tasmania
Chair: Professor Richard Eccleston, University of Tasmania
10.30 – 11.00am
Morning Refreshments to be served in the Physics Building
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 4 AND PANEL S ES SIO N 3
11.00 –
12.30pm
PANEL
Housing,
Apartments: Theory, Health & Wellbeing
Practice & Innovation
Location
Centenary Lecture
Theatre
Physics Lecture
Theatre 1
Physics Lecture
Theatre 3
Geology Lecture
Theatre 211
Peter Phibbs
Emma Baker
Jennifer Borrell
Nicole Gurran
Lyndall Bryant,
Queensland University
of Technology
Rebecca Bentley,
University of
Queensland
Chair
Apartments:
Development practice
and the implications for
affordability
Deborah Warr,
University of
Melbourne
Using art to
Melbourne School of
Population And Global challenge placebased stigma
Health
Moving beyond
association:
Developing causal
explanations of
housing and health
Katy Osborne,
Andrea Sharam,
Swinburne University of Torrens University
Technology
Precarious housing
Apartments:
Theory led
transformation
Creating
Communities
and the impacts
on health and
participation in social
and economic life
among unemployed
South Australians
Gina Zappia,
University of
Tasmania
Understanding how
seniors negotiate
the construction of
place-based stigma
Affordable
Housing
Supply
Margaret Reynolds
Swinburne
University of
Technology
Technology
Nowhere to rent: the
growing shortage of
affordable private
rental housing in
Australia 2006-2011
Emma Greenhalgh,
Griffith University
The influence of
institutions and
organisations
in establishing
affordable housing
targets
23
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 23
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Tom Alves,
Government
of Victoria
Michelle Gabriel,
University of
Tasmania
Housing priorities of
people with memory
loss: security,
continuity and
support
Apartments:
‘Deliberative’
development,
innovation to
improve supply,
affordability, quality
& design
Francesca Perugia, Julie Lawson,
University of Western RMIT University
Australia
Guaranteeing social
Resisting assimilation:
Migrants reading of
Australian housing
and alternative design
opportunities
housing’s future?
International experience
and an Australian
proposal
Jasmine Palmer,
University of
Adelaide
Slicing, dicing and
reconstituting ‘The
Dream’: seeking
pathways to more
sustainable and
affordable residential
urban form with
occupant input
12.30 – 1.30pm
Lunch to be served in the University Club
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 5
1.30 – 3.00pm
Residential
Mobility
Housing and
Population
Ageing
Housing
Service
Provision for
Indigenous
People
Managing
Tenancies in
Social Housing
Housing
Supply
Location
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 1
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 2
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 3
Centenary
Lecture
Theatre
Geology
Lecture
Theatre 211
Chair
Ilan Wiesel
Caryl Bosman
Rhonda Phillips
Hazel Easthope
Kathy Hulse
Geoffrey Meen,
University of
Readingy
Population
mobility in
Melbourne:
evidence from
panel data:
1903-1980
Maree Petersen,
University of
Queensland
Retirement
villages: the
last housing
decision?
Fiona
Proudfoot,
University of
Tasmania
Jennifer Borrell,
Yarra
Community
Housing
Design, context
and tenant
characteristics:
are there
any rules for
harmonious
social housing
arrangements
Julian
Szafraniec,
SGS Economics
and Planning
Understanding
cultural
differences at the
frontline
Does transport
investment
boost potential
housing supply
in metropolitan
areas?
24
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 24
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 5 CO NTINUED
1.30 – 3.00pm
Location
Chair
3.00 – 3.30pm
Residential
Mobility
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 1
Housing and
Population
Ageing
Housing
Service
Provision for
Indigenous
People
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 2
Managing
Tenancies in
Social Housing
Housing
Supply
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 3
Centenary
Lecture
Theatre
Geology
Lecture
Theatre 211
Hazel Easthope
Kathy Hulse
Ilan Wiesel
Caryl Bosman
Rhonda Phillips
Hal Pawson,
University of
NSW
Sinks of social
exclusion or
springboards for
social mobility?
Analysing
the roles of
disadvantaged
neighbourhoods
in urban
Australia
Deborah Oxlade,
University of
Queensland
A secure future?
The housing
circumstances
of retired
ex-service
households
of Qld
Melanie
Andersen,
University of
NSW
Megan
Nethercote,
RMIT
A
governmentality
perspective
on residential
mobility
Cynthia
Townley,
Shelter
Tasmania
Deb Lewis,
COTA
Towards
age friendly
solutions for
landlords and
renters
Lynda Cheshire,
University of
Queensland
Anti-social
“There’s a housing and intensively
sociable: The
crisis going
local context
on in Sydney
of neighbour
for Aboriginal
disputes and
people”: Focus
complaints
group accounts
among social
of housing
housing tenants
experiences
Ian McShane,
RMIT
Repurposing
community
sector land
assets for
affordable
housing
and their health
associations
for Aboriginal
people in Western
Sydney.
Kathleen
Flanagan,
University of
Tasmania
How to house
the hard to
house: the
discourse of the
‘problem tenant’
in Tasmanian
housing policy
Greg Costello,
Curtin University
Vacant land
transactionbased indexes:
A Western
Australian case
study
Afternoon Refreshments to be served in the Physics Building
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 6
3.30 – 5.00pm
Mortgages &
the Economy
Housing for
Vulnerable
Populations
Homelessness
Tenant
Perspectives
Housing
Finance
Location
Geology
Lecture
Theatre 211
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 3
Centenary
Lecture
Theatre
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 1
Physics
Lecture
Theatre 2
Chair
Lyndall Bryant
Rebecca
Bentley
Deborah
Batterham
Kathy Hulse
Greg Costello
Maria Yanotti,
University of
Tasmania
Builder borrower
typologies in
the mortgage
market:
evidence in
Australia
Ceridwen Owen,
University of
Tasmania
An exploration
of the principles
and practices of
inclusive design
and universal
design through
the lens of
autism spectrum
disorder
Hal Pawson,
University of
NSW
Rae DuftyJones,
University of
Western Sydney
The mobility
aspirations of
Australia’s public
housing tenants
Steven Rowley,
Curtin University
Benjamin
Liu, Eduardo
Roca, Griffith
University
International
funding costs,
mortgage
interest rates
and cash
rate cycle
relationships.
Evidence in
the context of
Australia
Margaret Ward,
Griffith
University
The failure of a
voluntary code
for universally
designed
housing
Cameron
Parsell,
University of
Queensland
Brisbane
Common
Ground: How
do tenants
view single
site supportive
housing?
Angela Nunn,
Southern Cross
University
Against the
grain: Towards
a critical
genealogy
of resident
resistance to
public and social
housing policy
change
Chyi Lee,
University of
Western Sydney
Australian
institutional
investors’
attitudes
regarding
residential
property
investment
Ashton De
Silva,
RMIT University
The regulation,
mortgage
innovation and
house price
nexus
Michael
Bullock,
ARC
Researching the
housing futures
of minority
groups: Gypsies
and Travellers in
England
Lynne Keevers,
University of
Wollongong
Helen
Backhouse,
Southern Youth
and Family
Services
Gabrielle Drake,
University of
Western Sydney
The evaluation
of the Boarding
Houses Act
2012 (NSW)
Muyiwa Elijah
Agunbiade,
University of
Melbourne
Integrated data
infrastructure
platform as a
tool to inform
sustainable
housing
affordability
analysis in
Melbourne
6.30 – 10.30pm
The dog that
didn’t bark? The
homelessness
consequences
of UK economic
recession and
welfare reform
It’s more than a
bed for the night:
Practices effective
for assisting
young people
to avoid or exit
homelessness
Residential
development
finance and
dwelling supply
Conference Dinner University Club
Participants to make their own way to and from the dinner venue
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FR IDAY 2 0 FEB R UARY 2 015
8.30am – 2.00pm
Registration desk open, Physics Building
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 7
9.00 – 10.30am
Location
Chair
Housing &
Planning
Physics Lecture
Theatre 1
Environmentally
Sustainable
Housing
Housing & Family
Violence
Tenant Exits from
Social Housing
Geology Lecture
Theatre 211
Physics Lecture
Theatre 2
Centenary Lecture
Theatre
Hal Pawson
Michelle Gabriel
Susan Goodwin
Kathleen Flanagan
Paul Burton,
Griffith University
The Australian
suburban dream:
alive but not kicking
Srimin Perera,
Curtin University of
Technology
Evolution of the
Australian housing
market and its
influence on
environmentally
responsive housing
Beatriz Cristina
Maturana,
Universidad
de Chile
Form and
conviviality:
observations from
the morphological
transformations
experienced in
two key housing
projects aiming for
social integration.
Michael Darcy,
Hazel Blunden,
University of
Western Sydney
Alison Reid,
Auckland Council
Housing choices
and trade offs in
Auckland
Helen Cameron,
University of South
Australia
A house without
a verandah is like
a face without
eyebrows
Angela Spinney,
Swinburne
University of
Technology
Ilan Wiesel,
University of NSW
When do tenants
leave social
housing?
Keeping safe and
staying independent:
exploring the potential
of ‘staying at home’
schemes for women
with disabilities who
have experienced
family violence
Kuntal Goswami,
Charles Darwin
Viability of social housing University
Sirisena Herath,
University of NSW
partnerships between
government and notfor-profit sectors - the
relationship between
neo-liberal macro
agenda and Australian
policy toolkit
10.30 – 11.00am
Housing as a
sustainability
issue in South
Australia:
A case study
‘We just can’t
get ahead’: work
disincentives and
social housing
Tegan Bergan,
University of
Western Sydney
Mobility motivations
of public housing
tenants
Morning Refreshments to be served in the Physics Building
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 8
11.00am–
12.30pm
Location
Chair
New Models of
Home Ownership
Affordable
Accommodation
Policy Tools and
Evaluation
Geology Lecture
Theatre 211
Centenary Lecture
Theatre
Physics Lecture
Theatre 2
Physics Lecture
Theatre 1
Julie Lawson
Ceridwen Owen
Gina Zappia
Tamlin Gorter
Andrea Blake,
Queensland
University of
Technology
Caryl Bosman,
Griffith University
Producing suburban
residential social
capital
Steven Rowley,
Curtin University
Emma Baker,
University of
Adelaide
Questioning the
cumulative effect
of time spent
in unaffordable
housing
Damian Sammon,
Queensland
Department of
Housing and Public
Works
David Bunce,
Centre for Housing,
Urban and Regional
Planning, University
of Adelaide
How people in
residential parks can
form co-operatives,
buy the land
beneath their homes
and run their park
Trivess Moore,
RMIT
Occupant feedback
from an exemplar
sustainable,
mixed-tenure,
mixed-use apartment
development in
Melbourne
Nnenne Ike,
University of the
Sunshine Coast
Yung Yau,
City University of
Hong Kong
Rachel Bills,
University of
Adelaide
Ben Faulkner,
Australian Bureau
of Statistics
Exploring models for
accessible collective
home ownership in
Australia
Socio-economic
and institutional
determinants of
efficacy beliefs in
multi-owned housing
management
12.30 - 1.30pm
Improving Home
Environments
Healthy housing for
an ageing population:
examining thermal
comfort and
affordability from the
inside out
The cost and
availability of student
accommodation
Julie Considine,
WA Department of
Housing
Sustainable neighbours: Estimating unmet
housing demand
growth in student
and priority
population and
areas for public
declining housing
affordability in Australia and affordable
housing at the local
government area
level: a housing
practitioners’
approach
Trends in housing
affordability indicators
in Australia
Debbie
Georgopoulos,
NSW Department
of Family and
Community Services
Waiting for social
housing - international
approaches to
prioritisation policy
and management
arrangements for
social housing
waiting lists
Lunch and Conference Close – Physics Building
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SO CI AL PR O GR A M
GOV ER N M ENT H O US E R ECEPTIO N
Date: Tuesday 17 February 2015
Venue: Government House
Time: 6.00pm – 7.00pm. Transfer departing from Cnr Davey & Campbell Streets
Hobart at 5.45pm
Cost: Included in Full & Student Registrations
Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Kate Warner AM will host a reception
for delegates at Government House to mark the conference.
Tasmania’s Government House is regarded as one of the best Vice-Regal residences in
the Commonwealth and is one of the largest in Australia. Invitations for the Reception
are issued by Government House. There is a limit to the number Government House can
accommodate, and delegates who register early will be given preference.
CO NFER EN CE W ELCOM E R ECEPTIO N
Date: Wednesday 18 February 2015
Venue: MONA - Museum of Old & New Art
Cost: Included in Full & Student Registrations, additional tickets
may be purchased at $55 per person – subject to availability
The welcome reception will be held at the truly unique and world renowned MONA
(Museum of Old and New Art).
Coach transfer from University Club to Brooke Street Pier –will depart at 5.15pm promptly
If for some reason you are not able to catch the ferry, the cost of a taxi to MONA is $30.
We will be returning to the city by coach.
CO NFER EN CE DINNER
Date: Thursday 19 February 2015
Time: 6:30pm – 10:30pm
Venue: University Club, University of Tasmania
Cost: Included in the cost of a full Conference registration.
Guest and Student tickets can be purchased at an additional
cost of $100, subject to availability.
Participants to make their own way to and from the dinner venue.
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 1
H O USIN G AND PLANNIN G
CH AIR : STEV EN R OW LEY
PLANNING REFORM FOR FAIRER HOUSING OUTCOMES? A
NEW CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK USING TRANSITIONS THEORY
P ETER WALSH
Swinburne University of Technology
Despite “ceaseless” efforts at reforming our urban planning systems, housing and other
planning-related problems in our major cities (say, traffic congestion, concentrated social
disadvantage and the inter-related economic consequences), are not only persistent but
worsening. Planning scholarship is good at explaining these problems and how a better,
fairer system might operate. But there is less clarity on the means of arriving there. Mindful of
Forester’s (optimistic) thought that “when stuck” practice will actually turn to scholarship for
a new way of paying attention to a problem, this research introduces sustainability transitions
studies into the planning system reform practice domain. Transitions is an emerging literature,
with links to complexity theory and sociology. It is entirely focused on the governance (or
means) of achieving long term change in major societal systems. In particular, this research
links transitions studies to planning’s relational-institutionalist thinking to help in the “openingup” of embedded planning system institutions to innovation, and what this means in practical
terms. This presentation is an outline of doctorate research which has developed a new
logic for planning system reform. The researcher is a long term practitioner and advisor in
government-mandated planning system reform episodes. The NSW government’s planning
system reform project of 2012-14 is the main empirical domain under study.
W HEN THE ‘ FR IN GE ’ IS THE FUTUR E : LAND DEV ELO PM ENT
FO R H O USIN G IN M ELB O UR NE ’ S GR OW TH AR EAS
ANITR A NELSO N1 ,
TO N Y DALTO N 2
Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Melbourne,
Global Cities Research Institute, RMIT University, Melbourney
1
2
Current housing policy concerns focus on sustainability, affordability and accessibility.
We report on preliminary research to inform policymaking on urban growth boundaries,
residential zoning and infrastructure planning in Melbourne’s growth areas, that Plan
Melbourne (pp. 61–62) estimates will account for two in every five of 1.6mn new houses
required as its population more than doubles by 2051.
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Here the traditional great suburban sprawl endures, large single and double-story detached
houses appearing on ever-smaller lots in poorly serviced growth areas such as Wyndham.
Australia’s third-fastest growing municipality expects more than 245,000 residents by 2021.
Residents are attracted by lower house prices but heavy and rising energy costs mean less
affordable outer suburban living. This type of property development is so entrenched that
Wyndham City Council (2014, 1160 Sayers Road Implementation Plan, pp. 7, 10, 15) recently
bought land to supervise a model development where compact designs and planning promise
more environmentally sustainable housing, well serviced by basic infrastructure, including public
transport, as characteristic of inner Melbourne living. This begs the question: Do inappropriate
private commercial housing developments persist due to deep supply-factors?
We hypothesise that financial and policy constraints in land purchase, infrastructure
development, and relationships between developers and building companies have
contributed to this conundrum. Growth areas are opened by land developers who, typically,
acquire land from, say retiring farmers, then collaboratively plan and construct subdivisions
with volume house building companies who, in turn, build on subdivided and serviced lots.
Developer–builder collaborations move from design and construction of display villages
through to staged releases of land and house packages to home-purchasers. We report on a
desktop review of qualitative and quantitative literature and interviews with major actors on
their distinctive property ownership and land development models, financial strategies and
types of builder relationships.
R EV ISITIN G THE ECO N OM ICS O F IN CLUSIO N ARY ZO NIN G
M AR CUS SPIL LER , M ITR A ANDERSO N - O LIV ER
SGS Economics and Planning
Inclusionary zoning (IZ) for affordable housing is widely practiced in international jurisdictions but
the take up of this tool in Australia has been patchy. Typically, proposals for the adoption of IZ in
Australian cities is met with scepticism or outright opposition on a variety of grounds including
adverse market impacts and the lack of a sound enabling rationale within statutory planning
systems. Against this background, this paper will revisit the planning mandate for IZ, with reference
to arguments related to social mix being a statutorily recognised attribute of ‘environmental
sustainability’, as well as the broader requirement for planning to have regard for the efficient use
and allocation of land, including the externalities associated with affordable housing provision.
In particular, this paper will discuss the claim that diverse, affordable and well-located housing
contributes to productive and socially cohesive city, and that IZ can play a ‘planning legitimate’ role
in securing this outcome.
By way of introduction, the paper will recount the principal policy critique of IZ (adding to affordability
problems, displacing responsibilities, not a comprehensive solution etc), before introducing a case
study involving the ill-fated proposal by inner metropolitan councils to implement an IZ scheme in
Melbourne in 2010. The case study will be used to both test the robustness of the conventional
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economic critique of IZ and explore whether such an initiative is likely to generate a net community
benefit, taking into account the externalities mentioned earlier. The paper will conclude with a
discussion of barriers to the adoption of IZ in an Australian institutional context.
H O USIN G AND PO PULATIO N AGEIN G
CH AIR : M AR EE PETERS EN
H OM E OW NERSHIP AND AGEIN G : EX A M ININ G H O US E
PR ICE DYN A M ICS AND D OW N SIZIN G IS SUES IN NEW
ZEALAND
LAUR EN CE MUR PH Y1 , M ICH A EL R EH M 2
Department of Property, University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand,
Department of Property, University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand
1
2
Homeownership has long held a significant position in the New Zealand housing system and
housing represents the single most important component of household wealth in the country.
The liberalisation of mortgage markets and the growing fungibility of housing as an asset
have meant that housing is increasingly viewed as a key component in the development
of asset-based welfare programmes and is viewed as particularly important for ageing
populations. Outright homeownership reduces the prospect of poverty in old age and is
popularly believed to offer the opportunity for ageing homeowners to downsize (i.e. move
to a smaller or lower value dwelling) and release equity. Notwithstanding the power of the
‘ideology of homeownership’ to shape housing policy and individual household decisionmaking, the opportunities for in-situ ageing or downsizing are constrained by the nature of
the housing stock and the dynamics of house prices. In this paper we examine issues relating
to downsizing and house price dynamics in New Zealand at a variety of spatial scales. In
particular, we examine the regional and intra-urban geographies of house price appreciation
and how these geographies shape downsizing opportunities.
BUILDING A NEW HOUSING EQUITY WITHDRAWAL ASPIRATION
FOR AUSTRALIAN RETIREES
DI ANNE J O HN SO N , ANDR EW WO RTHIN GTO N , M AR K
B R I M B LE
Griffith University
The incidence of poverty among older Australians, with income pressures often worsening in
the later stages of retirement, sets a number of challenges for policymakers and industry to reshape policies and create innovative financial products for Australian retirees. A key problem is
that some retirees do not have sufficient asset liquidity to finance post-retirement consumption,
including medical expenses, particularly in the later stages of retirement. The purpose of this
paper is to explore the potential for new financial products that draw primarily on housing equity
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and that match the risk profiles, needs, and cultural aspirations of Australian retirees. To assist,
we employ data from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey
to examine the asset holdings of older Australians and the levels of financial stress found
among retirees.
The analysis considers the high levels of homeownership prevailing among older Australians
and highlights recent developments and research in housing supply bonds internationally
and in Australia. In addition, we consider the extent to which Australian retirees are currently
decumulating their housing equity and the mechanisms retirees are presently using to
access housing equity. We use this to illustrate the current and potential role of housing
equity in Australian portfolio composition and contribute to a case for new financial product
development targeted at Australian retirees. The new products are differentiated from existing
products by being government-backed and the provision of higher quality planning for those
retirees with lower net worth than those who typically engage a financial planner. The case
suggests a safer, supported mechanism that enables later retirees to relieve financial stress
and meet their health and aged care needs by efficiently and safely decumulating housing
equity. The results of this research have important implications for social policy and financial
products designed to increase the financial wellbeing of retirees.
DR IV ERS OF HOM ELES SNESS
CHAIR: CAMERO N PARSELL
THE STR U CTUR AL DR IV ERS O F H OM ELES SNES S
IN AUSTR ALI A 2 0 01 - 2 011
DEB BATTER H A M1 , GAV IN WOO D 2 , M ELEK CIGDEM 3 ,
SHEL LEY M AL LETT4
Hanover Welfare Services, 2Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute,
RMIT University, 3Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, RMIT University,
4
Brotherhood of St Laurence
1
The homelessness sector and Australian governments often contend that there is a direct link
between homelessness and housing market conditions. However, there is little direct research
to support this claim. This project addresses this evidence gap. This research interrogates
a panel dataset of 328 regions encompassing all of Australia with data covering the decade
2001-2011. The paper presents results of modelling work investigating the role that structural
drivers such as area-wide housing, labour market, demographic factors, service availability,
climate and income inequality play in shaping the incidence of homelessness across Australia
and over time. Policy implications and directions for future research will also be discussed.
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V ULNER AB ILIT Y TO H OM ELES SNES S AND ITS I M PACT
O N H O USIN G O UTCOM ES .
ANN A R ITSO N , GEO FF NEIDECK ,
DEB O R AH FO ULCHER , SANDR A R ABJ O HN S
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Research into homelessness has identified that some life stages, personal situations and
experiences make some individuals more vulnerable to homelessness than others. Women and
children escaping domestic and family violence, those who have drug and alcohol problems,
people experiencing mental health issues and young people are four groups known to be
vulnerable to homelessness.
However like the homeless population in general, these groups are not homogenous. Within these
broad categories some people will be better equipped than others to transcend homelessness.
This research looks at 94,000 clients of Specialist Homelessness Services agencies who were
identified as falling into one or more of these groups. The research looks at their housing situation
when they first sought support, their engagement with homelessness services, and their housing
situation at the end of their support.
The research found that across all four vulnerable groups those who were more likely to lose
their housing or fail to obtain housing, were clients who were more socially and economically
disadvantaged. They were more likely to be:
•
•
•
•
Unemployed
Have no income or had a government payment as their only source of income
Had a past history of homelessness
Had more complex presenting issues such as drug and alcohol, or mental health issues.
The poorest housing outcomes were seen among those who had problematic drug and alcohol
use. These clients had the highest rates of homelessness at both the start and finish of support
compared to other groups.
We also found that homelessness services put considerable effort into preventing housed clients
from losing their housing – these clients had almost twice the median days of support than those
who maintained their housing.
It also appears to take significant support by homelessness services to assist a person into
housing. Clients who presented homeless and became housed were supported for the greatest
median number of days.
We also found that many clients who remained homeless appeared less ‘housing ready’ than other
clients. They often sought only basic services, such as meals, medical treatment and emergency
accommodation. As result, this group had relatively short periods of support on average.
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H OW CAN THE H O USIN G M AR K ET AND THE
H OM ELES SNES S S ECTO R IDENTIFY AND ADDR ES S
THE GR OW IN G DEM AND FO R H O USIN G CAUS ED
BY H O US EH O LD B R EA K D OW N ?
DANIEL ATTAR D
La Trobe University
How can the housing market and the homelessness sector identify and address the growing
demand for housing caused by household breakdown? Household breakdown is a leading
cause of housing risk (mortgage and rental) and homelessness in Australia. Due to the reduce
financial capacity of household members once separated, household breakdown is one of
the earliest and most common of life-events that triggers housing risk; however, household
breakdown is often considered and subsequently treated as an effect rather than a cause of
housing risk and homelessness.
The additional demand for housing resulting from household breakdown has an inflationary
effect on local housing markets due to additional dwellings required for individual household
members. Additionally, there is increasing pressure on the homelessness sector for services
as a consequence of mortgage defaults and tenancy failures often resulting from household
breakdown.
To minimise housing risk and potential entrenchment in the homelessness sector, household
breakdown requires early identification and intervention as a priority to address the housing
and associated needs for all household members (adults and dependents). An outcomes
spectrum would range from preventing household breakdown (including possible reunification)
to addressing the needs of all household members shortly after breakdown, thereby minimising
the impact of adverse life experiences for:
1.Adults – increased levels of long-term unemployment, alcohol and other drug abuse,
physical and mental health issues and social exclusion.
2.Children – increased levels of adverse behavioural, health, social, educational and
vocational outcomes.
Research comprises of:
1.Quantitative and qualitative research into the socio-economic costs of household
breakdown on households and local communities.
2.The subsequent and consequential impacts on governments, the housing market
and homelessness sector.
Data from the research components will be utilised to develop an evidence-base for a
policy framework and service provision platform to guide government and sector agencies
to provide tailored and targeted assistance to households at housing risk resulting from
household breakdown.
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TR AN SFO R M IN G NEIGHB O UR H OO DS
CHAIR: MICHAEL DARCY
R EV IEW IN G N ATIO N B UILDIN G INN OVATIO N
THE LA K EWOO D PR OJ ECT , M EL B O UR NE
PETER PHIB B S1 R OB IN GOODM AN 2
University of Sydney, 2RMIT
1
The Nation Building Housing program provided a much needed injection of new social
housing into the Australian housing system. It also sponsored some innovative projects
which trialled new combinations of housing and social support. The Lakewood project – a
high rise residential tower in a middle ring suburb of Melbourne is an example of such a
project. The newly built ten story tower consists of 84 1 and two bedroom apartments and
operates using a co-operative housing model managed by Common Equity, a large Victorian
Community Housing Provider. The authors are part of a research team commissioned by
VicHealth (through AHURI) to evaluate the effect that secure housing has on the residents
of the Lakewood residential community over time. In particular this research is interested in
non-shelter health outcomes for people within this high-rise residential tower in Ringwood,
Melbourne. Residents at Lakewood generally come from other social housing or marginal
housing arrangements and tend to have complex needs. The paper reports on the results
of a series of interviews with residents, housing managers and support service providers.
The main findings of the research is that whilst the secure housing has generated significant
positive outcome for residents, the design of the building and the management and support
arrangements have generated some significant challenges for residents which suggests that
differences in building design and management may have led to better housing outcomes.
USIN G A H O LISTIC AND INTEGR ATED APPR OACH
TO SO CI AL H O USIN G
J ENNIFER B O R R EL L1 , TER RY B UR K E 2
Yarra Community Housing, 2Swinburne University
1
The provision of social housing for many marginalised households and individuals now goes
beyond the provision of shelter which is appropriate and affordable; housing now has also to
be a stepping stone to non shelter outcomes of health, general wellbeing, independence and
positive inter-dependence. How this is to be achieved requires an approach to social housing
provision that is integrated and holistic and not just the adding on of support to existing social
housing management practices. Yarra Community Housing is a Melbourne based Affordable
Housing Association, with 1000 housing units and some 1700 tenancies with a strong vision
of what social housing should be. Building on this vision, and the actual practice, of Yarra
Community Housing’s adaptive Social Housing Model, this paper outlines a theoretical
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framework, in line with public health and ecological approaches, which creates the potential
for a holistic social housing approach. The framework involves consideration of tenants and
service users as whole people beyond perceived ‘deficits’ and their ‘commercial’ status
as client or consumer. It also provides guidance for supporting tenants and service users
through multi-level action, including individual support; stable housing, social, economic and
organisational participation and systemic advocacy. The paper outlines the implications of the
framework for worker-tenant relationships and relationships between staff, agency partners
and between individuals and their communities and discusses the challenges in translating
from a theoretical framework to organisational practice.
CO NNECTIN G P EO PLE TO PLACE : THE M IS SIN G PIECE IN
THE H O USIN G SUSTAIN AB ILIT Y PUZZLE
K ER RY B ECK , TER ESA K EO GH
Housing SA
“Home is more than shelter; home is our centre of gravity.”
Jeanette Winterson, 2013.
The importance of housing sustainability is often discussed in terms of critical elements like
affordability, built form and sustainable design; but less often in terms of the experiences
of the people who inhabit the houses and make them a home. Yet home is essential to a
person’s ability to function as an individual and within a wider community. Indeed, housing is
considered a fundamental human right and a universal determinant of health that relates to a
person’s sense of well-being and belonging.
Housing SA is implementing a new way of working with people that positions the needs
of people to connect meaningfully with their community as a critical element of housing
sustainability. It is doing so through the delivery of a practice framework linked to assessed
levels of experienced risk and vulnerability of tenants. On a conceptual level, the Housing
SA Practice Framework outlines an approach that includes: supportive interventions, a
rights-based orientation, community engagement and development; quality social housing
management; and values driven practice – all aimed at connecting people to place in
order to support sustainability and improved wellbeing. On a practical level, the theoretical
approaches are applied to day-to-day operations, which include a new service delivery
model with specialised support roles, management via a practice supervision framework and
assessment and referral processes that target resources for people based on need.
This presentation will consider the idea that “Connecting People to Place” via the delivery of
services through a clearly articulated practice framework could offer the missing piece in the
housing sustainability puzzle and fits neatly alongside traditional understandings of the need for
affordability, sustainable design, and quality built form. Indeed “Connecting People to Place”
could play a pivotal role in our housing futures… it could transform living and change lives.
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H O USIN G GOV ER N AN CE AND PO LICY
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CH AIR : DAL LAS R O GERS
UNDERSTANDIN G NEO LIB ER ALIS M AND ITS INFLUEN CE O N
H O USIN G PO LICY
K EITH JACO B S , TI M WOO LLEY
University of Tasmania
The dominant narrative amongst housing academics is that neoliberalism is a dysfunctional
ideology that operates as a barrier or constraint on those policymakers seeking to advance a
progressive housing reform agenda. As such, much of the corpus of contemporary housing
scholarship is expended on highlighting the contradictions and inconsistences that surface
when neoliberal inspired policies are implemented. Whilst not wishing to disparage this
critique of neoliberalism, we suggest that housing scholarship has not paid sufficient attention
to the ways that elites and corporate groupings have been able to utilise neoliberal ideology
as a cover to sustain fiscal and governmental arrangements that privileges their interests over
and above other groupings. To address this gap in knowledge, our paper offers a different
vantage point to understand the impact of neoliberal ideology on the Australian housing
system. We propose that in the context of housing neoliberalism is best understood as a
hugely successful rationale for perpetuating an iniquitous and unjust system. A reorientation
in housing research is required so that we foreground, in more detail, how neoliberalism
performs as a rationale to justify, amongst other things, profiteering from non-productive
and rentier practices.
CO NTEX T , COM PAR ISO N AND THE DIFFER IN G R O LE O F
SO CI AL ENTR EPR ENEURS IN AUSTR ALI A AND AUSTR I A
JULIE LAWSO N
RMIT, Centre for Urban Research
This paper aims to contribute theoretically and empirically to the comparative study of social
housing systems (Lawson et al, 2010). How we perceive these systems, influences how we
go about comparing them, what we compare and also delimits the realm of social housing
policy exchange. This work is informed by Critical Realist ontology (Lawson, 2006) and builds
on previous comparative and historical research by the author investigating housing systems
present in Amsterdam and Melbourne 2014, Vienna and Zurich, 2009, 2010 and Seoul, 2008.
This paper proposes how to investigate causal mechanisms generating difference and
change. It does so by examining the differing social structures, institutions, organisational
processes mediating not for profit (NFP) rental housing provision in Austria and Australia. In
particular, the cumulative evolution of property, finance and welfare relations are important
when researching why social housing differs from place to place, over time and is more or
less ‘social’. These powerful relations, derived from concrete historical research, go beyond
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highly aggregated tenure outcomes and simple notions of supply and demand side ‘market
interventions’. Rather than provide two detailed historical trajectories (which have been
published elsewhere, see above) this paper puts forward a contrastive model of differently
defined and packaged social relations, which is empirically tested, and finally, explores
potential areas for policy learning and exchange between the established Austrian system
and the evolving NFP sector in Australia.
Lawson, J. (2006/14). Critical Realism & Housing Studies, London, UK, Routledge (new in paperback)
Lawson, J. (2010). Path dependency and emergent relations: explaining the different role of limited profit housing in the dynamic
urban regimes of Vienna and Zurich, Housing Theory and Society, First Article in special issue on path dependency, 27 (3) 204220
Lawson, J., Haffner, M., Oxley, M. (2010). Plenary - Comparative housing research in the new millennium: methodological and
theoretical contributions from the first decade, Refereed Conference proceedings, APNHR/AHRC, Sydney 5-7 August
Lawson, J. (2009). The transformation of social housing provision in Switzerland mediated by federalism, direct democracy and
the urban/rural divide, European Journal of Housing Policy, 9 (1) :45-67
Lawson, J. (2008). Transformation in and challenges to the Korean housing solution, Asian Public Policy, 1 (2) :313-327
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 2
H O USIN G AND PLANNIN G : INFILL H O USIN G
CH AIR : ANDR EA SH AR A M
A GR O UNDED THEO RY AN ALYSIS O F S M AL L SCALE
R ESIDENTI AL DEV ELO P ERS ’ O P ER ATIO N S IN THE
AU CK LAND H O USIN G M AR K ET
MO H S EN MOHAMMADZADEH 1 , R EGAN SO LOMO N 2 , K IELY
MCFAR LANE3
Auckland Council, 2Auckland Council, 3Water Governance
1
Infill development is increasingly identified as one of main planning strategies in
accommodating housing growth. Understanding the actors and their functions that contribute
housing market is essential part of working towards providing homes for residents. In
the housing literature considerable attention has been given to examining the role and
characteristics of large size developers in providing accommodation, but less attention
has been directed to understanding the role of actors who develop small size parcels. By
investigating Auckland’s housing market as an example, this research explores the types of
actors operating in small size residential development projects, the types and the locations
of developments they are developing, the impacts of the Global Finical Crisis (GFC) on their
functions, their tendency to interact with Auckland Council in an effort to gain development
approval (consenting), and the impacts of the urban plans and policies on their operations.
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Grounded theory is used to study the actors and their functions in the Auckland housing
market, twenty two semi-structured interviews with actors who were working on residential
development projects in the Auckland region between 2012 and 2013 were conducted. The
investigation demonstrates that various actors paly role in developing small size parcels, in
some cases an actor plays several roles such as owner, builder, and financer in developing a
project. Market demand determines types of projects and location of the projects. However,
these actors generally relinquished the housing market following the GFC; the current housing
inflation lures the actors to revert to the market. The effective interaction between the actors
and local government is crucial for mitigating the production costs and for protecting actors’
profit margins. The interviewees generally support Auckland Council urban development plans,
such as the Auckland Unitary Plan.
H O USIN G AND PLANNIN G : INFILL H O USIN G
CH AIR : ANDR EA SH AR A M
A GR O UNDED THEO RY AN ALYSIS O F S M AL L SCALE
R ESIDENTI AL DEV ELO P ERS ’ O P ER ATIO N S IN THE
AU CK LAND H O USIN G M AR K ET
MO H S EN MOHAMMADZADEH 1 , R EGAN SO LOMO N 2 , K IELY
MCFAR LANE3
Auckland Council, 2Auckland Council, 3Water Governance
1
Infill development is increasingly identified as one of main planning strategies in
accommodating housing growth. Understanding the actors and their functions that
contribute housing market is essential part of working towards providing homes for residents.
In the housing literature considerable attention has been given to examining the role and
characteristics of large size developers in providing accommodation, but less attention
has been directed to understanding the role of actors who develop small size parcels. By
investigating Auckland’s housing market as an example, this research explores the types of
actors operating in small size residential development projects, the types and the locations
of developments they are developing, the impacts of the Global Finical Crisis (GFC) on their
functions, their tendency to interact with Auckland Council in an effort to gain development
approval (consenting), and the impacts of the urban plans and policies on their operations.
Grounded theory is used to study the actors and their functions in the Auckland housing
market, twenty two semi-structured interviews with actors who were working on residential
development projects in the Auckland region between 2012 and 2013 were conducted. The
investigation demonstrates that various actors paly role in developing small size parcels, in
some cases an actor plays several roles such as owner, builder, and financer in developing a
project. Market demand determines types of projects and location of the projects. However,
these actors generally relinquished the housing market following the GFC; the current housing
inflation lures the actors to revert to the market. The effective interaction between the actors
40
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and local government is crucial for mitigating the production costs and for protecting actors’
profit margins. The interviewees generally support Auckland Council urban development
plans, such as the Auckland Unitary Plan.
INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALISATION OF STRATA TITLE MANAGERS:
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR GOVERNANCE?
ER IK A ALTM ANN
University of Tasmania
The aim of this paper is to explore the rise of strata manager as a newly emergent profession
and note their impact on the governance within medium and high density, strata titled housing.
The impact of this new profession and their requirements in terms of expertise has not been
fully considered within existing academic literature.
This research presents finding from a small scale, qualitative research project focussed on the
interaction between the owner committee of management and strata managers. A larger study
will need to be undertaken to confirm these results.
The introduction of mandatory certification is championed by industry bodies. Strata managers
considered they demonstrated valuable attributes desired by committees of management.
These differed to the attributes targeted by the new training regime and the attributes valued
by the committees of management. There is a disjunct between the training and what strata
managers consider relevant to undertaking their duties. This has significance for the on-going
governance of these properties and industry professionalization. The resilience of Australia’s
densification policies will depend on how learning will translate into better governance
outcomes for owners. The increasing number of strata managers and professionalization
within their industry has the ability to impact an increasing number of people.
ENER GY EFFICIENT R ENTAL H O USIN G
CH AIR : HEATHER LOV ELL
THE THER M AL COM FO RT AND ENER GY P ER FO R M AN CE
O F LOW COST H O USIN G
M ICHELLE GAB R IEL , PHILLIPA WATSO N , M IL LIE R OO NEY
University of Tasmania
National data on housing stock conditions is relatively limited in Australia. This can be attributed
to the assumption that the quality of Australian housing is high relative to other nations and the
belief that standards are protected by a strong regulatory environment and government support
for housing investment. However, we argue that housing conditions are becoming increasingly
problematized with rising concerns about climate change and energy costs. Moreover, there is a
growing awareness of the significance of housing quality and indoor temperature to household
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health and well-being. Thermal comfort and energy performance are both important here as
low performing homes impact on people’s health and financial security. Despite this shift, we
have little understanding of how post-war housing stock, particularly low cost housing stock,
performs on these measures.
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Over the past year, we have been evaluating an energy saving program, Get Bill Smart. As part
of this project, we have collected comprehensive data on the thermal and energy performance
of 60 low cost dwellings in Hobart. While the problems encountered with this housing are
not generalizable to Australian housing stock, our methods for measuring this are (i.e. home
observation, data logging and energy audits). We have also collected data on occupant
understandings of the performance of their dwellings and their home energy practices. In
addition, we have gained insight into occupants’ understanding of energy use in their home
and their capacity to undertake home improvements for energy efficiency. Our project has the
capacity to shed new light on housing quality and occupant-dwelling relations. Drawing on our
physical-social data mix we propose a schema of energy-housing types. This is valuable in
targeting resources towards behaviour change or physical adaptation.
FROM HOUSING FUTURES TO HOUSEHOLD FUTURES: A CASE
STUDY IN CHANGING ASPIRATIONS AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
IN SOCIAL HOUSING IN CHILE.
SANDR A MOY E1 , R AL PH H O R NE 2 , 3
RMIT University 2Cities Programme, United Nations Global Compact
1
Chile is one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America. Housing energy prices have
increased by an average 3.2% increase over the last decade and there is growing pressure on the
energy system both in responding to climate change and due to growing energy scarcity. Chile
also has a growing housing affordability crisis and an ambitious program to transform informal
settlements by providing formal housing through collaborations between the private and social
sectors in housing development.
If we expect such households to increase their wealth and access to comfort over coming
decades, there is a case for designing housing accordingly. Such ‘future-proofing’ comes at a
cost in today’s money, so what is the optimal approach to energy efficient social housing design?
In this paper, data from two communities are used to inform a cost-benefit analysis
of the through-life costs and benefits of energy efficient social housing.
In parallel, we report on a set of interviews with householders in their homes, where we explore
their retrofit activities, aspirations, and future plans. We argue that the outcomes of attempts
to implement energy efficiency measures in housing will be shaped by, and in turn shape,
householders’ domestic practices.
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Taking the energy efficiency cost-benefit analyses, contemporary policy approaches to the
provision of formalized housing, and the accounts of the lived experiences of this housing as
recounted by householders, we speculate on housing design and policy innovations that may
assist in shaping a transition towards more ‘future-proofed’ housing. We also reflect on the mixed
methods approach and earlier work in Australia, and propose directions for future research.
PANEL S ES SIO N : H O USIN G NEW AUSTR ALI AN S
CH AIR : DEB O R AH WAR R
PANEL M EM B ERS : H AZEL EASTH O P E ,
HEATHER M ACD O N ALD AND W ENDY STO NE
The Housing New Australians Panel focuses on the experience of migrants in the Australian
housing system. Three papers will be presented on: the changing fortunes of migrant gateway
suburbs; the lived experience of newly arrived migrants renting privately; and housing
discrimination. This will be followed by a discussion of the current and future housing needs of
migrants in the context of broader shifts in the Australian housing landscape.
THE CHALLENGE OF PRIVATE HOUSING MARKET
SETTLEMENT FOR NEWLY ARRIVED MIGRANTS
H AZEL EASTH O P E1 , W ENDY STO NE 2
1
UNSW Australia, 2 Swinburne University
Throughout twentieth century Australia, a defining feature of successful migrant settlement –
in terms of enabling wellbeing and opportunity for those settling in Australia as well as for an
enriching contribution to Australian society – has been the geographic clustering and cohesion
of migrant enclaves. The capacity of recent migrant groups to emulate these settlement
patterns is now significantly undermined by the combination of (i) withdrawal of state sponsored
social housing for new arrivals and (ii) the affordability problems associated with the housing
market more generally.
This paper examines the changing nature of shelter and non-shelter opportunity for migrants
in Australia via a focus on two metropolitan locations, Auburn (Sydney) and Springvale
(Melbourne). Each site is known for its high degree of multiculturalism and has historically
provided a target for new arrivals to Australia, beyond those housed in social housing.
The focus of this paper is on the housing experiences and outcomes of migrants in private
housing, rather than migrant hostels, or public housing where recently arrived migrants were
traditionally housed. While the shift to private-market based housing (rented and owned) for
migrants is in many ways reasonably successful, there are challenges of affordability for new
migrants. This qualitative, location-based paper explores these challenges and their implications.
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DISCR I M IN ATIO N IN THE MULTI - ETHNIC M ETR O PO LIS :
EV IDEN CE FR OM SYDNEY
HEATHER M ACD O N ALD1 , K EV IN DUNN 2 , JACQ UELINE
NELSO N 2 , R A E DUFT Y - J O NES 2 , YIN PAR ADIES 3
UTS, 2UWS, 3Deakin University
1
Sydney is a diverse global city with immigrants from approximately 240 languages, but little
evidence of the rigid racial / ethnic segregation typical of societies with fewer but larger
minority groups. However, Sydney has a very tight rental market (metropolitan wide vacancy
rates are typically less than 2%), which may make discrimination more likely. Previous studies
of experiences of racism have uncovered anecdotal evidence that some minorities perceive
they are discriminated against in the housing market. No systematic investigations of housing
discrimination have been completed in Australia. This paper reports on Australia’s first study
of housing discrimination using a paired tester methodology. The study is based on a sample
of approximately 537 paired tests conducted across the Sydney metropolitan area during
2013. We study the rental housing experiences of people from three ethnic groups (Anglo,
Indian, and Muslim Middle-Eastern). A series of bivariate statistical analyses provides the
basis for conclusions about how rental market experiences differ by ethnicity. We conclude by
reflecting on the implications these findings may have for public policy, and for the practices
of industry associations.
THE LIV ED EX P ER IEN CE O F R ECENTLY AR R IV ED AND
LO N GER - TER M M IGR ANTS : H OW H O USIN G IS
R ESH APIN G O PPO RTUNIT Y
W ENDY STO NE , ANDR EA SH AR A M
Swinburne University of Technology
A total of 190,000 migration places have been allocated to individuals settling in Australia in the
2014/15 year. Sixty-eight per cent of places are allocated to skilled entrants and the remainder
available to family migration (32 per cent) (DIBP 2015a). Additionally, in the 2012-2013 year
a further 20,019 individuals arrived within refugee or humanitarian categories (DIBP 2015b).
Appropriate and affordable housing is an important backdrop to the achievement of economic
participation and social integration for newly arrived migrants (Beer and Foley 2003; Shepley
2007) while in turn the impact of migration to Australia upon the housing system, including its
role in affecting overall housing demand and that of specific tenures, is also important (National
Housing Supply Council 2010).
In recent years the private rental sector (PRS) has played an important role in the arrival and
early settlement transitions of many recent migrants (Khoo et al 2012). A large majority of Family
and Skilled migrants reside in private rental housing at least initially, with transitions into in home
ownership by some migrant households related to longer term settlement (Khoo et al; NHSC
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2013). Supported accommodation plays a critical role for Humanitarian Visa holders upon arrival
and can facilitate access to the private rental market for some households (Beer and Foley 2003).
Fundamental changes within Australia’s housing system over the last 30 years including record
low affordability of home purchase and a declining social housing sector mean that the private
rental sector (PRS) is likely to feature even more significantly in migrant pathways in future. For
many migrants who cannot afford to purchase a home, the private rental sector appears to be
increasingly likely to be a long-term home (Stone et al 2013). In contrast with the ‘golden era’
of government assisted housing settlement of newly arrived migrants, migrants attempting to
settle in the contemporary Australian housing market face a range of barriers, obstacles and
difficulties likely to affect their longer term settlement and prosperity.
In this paper the voices, views and experiences of 40 migrant households living in the cities
of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney are presented. Twenty two of these are recent arrivals to
Australia, with a further 18 having arrived 10 years ago or earlier. Critically, the findings of
this study illuminate the creep of housing disadvantage up the income spectrum such that
migrants with a range of Visa and settlement types face difficulties in settling. Focusing on the
experience of migrants in the private rental sector, the analysis illuminates the significance of
the relationships between ‘housing ‘shocks’ (rental increases, forced/unwanted mobility, poor
housing standards), critical life events (economic, demographic and health) and household
‘insurances’ (personal resources, social capital, market and social insurances) among recently
arrived migrants. Policy and practice challenges posed by this ‘new’ scenario, as well as the
opportunity for housing assistance innovation, are discussed – building on insights gained via
in-depth interviews with housing and related practitioners and policy makers.
PO LICY TOO LS AND EVALUATIO N
CH AIR : ANNE BADENH O RST
M EASUR IN G THE SO CI AL R ETUR N O N IN V ESTM ENT
O F PUB LIC H O USIN G TR AN SFERS
JUDY SUTHER LAND
Housing Choices Australia
A number of State Governments are considering substantial transfer of public housing to
community housing providers (CHPs), as a means of maintaining housing affordability into the
future. Revenue maximisation and asset management have been long standing policy drivers
for transfers. In the case of large public housing estate transfers, service improvement and
community renewal drivers are coming increasingly to the fore.
To date there is paucity in the measurement of tenant and community outcomes attributed
to transfers. Concurrently the social housing sector in Australia in general has relatively little
impact measurement experience, compared to the UK.
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Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an analytical framework for measuring environmental,
economic and social change relative to the resources invested and it is based on stakeholders’
views and values non-monetary impacts. SROI is increasingly being used in the UK and
Australia to gauge the value of activities, improve operations and accountability.
In 2014 the Tasmanian Government transferred the management of 1,174 tenancies across five
housing estates to Housing Choices Tasmania (HCT), a CHP. HCT is co-delivering a SROI with
Ernst & Young to assess the future value of this large scale transfer beyond its financial returns.
Building on an extensive set of interviews with tenants, service providers, staff, and government
agencies, this paper presents results from a survey of tenants and stakeholders. The findings
give an understanding of tenants’ and the community’s perception of public housing transfers.
Amongst other observations it highlights that transfers directly affects tenants’ sense of selfworth and peace of mind.
This innovative research adds value to the debate on how tenants could benefit for public
housing transfers and the role of evaluation from a housing practitioner’s point of view.
RETHINKING SOCIAL HOUSING: EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT AND
EQUITABLE
JUDY K R A ATZ1 , J O H ANN A M ITCHEL L 2 ,
ANNIE M ATAN 2
Urban Research Program, Griffith University, 2Curtin University Sustainability
Program (CUSP), Curtin University
1
Particularly since the global financial crisis, governments around the world have been forced
to rethink the role, capacity and limits of publicly subsidised housing. In many countries
increasingly constrained supplies of social housing has led to longer waiting lists, priority
given only for those most in need and lower financial return on existing housing, which has in
turn constrained supply further. In this context, governments across the developed world are
seeking innovative, financially sustainable models for delivering good quality affordable housing
across the spectrum, for low income key workers through to those with complex, high needs.
Current research through the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc)
is addressing the need for a Strategic Evaluation Framework to assess options for providing
social housing that quantify cost-effective program delivery and affordable housing products.
The aim of this framework is to provide a robust, accurate and comprehensive method to
demonstrate the value and productivity benefits of the effective delivery of social housing
across Australia.
This research has the active participation the WA Department of Housing, the National
Affordable Housing Consortium (NAHC) and Access Housing Australia.
This paper will provide early findings of an initial review of literature and desk top research
intended to inform the development of the Strategic Evaluation Framework. Additionally it
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will provide an overview of the next steps including: (i) the development of specific criteria for
evaluation (both housing and non-housing related); (ii) proposed investigations including test case
studies to be undertaken in 2015 in Logan City, Queensland and Stirling City, Western Australia;
and (iii) a future proposed step adopting a systems dynamic approach to address the complexity
of interactions which present when evaluating social housing outcomes (both direct housing
outcomes and externalities such as health, employment, education and place-making outcomes.
TRANSFORMING METHODOLOGIES: AN EMERGENT APPROACH
IN SUPPORT OF POLICY, PLANNING, PRACTICE AND EVALUATION
AN GELA BALLAR D
Griffith University Urban Research Program, 2Planning Institute of Austalia
In considering research geared to understanding and changing large housing systems and
sectors within those systems, current methods that inform policy and practice and evaluate
these things often follow a well established path; quantitative studies based on existing census
or other survey data followed by small numbers of focus groups and one on one interviews
to collect and draw out qualitative data. This paper revisits a longstanding methodological
conundrum. It asks how do we meaningfully (and economically) capture and honour the lived
experience of substantial numbers of end users in housing and urban systems and how might
these experiences be used in support of decisions for planning and action - at various scales
of such systems? In responding to this question this paper introduces a new methodological
approach to housing and urban research, policy, practice and evaluation based in the mass
capture of naturalistic micro-narratives and participatory sense making. The initial discussion
is grounded in a doctoral study currently underway involving the capture of urban renters’
experiences of home and participatory processes with both renters and housing professionals
from within different sectors across the broad Australian rental housing system. The paper
then explores potential applications for transformative and adaptive action at various scales
emerging from the ‘Renters at Home’ project. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on
real time data collection and on-going collaborative analysis using Sensemaker Suite™.
INTER N ATIO N AL H O USIN G M AR K ETS
CH AIR : TO N Y DALTO N
ENABLING INDIVIDUAL FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN RESIDENTIAL
REAL ESTATE: ON BECOMING A FOREIGN REAL ESTATE INVESTOR
DALLAS R O GERS
University of Western Sydney
Instead of conceptualising individual foreign real estate investors as a coherent group this
paper takes a step back to question the seemingly coherent identity of the foreign investor.
I inquire about the processes involved in becoming a foreign real estate investor and analyse
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how investors are constituted through international real estate practice. This study identifies
the different groups of people and institutions that need to come together to constitute foreign
investors. I demonstrate how this constituted identity is appropriated and performed by different
groups of mildly rich, rich and super rich (High Net Worth) real estate investors. Conceptually,
I draw on assemblage theories (Deleuze and Guattari, and De Landa), assemblage analytical
tactics (Sassen and Ong) and discursive media theories (Kittler and Foucault) to analyse the
different cohorts of real estate investors and professionals. Empirically, the analysis is based
on semi-structured interviews conduced with real estate professionals and foreign investors
in Australia, China and Singapore, along with a traditional and new media analysis. The focus
of this paper is on the new electronic technologies and industry events that increasingly link
real estate professionals and foreign investors across nation-state boundaries. The findings
challenge the idea that foreign investors are invasive, as is occasionally presented in media
discourse and public debate in Australia, Canada, United States and United Kingdom. This
study shows foreign investors are constituted by real estate, financial and other professionals
and given authority by governments through the policy spaces that link individual foreign
investors with globalising notions of local real estate. I conclude by floating some of the early
policy observations emerging from the study.
CHINESE FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIAN HOUSING
MARKETS: UNDERSTANDING INVESTOR AND DEVELOPER
MOTIVATIONS
SH A LIU , NICO LE GUR R AN
Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney
Increasing levels of international investment in real estate has raised a number of concerns
about the housing market implications for receiving nations. Chinese foreign investment
in particular is perceived to exacerbate existing affordability pressures in recipient nations,
including the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Canada and some
European countries. While broad explanations for the phenomenon have been posited
(financial safe havens, study, accommodation for multi-national firms, international second
home ownership), little is known about the underlying drivers of Chinese foreign investment
in real estate or the motivations of individual Chinese investors and development firms. This
paper examines the reasons why Chinese developers and individual investors have decided
to develop and/or purchase property in foreign countries, focusing in particular on the
impacts of China’s changing housing policies. It uses the ‘purchase restriction’ policy, ratified
in 46 large Chinese cities in 2011 as a specific point of focus, and reports on the results of
15 in-depth interviews conducted with Chinese developers who have developed/purchased
projects in overseas markets, senior staff working in real estate consultancy and investment
firms in China and abroad, Chinese local government officials, and Chinese sales agents
working in Sydney, Australia. The interviews, conducted between July-November 2014
canvas 1) the main types of investors and developers likely to seek international investment
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opportunities; 2) the preferred international markets and housing products; 3) mechanisms
for financing purchases and the intended duration and purpose of foreign purchase (self use,
family member, corporate use, rent on the local market, or short term capital gain); and 4)
potential implications for patterns of housing investment and development in China under
the current policy framework. The paper concludes by highlighting wider research and policy
implications of the growing interactions between domestic housing policies and international
housing markets.
INVESTIGATING ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE AFFORDABLE
HOUSING SUPPLY CHALLENGES IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: LESSONS
FROM THREE GLOBAL CASE STUDIES.
P ER NILLE CHR ISTEN S EN
University of Technology, Sydney
Background: The challenges associated with creating and offering affordable housing to
a growing population is an issue facing cities around the world. Australia’s cities are not
immune to this challenge - many have set ambitious targets to help alleviate the current lack
of affordable housing in their urban areas. The City of Sydney’s Sustainable Sydney 2030
Community Strategic Plan (2014) identifies key target areas for Sydney; Target 4 states that
“7.5% of all city housing … will be affordable housing, delivered by not-for-profit or other
providers.” How to achieve this target without controlling the production of the product is a
challenge facing not only Sydney, but other Australian cities as well.
Aim & Purpose: Failing to reach the affordable housing goal is a real risk which has been
identified by key staff within the Council as there is little jurisdictional control to influence this
outcome. This study draws on approaches used by other cities in achieving affordable housing
to find possible solutions for the City of Sydney.
Design & Methodology: The case study investigates three international cities struggling with this
issue and investigates how affordable housing is being achieved through innovative policies
and programs. The cities are Amsterdam, Vancouver and San Francisco.
Key Findings: In contrast to programs currently utilised in Sydney which predominately create
housing of a single type, in a single location with only one ownership model, the case cities
programs offer a diversity of housing type, location and ownership.
Originality: Australian local governments are inhibited by the state in their ability to create
policies that will help attain social and affordable housing targets. The case studies investigated
have similar political challenges but have been able to implement creative solutions to involve
third party providers. These solutions may assist Australian cities in achieving their own
affordable housing targets.
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 3
H O USIN G AFFO R DAB ILIT Y AND MULTI GENER ATIO N AL LIV IN G CH AIR : ANITR A NELSO N
GENERATIONAL CHANGE IN HOME PURCHASE OPPORTUNITY
IN AUSTRALIA
TER RY B UR K E , W ENDY STO NE
Swinburne University
There has been considerable media exposure in recent years to the contracting opportunities for
younger generations to become home owners. The language of crisis often accompanies such
commentary and is typically linked with a juxtaposition of the problematic housing future of the
young with the more favourable environment faced by their parents, the baby boomers. This
paper uses ABS Census and Income and Housing Survey data to assess the degree to which
‘real issues’ underpin the media hype. Specifically the paper addresses three topics.
1. The degree to which younger households, particularly the cohorts aged 25-44 years,
have experienced a contraction in home purchase over the last thirty years;
2. The adaptive responses this generation has made to circumvent obstacles to ownership,
particularly that of declining housing affordability; and
3. Which younger households have been most disadvantaged in terms of home purchase
opportunity – and whether factors such as income and household type, have been influential
in this regard?
The broad argument is that that media concern with contraction in younger household’s home
purchase has been overdone. Home purchase is a highly resilient force in Australia and in
the face of major structural barriers to ownership younger households (with the exception
of the period 1981-1991) have kept up the home purchase rate largely via a set of adaptive
responses. This is not reason for complacency however as the adaptive responses are in
themselves highly problematic.
“I’M NEVER ALONE AND LONELY”: MULTIGENERATIONAL
LIVING IN BRISBANE, QLD
ED GAR LIU1 , H AZEL EASTH O P E 2 , B R U CE JUDD 3 ,
I AN B UR NLEY4
City Futures Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 2City Futures
Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 3Australian School of Architecture
and Design, University of New South Wales, 4City Futures Research Centre,
University of New South Wales
1
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Multigenerational households – where two or more generations of related adults cohabit in
the same dwelling – is recognised as a traditional practice amongst many African, Asian,
and Eastern and Southern European cultures, yet they are also a significant sub-group of
the population in the western world, including Australia. Much of the existing research into
multigenerational households in Australia has focussed on the economic factors that contribute
to (and sustain) multigenerational living, including intergenerational wealth transfers, the effect
of global economic crises and the retraction of social welfare in many western countries.
Little attention, however, has been paid to the lived, everyday experiences of such a living
arrangement. This is an important omission as family structure and living arrangements can
have a significant impact on individual wellbeing and quality of life.
This paper draws upon the results of a web-based survey (133 responses), 16 diaries and 18 indepth interviews with multigenerational household members in one major Australian city – Brisbane,
QLD – to report on the benefits and challenges experienced by people living in multigenerational
households. With the fastest growing multigenerational household population of all of the Australian
cities, Brisbane serves as an excellent case study for wider, national considerations.
The paper reveals that the benefits and drawbacks of multigenerational living experienced by
household members appear to differ depending on the pathways through which they came to
live together and the form of their multigenerational living arrangement (adult children yet to
leave home, boomeranging post-relationship breakdown, older parents moving in for care etc.).
It concludes with a discussion about the implications of these findings for housing and related
policies that impact on the quality of life of multigenerational households.
ENRICHED AND ENABLED OR DESPERATE AND DESPAIRING?
THE EXPERIENCES OF MULTI-GENERATIONAL HOUSEHOLDS IN
NEW ZEALAND CITIES.
P ENN Y LYSN AR1 , ANN DUPUIS 2
Transforming Cities, University of Auckland, 2School of People,
Environment & Planning, Massey University
1
Much of New Zealand’s recent housing-related research has focussed on the increase in single
person and smaller households and on the endeavours of local authorities, especially Auckland
and Christchurch, to deliver more intensive urban living and smaller dwelling units. This research
focus tends to divert attention away from the significant diversity of housing forms and household
types in New Zealand’s major cities. One under-researched household type is the multigenerational household, defined as a household where more than one generation of related adults
live together, with or without children.
The significance of multi-generational households is a trend beginning to be documented in a
number of countries which have similar socio-economic and demographic characteristics to
New Zealand. For example, research shows that approximately 20 percent of Australians and
16 percent of Americans live in multi-generational households. Explanations for this rise include:
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cultural expectation of new migrants to live in multi-generational households; younger adults
leaving their parents’ home later; adult children returning to their parents’ homes; and elderly
parents living with their adult children.
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These explanations also pertain to New Zealand’s multi-generational households, but
differences are also evident, especially with respect to multi-generational households in
Auckland and Christchurch. Auckland has a higher number of Māori, Pasifika and new migrant
households than do other major cities in New Zealand. The consequences of the Canterbury
earthquakes have also seen short-term, multi-generational household arrangements occurring
in Christchurch.
This paper reports on findings from a research project on multi-generational households in
Auckland and Christchurch. Drawing on Statistics New Zealand data we document the incidence
and makeup of these households. From interview data we examine the drivers for multigenerational living arrangements, the economic, social and cultural factors that shape the positive
or negative aspects of multi-generational living, and the trade-offs and compromises that occur.
We also focus on the extent to which the physical and design aspects of multi-generational
dwellings meet the needs of household members.
H O USIN G DESIGN : AUSTR ALI AN AND
INTER N ATIO N AL EX PER IEN CES
CH AIR : R AL PH H O R NE
PARK(ED), A $30K SINGLE OCCUPANCY HOUSING STRATEGY.
THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN DREAM?
ESTHER CHEW , ANDR EW B R ACK M AN
Mulloway Studio Architects
The Great Australian Dream: A detached single story family home, a quarter acre block
surrounded by garden, Hills Hoist and a barbeque. The rise of the post-war suburban home
shaped the lifestyles of Australians; the summer holiday by the beach, the nuclear family, cutting
the lawn and washing the Holden on a Saturday morning. However, the increase in singleperson households, urban infill and the lack of quality small scale housing in developed countries
prompts us to reflect on the suitability and sustainability of post-war suburban housing stock, to
re-imagine our approach to home and place making.
In 2012, Mulloway Studio designed PARK(ed), a $30K single occupancy house contextualized
to meet Adelaide’s urban conditions and particular social needs: an increase in single person
households, housing affordability, homelessness, vulnerable youth and the abundance of inner
city car parks. Measuring 12.5sqm, the design explores opportunities for micro living by creating a
highly efficient home within the constraints of a car park and construction budget of $30K.
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PARK(ed) represents a specific typology of housing that is presented by some as a
housing solution. But more often than not, this typology remains an idea, or and ideology,
that is difficult to be executed in the context of a developed economy. Despite PARK(ed)
attracting international attention, industry accolades, interest from several housing providers,
prefabricated building companies, several community organizations and housing providers, the
projects remain
on the shelf.
This paper will explore how the complexities of the planning and political environment constrain
experimentation and reinforce a environment of risk aversion.
“Social sustainability cannot be delivered by one authority, or profession alone. It requires an
integrated, multidisciplinary approach with a range of policy supports to both determine the
desired outcomes and then commit to their implementation.” (Palich & Edmonds, 2013).
THE “TINY HOUSE” MOVEMENT: ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AND URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
HEATHER SHEAR ER
Urban Research Program, Griffith University, Queensland
The tiny house movement is an emergent trend towards building very small houses (under
40m2). It originated in the USA in the late 1990s, largely in response to housing affordability
issues and the desire to live more sustainably. Somewhat perversely, the tiny house movement
is most active in those OECD countries with the largest mean house sizes, such as the USA,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Larger houses consume more resources at all stages of
the housing lifecycle, from their construction, day to day operation and eventual demolition.
As well as having very large houses, these countries also have some of the most unaffordable
urban housing markets in the OECD. This paper reports the preliminary results of a study
investigating the tiny house movement, as very little scholarly research has been conducted on
its potential to improve affordable and sustainable housing outcomes. The research method
for the study used an online questionnaire and interviews to collect data from tiny house
enthusiasts in Australia. Preliminary results indicate that a wide range of actors are interested in
building tiny houses, mostly for economic and environmental reasons. These drivers however,
are countered by a number of structural and other barriers, such as the inflexibility of local
government planning schemes and building codes, the inability to source finance, and social
norms for larger houses. The trend towards smaller houses, if sustained and supported by
planning policy, may potentially address some aspects of housing affordability, by allowing
more flexible housing choices within urban or peri-urban areas. It also has the potential to
improve urban sustainability, by reducing urban sprawl, and to improve energy and water
efficiency. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research, including expanding the
study to the USA, Canada and New Zealand.
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PANEL : INDIGEN O US H O USIN G AND W ELFAR E
CO NDITIO N ALIT Y CH AIR : AN GELA SPINNEY
PANEL MEMBERS: RHONDA PHILLIPS, DAPHNE HABIBIS
AND DAPHNE NASH
In this session, Daphne Habibis, Daphne Nash and Rhonda Phillips will draw on their empirical
research to examine the changing Indigenous housing policy landscape in Australia and the
implications for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Based on policy analysis and
case studies in remote and urban communities, the panelists will discuss the influence and
limits of dominant housing and welfare policy approaches that emphasise conditionality and
mainstream cultural values. Following brief presentations by the panelists, they will respond to
questions and enter into a dialogue with workshop participants.
INCLUSION OR ASSIMILATION: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF
SOCIAL HOUSING MAINSTREAMING POLICY AGENDAS.
RHONDA PHILLIPS
University of Queensland
This presentation will critically examine reforms in Indigenous social housing policy and service
delivery approaches over the past decade as they affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
households and communities in urban and remote areas of Australia. Key characteristics of
the reforms will be analysed including their alignment and coordination with other policy arenas
such as recognition, health and employment.
Social housing is widely acknowledged as critical in “Closing the Gap’ on Indigenous
disadvantage because a third of all Indigenous households live in this tenure and in many
remote communities social housing is the only option available. Drawing on public policy
literature as well as empirical research the presentation will explore the dilemmas, ambiguities
and contradictions inherent in social housing policy.
The presentation will present findings from recent and current research studies conducted
in both urban and remote Indigenous communities across Australia that examine policy and
service delivery reforms that promote ‘mainstreaming’ of Indigenous social housing provision.
This research was informed by views expressed by a wide range of policy makers, service
providers, tenants and indigenous community stakeholders.
The key question posed in the presentation is how are these ‘mainstreaming’ policy
agendas understood and experienced by key stakeholders and how are they transforming
social housing provision for Indigenous Australians.
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WELFARE CONDITIONALITY AND ABORIGINAL LIFEWORDS:
ESTABLISHING RECOGNITION AS A POLICY PRINCIPLE
DAPHNE HABIBIS
University of Tasmania
Welfare conditionality refers to a form of contractualism in which state benefits are tied
to demands that recipients conform to a range of behavioural requirements. But forms
of contractualism with Aboriginal people have existed since the earliest times of settler
colonialism in Australia, with housing a critical area of engagement. This paper draws on
research undertaken as part of a number of Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
investigations which raise questions about whether, and how conditionality in Aboriginal
housing can be used to promote positive outcomes for Aboriginal people. It provides insights
into how housing access and tenancy sustainment are influenced by the alignment between
different forms of conditionality and Indigenous cultural norms and lifestyles.
DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE?’: CONDITIONALITY AND
INNOVATION FOR INDIGENOUS TENANTS IN TENNANT CREEK,
NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT).
DAPHNE NASH, PAUL MEMMOTT
University of Queensland
Conditionality, with its emphasis on the obligations and responsibility of welfare recipients is a
well-established subject of debate regarding change management in the context of social housing
(e.g. Deacon 2004). Through its regional office in Tennant Creek, the NT Department of Housing
administers a policy which applies to the tenancies of most Aboriginal residents, who must comply
with a set of rules to remain eligible for social housing. The severe shortage of social housing, the
expense of maintaining the current stock and the issues with tenants over damage to houses have
been significant sources of tension between tenants, managers and Aboriginal service providers.
While the shortage of housing is the most significant issue, complex and multi-faceted aspects
of social disadvantage are operating, such as crowding, alcoholism and family violence that
exacerbate the housing problem.
This paper focuses on two providers in the town, namely the Tennant Creek Transitional
Accommodation Project and Anyinginyi Health Corporation who operate their own tenancy model
for clients and employees respectively, in an effort to reduce the effects of social exclusion. Both
draw on aspects of conditionality regarding training, work and behaviour of tenants. In a landmark
partnership agreement, local businesses initiated the transitional accommodation project for
Aboriginal people, particularly those with young children, to assist also with employment and
training and the progression to social housing or private rental. With similar family histories, the
Aboriginal employees at Anyinginyi have experienced unstable tenancies. As staff they can apply
for the residential tenancy program that provides them with a safe and secure environment to be
responsible tenants with a view to potential home ownership. The successes and challenges of
these innovative tenancy models for Aboriginal residents of Tennant Creek demonstrate how locally
developed and locally administered housing programs can begin to transform people’s lives.
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H O USIN G FO R LOW - IN COM E H O US EH O LDS
CH AIR : M AR CUS SPILLER
CHANGES IN LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
2008-2013
EMMA BAKER2, DAVID PEVALIN1, REBECCA BENTLEY3
School of Health and Human Sciences, University of Essex, UK, 2Architecture and
Built Environment, The University of Adelaide, 3Melbourne School of Population and
Global Health, The University of Melbourne
1
The longitudinal South Australian Housing and Wellbeing Survey (SAHWS) has been conducted
over two waves (2008 and 2013). Funded by the Australian Research Council, 1700 low-income
households were surveyed in 2008. The 1200 who volunteered to participate in a second wave
were contacted for a second wave survey in 2013. A booster sample of 160 households living
in poor condition dwellings in regional areas of concentrated disadvantage (using the Australian
Bureau of Statistics’ SEIFA Index) was also undertaken. Reflecting a renewed research interest in
housing conditions, this was a particular focus in the second wave survey.
This paper uses the newly created SAHWS dataset to describe the housing conditions and related
characteristics of the study population in 2013 and an initial analysis of the changes between
2008 and 2013. Following an initial description of the sample and data collection process, the
paper will present initial findings of the contemporary housing conditions for this sample of
low-income households with a focus on the demographic characteristics of those in the poorest
housing. The paper concludes with a discussion of the degree to which housing conditions
among low income households may act to protect or further disadvantage such households.
INVESTOR-LED ACTIVITY IN AREAS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DISADVANTAGE
KATH HULSE, MARGARET REYNOLDS
Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology,
Melbourne, Australia
There have been hotly contested debates in the literature on the merit or otherwise of policies
to ‘improve’ housing markets in areas characterised by low prices and rents, which are
home to residents with attributes associated with low socio-economic status, including low
income, low occupational status and low education levels. This paper seeks to add a different
perspective to these debates through presenting the findings of detailed empirical research into
the changes in housing markets and the socio-economic profile of residents in disadvantaged
suburbs in Australia’s three largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, 2001-2011. The
findings indicate something of a paradox: ‘improving housing markets’ with sales prices and
rents increasing above city-wide rates along with a continuing low socio-economic profile of
residents. A key explanatory factor appears to be high levels of rental investment activity in
such suburbs resulting in continuing low socio-economic status of residents who are faced
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with paying higher rents than previously. This Australian experience of market–led rental
investment in disadvantaged suburbs is in contrast the extensive literature on gentrification
whereby ‘improving’ housing markets are the result of higher income households buying into
lower price, disadvantaged areas displacing lower income residents.
DEVELOPING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY: A PROPOSAL FOR EXPANDING
CURRENT AUSTRALIAN AFFORDABLE HOUSING ASSESSMENT
METHODS USING INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES
CRAIG COSIER, PERNILLE CHRISTENSEN
University of Technology, Sydney
Much of the Australian Government discussion related to housing affordability is focused on
immediate monetary value. This has created a national perception that affordability means
cheap, however this includes little consideration of long-term costs associated with housing.
This research investigates the housing affordability crisis in Australia, focusing on the current
expectations related to affordability, the methodologies used to achieve affordability, and the
need to apparent need to establish a collective identity of ‘affordable sustainable housing’.
Current rhetoric focuses on the affordable housing ‘crisis’ and the need to ‘deliver’ in terms
of economic viability. Particularly in Sydney, a rush to provide homes to meet demand has
overlooked the need to build sustainable communities and homes designed and built to achieve
energy efficiency. To improve the affordability of housing, the issue of sustainability must not
only be assessed in terms of monetary values but must include a multi-faceted methodology
which assesses affordability through the lens of sustainability by evaluating a combination of
economic, environmental and social benchmarks. There is a need to move away from ratios
measured by ‘price’, ‘household income’ and ‘the cost and availability of finance’, all of which
fail to capture anything about the construction quality, energy efficiency, neighbourhood
characteristics, infrastructure and amenities, or the proximity to jobs and transport. Due to
the focus on economic aspects of ‘housing affordability’, the establishment of a collective
identity of affordable sustainable housing within the government is virtually impossible. Despite
economic tendencies, a collective identity is needed to produce effective societal results. This
is not merely a concept, but an assessment method that can assist stakeholders in assessing
affordability more accurately and comprehensively as well as pushing forth a national policy for
affordable sustainable housing.
HOUSING MARKET AND PLANNING
CHAIR: PAUL BURTON
CURRENT HOUSING PRICES TRENDS AND FUTURE POPULATION
TRENDS: WHAT DO THEY IMPLY ABOUT THE FUTURE OF DENSITY?
ALAN PETERS1, JI YU2
UNSW Australia, 2UNSW Australia
1
At this point we have a number of hedonic and repeat sales models for housing prices across
Australia and also for individual capital cities. There are also a number of overtly spatial models
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looking for trends in the geographical patterning of housing prices. The purpose of these
models varies greatly, as do their results. For our purposes Sydney is something of an outlier,
not only because of the role of access to water, but also because of housing sub-market
segregation, the particular difficulty NSW has had building new infrastructure, and the role
of the city as the primary destination of new immigrants. Moreover, it is possible if not likely
that the relative importance of one central element of both hedonic and repeat sales models,
accessibility, may have changed dramatically over the past decade. This latter change may
itself be the result of demographic shifts, immigration and congestion.
Separately there are Planning Support Systems that distribute the next 10, 20 or 25 year’s
expected population growth across the metro areas LGAs. One of these distributes on the basis
of fairly simple algorithms of population growth and available land; others are more complex
simulations of land markets and environmental consequences. All of these models suggest
increasing densification of Sydney.
Density and accessibility (and therefore the relative cost of housing) are intimately connected.
There is a clear need to talk about the spatial distribution of future population growth in the
context of drivers of the housing market. This paper does three things. (1) It considers what
we know from the hedonic, repeat sales and spatial models of housing prices; (2) It considers
the possible population distribution shifts for the next 20 years; (3) It looks at the potential
consequences of those shifts on housing value and thus affordability.
IDENTIFYING URBAN PLANNING PRIORITIES THROUGH A HOUSE
PRICE MODEL
SHANAKA HERATH
City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Australia
In honouring their spatial planning responsibilities, Governments must constantly monitor the
adequacy of infrastructure and urban amenities particularly in rapidly evolving metropolitan
areas such as Sydney. In this way, areas in need of particular facilities and areas vulnerable to
over-development can be recognized and action taken accordingly.
This paper analyses the spatial patterns of amenities and disamenities in Sydney based on
a hedonic house price model that controls for property size and quality. Spatial dependence
among house prices is tested and the model is improved using spatial econometric techniques.
The estimates of marginal values of bundles of amenities in specific areas can confirm or
invalidate a priori knowledge on the prime locations of the city and hence shed light on potential
directions of urban growth processes.
Though there are many studies explaining local spatial disparities within housing markets based
on ‘global’ hedonic models, local regression methods are intuitively preferred particularly when
location specific information is required for planning purposes. These local estimates mapped
demonstrate detailed small-area differences of amenities. This research could thus inform urban
policy by identifying areas with amenities and capacity for increased population, and areas with
dis-amenities needing improvements, leading to efficient housing allocation and urban planning.
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 4
PANEL S ES SIO N : THEO RY , PR ACTICE &
INN OVATIO N CH AIR : PETER PHIB B S
PANEL MEMBERS: LYNDALL BRYANT, ANDREA SHARAM TOM ALVES
AND JASMINE PALMER
This panel focuses on the structure of provision for apartments in Australia outlining why current
provision is antithetical to affordable supply, quality design and sustainability. An alterative
structure of provision is proposed that takes understandings gained from ‘market design’, an
off-shoot of game theory and the benefits of ‘deliberative’ or ‘ self-build’ development arguing that
multiunit development needs to fundamentally change in order to deliver policy objectives aiming
at urban consolidation, sustainability and housing affordability.
APARTMENTS: DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE AND THE IMPLICATIONS
FOR AFFORDABILITY
LYNDALL BRYANT1, ANDREA SHARAM2, TOM ALVES3
Queensland University of Technology, 2Swinburne Institute for Social Research,
Office of the Victorian Government Architect and the Swinburne Institute for Social
Research
1
3
Housing price inflation, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne has contributed to a serious
decline in the number of low and middle income households able to purchase housing. In part
asset inflation reflects housing supply lagging well behind demand. The promotion of medium
density housing, as a component of urban consolidation policies, however has delivered less
supply than required and has failed to be affordable. It is also often criticised for poor design
and quality. Planning and other regulation is often cited as a significant cost driver for medium
density infill housing. The response in Melbourne has been a laissez-faire approach to planning
in the central city and the frequent use of the Minister for Planning’s call in powers to expedite
development proposals, with approval for considerable increases in height and/or density.
In this paper, we adopt Ball’s (2003) ‘structure of building provision’ approach, providing an
outline of the apartment development process as it is typically undertaken in Australia. Again
following Ball we use a mainstream economics frame to critique this delivery model highlighting:
•
Risk profile of vertical sub-division of land versus horizontal sub-division of airspace
(thinking of MDH in terms of development typology rather than build form typologies)
•
The role of costs in determining project viability, but not market price
•
Project margins
•
The role of planning in fostering land speculation thus contributing to declining
housing affordability
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•
The costs associated with obtaining sales and the risk associated with uncertain demand
and the inadequacy of pre-sale contracts in fully mitigating settlement risk.
We argue that a significant problem for supply and affordability of apartments relates to the
current inability of the market to efficiently match supply and demand in order to progress an
orderly and de-risked development process.
APARTMENTS: THEORY LED TRANSFORMATION
ANDREA SHARAM1, LYNDALL BRYANT2, TOM ALVES3
Swinburne Institute for Social Research, 2Queensland University of Technology
Office of the Victorian Government Architect and the Swinburne Institute for Social
Research
1
3
This presentation highlights the lack of the critical literature and scarcity of empirical data on
residential development in Australia, and argues policy debates are skewed by a focus on
selected elements of the existing structure of provision without being aware of how apartments
are provided and thus miss crucial barriers to affordability and quality, and increasing supply.
The application of ‘market design’, an offshoot of the game theory branch of economics,
is proposed as a theoretical approach enabling a better understanding of the apartment
development process. As with game theory, market design examines how collaboration
rather than competition can enhance efficiency. Market design focuses on transaction costs,
exchange mechanisms and allocation processes, and can take account of both market and
non-market contexts. A major insight of market design, is that aggregation of buyers and sellers
into two pools rather than trades being conducted on a bi-lateral basis (that is between a single
buyer and single seller), can reduce transaction costs and promote better allocation. Real
life examples abound across many market and non-market settings, ranging from electricity
wholesaling and native vegetation offsets to human kidney donation.
Applying market design to apartment development highlights the anachronism of the traditional
presales campaign: each developer spends up to 10% of project costs on finding a very limited
number of buyers with final settlement reliant on an inadequate legal mechanism (the pre-sale
contract). High search and transaction costs however can be reduced by utilising the capacity
of the internet to aggregate potential buyers and sellers. This capacity and the assumption of
savings underpin buyer aggregator service Citiniche.
However, while aggregation generates efficiencies, the oligopolistic structure of the industry
means production savings are almost inevitably captured by the developer. In order to realise
the savings potential of market design, competition is needed. Housing supply innovation
requires economic actors who are able to commit to the supply of affordable housing and the
most obvious candidates are consumers themselves.
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‘DELIBERATIVE’ DEVELOPMENT, INNOVATION TO IMPROVE
APARTMENTS: SUPPLY, AFFORDABILITY, QUALITY & DESIGN
TOM ALVES1, ANDREA SHARAM2
Office of the Victorian Government Architect and the Swinburne Institute for Social
Research, 2Swinburne Institute for Social Research
1
Apartment developers commence projects assuming buyers will be found and are as such
‘speculative’. Given the demand-side risk speculative developers accordingly produce
generic product, with intending owner-occupiers able to exert little influence over the market
in terms of design, amenity or quality unless at the luxury end of the market. However, where
consumers themselves have collectively assumed the role of the developer they have been
able to internalise the developer margin thus making significant cost savings and achieving
other collective ambitions, such as higher environmental performance. This ‘deliberative’
development model, increasingly popular in Western Europe and not without precedence in
Australia, typically delivers cost savings of 25-30% compared to speculative development.
This compares extremely well to existing policy measures aimed at improving supply and
affordability. Given the savings and other benefits could deliberative development become
a new, competitive force for housing innovation in Australia? We tested the feasibility of
deliberative development in the Australian context by applying by the same criteria that
speculative development is tested: could deliberative development obtain development
finance? To answer this question we sought the views of residential development financiers.
‘Deliberative developers’ require approval of both mortgage lenders (as the long term financiers
of housing), and of short-term development financiers as a means of getting a new project
developed. Residential development financiers are in a privileged position of having detailed
understanding of, and deep experience with, the entire development process, often across a
number of regional markets and asset classes.
SLICING, DICING AND RECONSTITUTING ‘THE DREAM’:
SEEKING PATHWAYS TO MORE SUSTAINABLE AND AFFORDABLE
RESIDENTIAL URBAN FORM WITH OCCUPANT INPUT.
JASMINE PALMER
Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning. University of Adelaide
The musings of an Australian Householder: “The ‘average’ household. That’s us. Two adults,
a child, a dog, a fondness for outdoor activities, barbequing and gardening, and an ‘average’
income. We are the household targeted by the advertisements in the weekend papers selling
‘The Great Australian Dream’, but that is not our dream. We desire a more sustainable and
affordable housing option and applaud our nation’s strategists for promoting ‘infill’ housing
in existing urban area. Still, we are left frustrated as the ‘average’ infill dwelling doesn’t suit
our ‘average household’ needs. To realise our ‘dream’ we need to take the suburban ‘Great
Australian Dream’, slice it, dice it, trim the excesses, and reconstitute the essential ingredients
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together with other dwellings on a medium density site. In short, we need someone to listen
to us and help us design an infill solution to our needs. Such individual design is possible
(even normal) in low density houses but is not offered for infill housing. It’s a shame, if infill
housing was designed to suit peoples’ needs a more sustainable urban ‘dream’ could be
realised. I know I want to live in the future proposed by our urban strategists – if only higherdensity housing was designed for use by people, not for profit.”
This paper presents the current state of medium-density housing provision in Australia
identifying, through interviews with key industry stakeholders, the perceived barriers
to occupant input in infill housing design. The current medium-density housing system
encourages a supply-led provision system at the same time as other nations are recognising
the limitations of such a system and promoting demand-led, custom designed housing
through financial incentives and policy requirements. Current UK policies are discussed, with
particular reference to innovative projects increasing user input in infill housing design, both
completed and in progress.
H O USIN G , HEALTH AND W ELLB EIN G
CH AIR : EM M A BA K ER
MOVING BEYOND ASSOCIATION: DEVELOPING CAUSAL
EXPLANATIONS OF HOUSING AND HEALTH
REBECCA BENTLEY1, EMMA BAKER2
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, 2School
of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Adelaide
1
It is widely acknowledged that there are strong associations between economic factors
and inequalities in health status or disease states. However, most of these associations are
correlations and do not provide information about the causal relationships between economic
factors and health. Housing is a key driver of ecomomic circumstances given it is a primary
expenditure for most people and is a source of wealth and intergenerational transfer of
assests. The longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey enables
examination of causal aspects of the important relationship beween housing and mental health.
We present findings from a body of research utlising longitudinal data that describes how housing
affordability and and tenure impact on changes in mental health over time. Specifically, we
overview research evidence suggesting that the exeprience of being in unaffordable housing has
a negative impact on people’s mental health if they are in the lower end of the income distribution.
Further, we will present evidence that this relationship is modified by tenure such that owers, as
compared to private renters, may be protected from the mental health effects of unaffordable
housing in Australia. We will discuss the implications for policy, practice and research.
PRECARIOUS HOUSING AND THE IMPACTS ON HEALTH AND
PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE AMONG
UNEMPLOYED SOUTH AUSTRALIANS
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KATY OSBORNE1 RUTH WALKER2 KATHY ARTHURSON3
KATHERINE PATEL3
Torrens University Australia and Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity,
Flinders University of South Australia 2Disability and Community Inclusion, Flinders
University of South Australia 3Southgate Institute for Health, Society & Equity, Flinders
University of South Australia
1
Precarious housing is commonly defined as consisting of the following dimensions: unaffordable
(high housing costs relative to income), unsuitable (overcrowded, poor condition, unsafe),
and insecure (insecure tenure, subject to forced moves). Living in precarious housing often
accompanies other forms of social and economic disadvantage. In this paper we present the
findings of a study that explored the links between precarious housing, health, and participation in
activities such as employment, education and training, and volunteering. In order to gain nuanced
understandings of some of the obstacles to successful participation, in-depth interviews were
conducted with 25 unemployed individuals (17 women and 8 men) living in family households in
two disadvantaged areas of South Australia: a metropolitan area and a regional town. Participants
described their ‘lived experiences’ of precarious housing (both private and public rental tenures)
and how this influenced their ability to participate in social and economic activities. Participants
also identified specific dimensions of precarious housing including insecurity of tenure,
overcrowding, inadequate and unsafe living conditions and unsafe neighborhoods, as having
negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of themselves and their families. They also identified
how living in precarious housing restricts participation in economic and social life, including
activities such as job seeking, pursuing education and training, and volunteering. In many cases,
participants had long personal histories of living in precarious housing, including episodes of
homelessness, which were linked to physical and mental health problems for themselves and their
families. Living in precarious housing was also related to a lack of adequate transport available
locally and demands to travel long distances for employment, issues particularly acute in the
regional town. We conclude that reducing precarious housing should be a priority across policy
areas including employment, education and health.
HOUSING PRIORITIES OF PEOPLE WITH MEMORY LOSS: SECURITY,
CONTINUITY, AND SUPPORT
MICHELLE GABRIEL, DEBBIE FAULKNER, CHRISTINE STIRLING
University of Tasmania
There has been a significant shift in our understanding of dementia and memory loss
within the community over the past two decades. In the past, a diagnosis of dementia was
associated with rapid decline in cognitive function and a direct transition to residential care.
Today, however, there is growing recognition of the importance of brain health within the
community and the advantages of enabling people who are experiencing memory loss to
remain in a familiar environment. This study examines the role of housing in enabling people
with memory loss to maintain quality of life. We found that several aspects of housing were
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critical to supporting people with memory loss: continuity and security in access to housing;
quality, design and adaptability of the home; and a home that is embedded in a network of
community care and support. We reflect on the extent to which this ideal, supportive home
environment can be achieved by low income individuals and families within the current policy
and funding climate. Key barriers include: declining housing affordability; lack of funds to
support appropriate home design and modifications, but also lack of knowledge of the benefits;
disparities in community services across regions, including transport and respite care; gaps in
home care service provision (e.g. medication prompting, overnight stays to prevent wandering);
and reductions in the regularity of management and tenant interactions. Critically, the study
also sheds light on the value of raising awareness of brain health in the homelessness sector
and facilitating access to assessments of dementia. It also highlighted the lack of appropriate
housing options and community services for people with younger onset dementia.
CR EATIN G COM MUNITIES
CH AIR : J ENNIFER B O R R ELL
USING ART TO CHALLENGE PLACE-BASED STIGMA
DEBORAH WARR, GRETEL TAYLOR
University of Melbourne
The negative stereotyping of situations of poverty and place-based disadvantage is a pressing
social issue that has intensified over recent years as processes of sociospatial polarisation
diminish opportunities for encounters and interactions across socioeconomic circumstances.
In this paper we bring sociological and artistic perspectives together to discuss the initial
outcomes of a multi-sited project that aims to explore and challenge place stigma through
arts-based practice. Significantly, the project focuses on emerging sites of socioeconomic
marginalisation in outer suburban settings. The project has interrelated methodological,
empirical and representational aims to generate nuanced insights into the effects of, and
potential strategies for, challenging place-based stigma. Community-based and participatory
arts projects are commonly vehicles for fostering local engagement, however, the potential
to generate robust research data and contribute to transformatory social practice, remain
underexplored. These aims involve linking sociological insights into issues of place-based and
poverty stigma with theories of aesthetic practice that have developed following the ‘social turn’
in contemporary arts since the 1990s and, in particular, Bourriaud’s influential text, Relational
Aesthetics (1998). A further important aim of the project is to minimise what Bourdieu referred
as the ‘reality effects of research’. Reality effects are generated when negative depictions
of vulnerable places and populations through research (unintentionally) serve to reinforce
stigma. We discuss how the project is generating empirical insights into local situations and
creative outcomes (for example, exhibitions, installations or performances) that can be used
for engaging local and wider publics in the issues that are explored. We suggest how these
projects are exploring new approaches to community-based art that support participants to
use/experience art in more generative ways that may serve to challenge situations of social,
economic and cultural marginalisation.
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UNDERSTANDING HOW SENIORS NEGOTIATE THE
CONSTRUCTION OF PLACE-BASED STIGMA
GINA ZAPPIA
University of Tasmania – School of Social Sciences
A reputation can be good or bad. When a bad reputation is associated with a neighbourhood
or suburb, residents can experience the impacts of place-based stigma. By associating
discrediting stereotypes with the characteristics specific to a neighbourhood, suburb or
place, a negative reputation is attached to the location. One example of this relationship
between stereotype and characteristic is the assumption that areas with concentrations of
social housing stock will inevitably experience high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour.
The processes that sustain place-based stigma include media representations of place;
government policy targeted at addressing the health, social and economic deficiencies of
residents that frame the area as in need of intervention and the people in need of fixing; and
internal narratives of social pathology that reinforce the negative stereotypes associated
with the place. Utilising Erving Goffman’s (1963) sociological concept of stigma this research
aimed to understand how seniors who live in Logan City respond to the negative reputation
of Logan. This paper presents the analysis of their narratives of place as expressed through
focus group participation to determine if the seniors reject, justify or sustain the negative
reputation and, accordingly, the place-based stigma.
Goffman, E. (1963) Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. New Jersey: Penguin Books
RESISTING ASSIMILATION. MIGRANTS’ READING OF AUSTRALIAN
HOUSES AND ‘ALTERNATIVE’ HOUSING DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES.
FRANCESCA PERUGIA
University of Western Australia, 2AHURI Scholar
1
The current Australian housing crisis highlights several aspects in relation to which the market is
failing to provide housing for the Australian population. The most discussed by the general public
as well as by current research is the availability and affordability of existing and future housing
stock. However implementing policies and strategies targeting these issues cannot be considered
the single conclusive answer when, in addition, there is the need to respond to the social
challenges being faced by those seeking housing today.
While The Western Australian housing crisis underlines the central importance of demographic
issues when discussing the housing market and its affordability, the production of new housing
stock needs to take into account not only demographics in terms of number of people but also
contemplate its intrinsic characteristic by increasing the variety of housing types offered on the
market. The current housing stock is offering essentially a single solution, the detached dwelling
as response to many different housing demands. The ‘one size fits all’ approach has shown to be
inappropriate in meeting the different housing needs of the Australian population; housing needs
derived also from the increasing variety of people with different cultural backgrounds.
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This paper proposes taking into consideration the cultural richness of the Australian population
when developing housing design by exploring the design opportunities that arise from culturally
and linguistically diverse migrants’ perception and use of typical Australian Houses. It emphasises
the pivotal role of the house in migrancy experience as mediator between maintaining the home
country culture and assimilating the new one.
AFFO R DAB LE H O USIN G SUPPLY
CH AIR : NICO LE GUR R AN
NOWHERE TO RENT: THE GROWING SHORTAGE OF AFFORDABLE
PRIVATE RENTAL HOUSING IN AUSTRALIA, 2006-2011
MARGARET REYNOLDS, KATH HULSE,
Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology,
Melbourne, Australia
Almost one in four Australian households is a private renter, including many lower income
households. Government housing policies, both federal and state/territory, rely on the private
sector rather than social housing to accommodate lower income households and offer various
forms of assistance to help them to access and remain in the sector. For these initiatives to be
successful an adequate supply of rental dwellings affordable to lower income households is
essential. This paper presents results from the latest in a series of four studies that investigated
the supply of, and demand for, private rental dwellings that are affordable to lower income
households, and the extent of inter-censal change, particularly 2006-2011. The research
approach replicates that developed in the earlier projects and involved a detailed analysis of
customised Census data to calculate the supply of private rental dwellings that are ‘affordable’
to lower income households and, importantly, that are also ‘available’ to such households
(ie not occupied by higher income households), as well as the percentage of households in
unaffordable rental, using the 30 per cent of household income benchmark. The results showed
that the situation for lowest (Q1) and second lowest quintile (Q2) households deteriorated
on these three measures of shortage and that shortages moved further up the income scale
affecting more Q2 households. Shortages of affordable rentals for Q1 and Q2 households are
greatest numerically in Sydney and Melbourne but also increased markedly in larger regional
centres in states affected by resources boom (Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern
Territory). These findings are despite an 18 per cent increase in private rental dwellings 20062011, twice the rate of household growth, and suggest that a combination of untargeted tax
concessions to private rental investors allied with cash transfers to lower income private
renters do not result in good social outcomes.
THE INFLUENCE OF INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANISATIONS IN
ESTABLISHING AFFORDABLE HOUSING TARGETS
EMMA GREENHALGH
Urban Research Program, Griffith University
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Affordable housing, housing affordability, affordable housing targets, statutory land authorities,
Urban Land Development Authority, There has been renewed interest in statutory land
authorities in recent years and how such organisations can deliver a revised urban agenda,
particularly in the fields of sustainability and affordable housing.
The introduction of the ULDA was the first time there had been a statutory planning authority
in Queensland, and the first time that there had been specific planning legislation focused on
affordable housing. In July 2007, the then Queensland Government introduced the Queensland
Housing Affordability Strategy. A key plank of this strategy was the formation of the Urban
Land Development Authority (ULDA); a planning and development authority with a specified
legislative mandate to achieve ongoing affordability options for low to moderate income
households, and to provide a range of housing options to address diverse community
needs. One of the ways that the ULDA sought to achieve this was through explicit affordable
housing targets; the overall target for the ULDA was 15 per cent of housing to be affordable
to household on low to moderate income households. Previous research into the ULDA
has focused on aspects of governance and public policy, as well as power and community
consultation. There has been some research into the affordable housing outcomes of the
organisation, but this focused on the urban renewal areas. It found that the potential of the
ULDA in relation to affordable housing, in urban renewal areas, was not being fully realised.
This paper will present on the doctoral research being undertaken on the affordable housing
approaches and outcomes of the ULDA. It specifically utilises an institutional analysis approach to
the formation of affordable housing targets and the ideas, interest and institutions that influenced
the establishment and implementation of these targets across the ULDA’s areas of activities.
GUARANTEEING SOCIAL HOUSING’S FUTURE? INTERNATIONAL
EXPERIENCE AND AN AUSTRALIAN PROPOSAL
JULIE LAWSON1, MIKE BERRY1, HAL PAWSON2
Centre for Urban Research, RMIT, 2City Futures, UNSW
1
The withdrawal of direct government investment in social housing necessitates greater reliance
on private finance to ensure the growth of the sector. Yet adequate finance still requires a range
of public support measures to ensure sufficient lower cost finance is available and that housing
provided remains ‘social’.
Within the realm of infrastructure finance, government and sector based guarantees are an
emerging public policy tool. Guarantees are used to reduce reliance on public funds, build market
confidence amongst new investor segments and accelerate investment in required social and
economic infrastructure, including social housing. However, guarantees remain a contested realm
of public policy, with implications for government accounts, and of course of cost and volume of
social housing investment.
This paper explores these differing views and investigates the actual experience of guarantees
and intermediaries across six social housing finance systems in Europe and the US. Key design
principles are distilled and two models a singled out for their effectiveness in raising funds
and efficiency in providing lower cost loans to housing providers: the UK’s Housing Finance
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Learning from their experience and bearing in mind the Australian context, the paper’s goes
on to outline a proposal for lifting investment in affordable rental housing in Australia via a
specifically designed guarantee and not for profit financial intermediary: the Affordable Housing
Finance Corporation.
The paper draws on recently completed AHURI funded research, concerning the role of
government guarantees and specialist not for profit financial intermediaries in financing
affordable rental housing provision (Lawson, 2014, Lawson, Berry, Hamilton, Pawson, 2014).
Lawson, J., Berry, M., Hamilton, C. and Pawson, H. (2014) Enhancing affordable rental housing investment via an
intermediary and guarantee, AHURI Final Report No.220. Melbourne: AHURI pp. 1-112 http://www.ahuri.edu.au/
publications/projects/p53019
Lawson, J (2014) The use of guarantees in Affordable Housing Investment – a selective international review, RMIT AHURI
Research Centre, Melbourne: AHURI pp. 1-93
CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 5
R ESIDENTI AL MO B ILIT Y
CH AIR : ILAN W IES EL
POPULATION MOBILITY IN MELBOURNE: EVIDENCE FROM PANEL
DATA 1903-1980
GEOFFREY MEEN
University of Reading
Economic and social change in urban systems typically takes place only slowly, although
structural persistence may be interspersed with infrequent periods of very rapid change.
Therefore, empirical studies of city dynamics may require local samples over long time periods.
But there are very few examples across the world where micro panels covering long periods
have been constructed. This paper presents initial results from a new panel data set covering
the period 1903-1980, derived from electoral rolls. This complements a further study which is
concerned with changes in individual property usage and ownership in Melbourne since the
19th century.
Compared to most countries, Australian electoral data has the advantage of high coverage, as
voting is compulsory, and universal suffrage since the first federal elections. In addition, electors
were required to state their occupations, allowing the construction of social status measures for
fine spatial areas. Using separate longitudinal data sets for the periods 1903-1914 and 19491980, the paper considers mobility and location patterns in Melbourne over these periods. It
discusses how appropriate data can be constructed from individual, to street, to sub-district to
city-wide levels on a consistent basis. It considers moving and location probabilities for different
socio-economic groups over long periods of time. The paper also conducts formal empirical
tests to examine the consistency of moving patterns with economic theory.
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SINKS OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION OR SPRINGBOARDS FOR SOCIAL
MOBILITY? ANALYSING THE ROLES OF DISADVANTAGED
NEIGHBOURHOODS IN URBAN AUSTRALIA
HAL PAWSON, SHANAKA HERATH
City Futures Research Centre, UNSW,
For two decades analysts have drawn attention to significant and growing levels of sociospatial polarisation in Australia’s cities (Raskall, 1995; Hunter & Gregory, 1996; Stimson, 2001;
Pawson & Herath, 2014). The dominant policy narrative around ‘poverty neighbourhoods’ (e.g.
Vinson, 2009) has stressed the hypothesis that residence in such an areas can compound the
disadvantage affecting the individual resident – via so-called ‘neighbourhood effects’ (Galster,
2012). Inherent here are concerns that localities of this kind will be characterised by high
rates of social exclusion, that is ‘the relational processes that contribute to inequality, such as
impoverished social networks that lead to material and cultural poverty’ (Arthurson & Jacobs
2003, p24).
However, as demonstrated in Australian research (e.g. Peel, 2003; Stubbs, 2005) social life in
disadvantaged places can have substantial positive as well as negative features. Similarly, while
housing market processes may act to ensnare some residing locally through necessity rather
than choice, for others the availability of relatively affordable housing may provide a welcome
foothold from which to ‘progress’ in the wider urban housing market. Hence, Galster’s (2013)
comment that ‘‘Areas of concentrated disadvantage’… may operate as poverty traps…But
others may operate as springboards launching residents into improving life trajectories’ (p324).
Historically, however, research on the experience of living in disadvantaged places in urban
Australia has been relatively scant. In an attempt to address this deficit, recent research by the
authors included a household survey of 800 local residents in four disadvantaged suburbs of
Sydney. Drawing on this, we analyse the nature and incidence of social exclusion in the study
areas. Here, we build on the work of Randolph et al (2010) in defining distinct ‘dimensions of
exclusion’ extending well beyond deprivation associated with income poverty. Through analysis
of recent and prospective house moves, we go on to investigate the role of disadvantaged area
housing market processes in constraining or facilitating geographical and social mobility.
REFERENCES:
Arthurson, K. & Jacobs, K. (2003) Social exclusion and housing; Melbourne: AHURI
Galster, G. (2012) The mechanism(s) of neighbourhood effects: Theory, evidence, and policy implications; pp. 23–56 in: van
Ham, M., Manley, D., Bailey, N., Simpson, L. & Maclennan, D. (eds), Neighbourhood effects research: Newperspectives,
Dordrecht, NL: Springer
Galster, G. (2013) Neighbourhood Social Mix: Theory, Evidence and Implications for Policy and Planning; in: Carmon,
N. & Fainstein, S. (eds) Policy, Planning and People: Promoting justice in urban development; Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press
Hunter, B. & Gregory, R. (1996) An exploration of the relationship between changing inequality of individual, household and
regional inequality in Australian cities; Urban Policy and Research Vol 14(3), pp. 171–182
Pawson, H. & Herath, S. (2014) Developing a Typology of Socio-spatial Disadvantage for Urban Australia; Paper presented
at: European Network for Housing Research conference, Edinburgh 1-4 July 2014
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Peel, M. (2003) The lowest rung: Voices of Australian poverty, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Randolph, B., Ruming, K.J. & Murray, D. (2010) Unpacking social exclusion in western Sydney: Exploring the role of place
and tenure; Geographical Research, Vol 48(2), pp197–214
Raskall, P. (1995) Who gets what, where?: Spatial inequality between and within Australian cities, Paper prepared for
seminar on spatial inequality, Commonwealth Department of Housing and Regional Development, Canberra.
Stimson, R. (2001) Dividing societies: The socio-political spatial implications of restructuring in Australia; Australian
Geographical Studies, Vol. 39(2), pp198–216
Stubbs, J. (2005) ‘What a difference participation makes: Learnings from the Minto redevelopment’, Housing Works,Vol.
3(2), pp. 6–12.
Vinson, T. (2009) Markedly disadvantaged localities in Australia: Their nature and possible remediation; Canberra: Dept for
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
A GOVERNMENTALITY PERSPECTIVE ON RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY:
A MELBOURNE CASE STUDY
MEGAN NETHERCOTE
Residential mobilities operate at two scales: each individual move is at once highly personal—
in its logic and in its effects—yet it also forms part of a collective sequence of movements,
the sum of which transforms the very fabric of our cities. Given increasing inequalities across
our cities and the role attributed to mobilities in reproducing these, there is a need for more
nuanced understandings of how issues of housing liveability and affordability intersect with
the complex flow or people into and out of our cities’ dwellings. Engaging with the nascent
‘mobilities turn’ in housing studies, this paper reports on qualitative research on the residential
moves made by Melbournian householders to highlight the local outcomes and experiences of
macro-scale policy engagement around urban affordability and liveability. Based on interviews
with Melbourne householders, this paper reveals the subjective dimensions of residential
mobility processes in the heterogeneous decisions that householders make about the housing
they consume. Applying a post-structural governmentality analytics to residential mobility, the
paper tracks the power and politics of discourse on homeowners, renters and welfare recipients
under neoliberalism through households’ micro-level practices of mobility. By framing mobility
as governmentality, the paper engages with, and develops, the mobilities paradigm in housing
studies, and forges new understandings of the role of power in the dynamic between urban
housing affordability and residential mobilities.
H O USIN G AND PO PULATIO N AGEIN G
CH AIR : CARYL B OS M AN
RETIREMENT VILLAGES: THE LAST HOUSING DECISION?
MAREE PETERSEN1, CHERYL TILSE2, TINA COCKBURN3
Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland 2School of Social
Work and Human Services, University of Queensland 3Faculty of Law, Queensland
University of Technology
1
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Increasing numbers of older Australians live in retirement villages. As a specialised form
of senior’s housing they are seen by many as a place that will respond to older people’s
accommodation and care needs in their later years. There is often an underlying assumption
moving to a retirement village will be the last relocation. However, older people continue to
manage significant life transitions as they age including loss of a partner, ill health, frailty, fewer
resources and thereby seek to move. Whilst there has been research on retirement village life
the focus has been on quality of life, satisfaction and social networks. We know little about how
residents manage important decisions whilst living in retirement villages, how the financial and
contractual obligations assist or impede their life decisions. This presentation examines these
issues through a life course lens and in the context of Queensland retirement villages. Drawing
on quantitative and qualitative data from a survey undertaken with retirement village residents
this presentation focuses on how the varied financial and legal structures associated with
retirement villages are experienced by residents. The findings raises important questions about
retirement village living and the impact it has on older people’s life transitions as they age.
A SECURE FUTURE? THE HOUSING CIRCUMSTANCE OF RETIRED
EX-SERVICE HOUSEHOLDS OF QUEENSLAND
DEBORAH OXLADE
PhD Candidate, Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland
This research addresses an important and surprising gap in our knowledge of housing security
in later life and the housing outcomes of the ex-service households in receipt of Department of
Veteran’s Affairs benefits. While limited administrative data available on this group suggests that
home ownership rates are lower than in the general aged community, very little consideration
has been given to addressing this gap in knowledge and more importantly better understanding
those at risk of housing insecurity. To address this gap, a cross-sectional survey was conducted
in May 2012. The systematic random sample of 3000 ex-service households of Queensland
was extracted from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) beneficiary database with a final
sample size of 729. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from the questionnaire this
presentation offers new insight into the housing circumstances of ex-service households and
contributes to our understanding of housing security in later life. It does by operationalising a
housing security index to examine what factors influence housing security in later life. It builds
on the understanding of housing security gained over the past decade and raises important
questions about the social, material and emotive attributes of housing security.
TOWARDS AGE-FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS FOR LANDLORDS
AND RENTERS
CYNTHIA TOWNLEY1, DEBRA LEWIS2
Shelter Tasmania, Macquarie University, 2COTA Tas
1
Research by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) suggests that
Australia is on the threshold of a steady and sustained increase in the number of low-income
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older renters, with the number of people aged 65 years and over living in low-income rental
households projected to more than double from 195,000 in 2001 to 419,000 in 2026. The
vulnerability of older renters is well known, although there is limited evidence of engagement
and collaboration between aged care providers and the housing sector to address housing
issues for older Australians. Shelter Tasmania and COTA Tasmania have recognised a common
interest in responding to the emerging challenges associated with an ageing population and
growing demand for age-friendly rental accommodation. This paper provides a road map
towards how community sector organisations can work together to increase the supply of agefriendly rental housing in Tasmania, and to improve the ability of older people to age in place.
H O USIN G S ERV ICE PR OV ISIO N FO R
INDIGEN O US PEO PLE CH AIR : R H O NDA PHILLIPS
UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AT THE FRONTLINE
FIONA PROUDFOOT
University of Tasmania
Mainstream housing service providers are increasingly involved in the provision of housing
services to Indigenous clients but there has been little investigation of how housing staff
experience and manage the intercultural dimensions of this. This issue is important because
of the considerable discretionary power that tenancy managers and frontline staff, exercise
in their role. This paper develops a theoretical model for exploring how housing practitioners
construct and understand cultural differences and/or similarities and the role this plays in
shaping their professional interactions with Indigenous tenants.
Thirty-one semi-structured in depth interviews were conducted in metropolitan and regional
Queensland with housing practitioners working with Indigenous clients, in state, community
and Indigenous-specific social housing services. Early findings suggest practitioners’
understandings can be located along a continuum of Racialised Dichotomy, Homogeneity
and Recognition. This combines with their experiential knowing of Indigenous people and
their cultural practices, and may help to explain how practitioners utilise their discretionary
power at the interface of service provision.
“THERE’S A HOUSING CRISIS GOING ON IN SYDNEY FOR
ABORIGINAL PEOPLE”: FOCUS GROUP ACCOUNTS OF THE
HOUSING EXPERIENCES OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE LIVING IN
WESTERN SYDNEY.
MELANIE ANDERSEN1,2,3 ANNA WILLIAMSON 2,1
PETER FERNANDO2, SALLY REDMAN2,1
The University of NSW, 2The Sax Institute, 3The Australian Housing and Urban
Research Institute
1
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Inadequate housing is acknowledged as a key determinant of the poor health of Aboriginal
Australians yet there is little published research about housing conditions for those living in
urban areas. This study explored the views of Aboriginal people in Western Sydney about their
housing circumstances and if they perceive any relationship between housing and health. Four
focus groups were conducted with clients and staff of an Aboriginal community-controlled
health service in Western Sydney (n=38). Focus groups proved a culturally appropriate forum for
conducting research with Aboriginal participants. Inductive, thematic analysis was conducted
from a realist stance using framework data management methods in NVivo10.
Five high-level themes were derived: the battle to access housing; secondary homelessness;
overcrowding; poor dwelling conditions; and housing as a key determinant of health.
Participants associated their housing experiences with poor physical health, poor social and
emotional wellbeing and other ill effects. Housing issues were said to affect people differently
across the life course; participants expressed particular concern that poor housing was harming
the health and developmental trajectories of many urban Aboriginal children. Housing was
perceived as a pivotal determinant of health and wellbeing that either facilitates or hinders
prospects for full and healthy lives. Participants also discussed the social context for their
housing problems and their needs and concerns in relation to housing service provision. This
study suggests that urban Aboriginal housing requires attention in order to close the health and
life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. The findings will inform
further quantitative studies conducted by the research team that aim to quantify associations
between particular housing factors and aspects of health and wellbeing.
M AN AGIN G TEN AN CIES IN SO CI AL H O USIN G
CH AIR : H AZEL EASTH O PE
DESIGN, CONTEXT AND TENANT CHARACTERISTICS: ARE
THERE ANY RULES FOR HARMONIOUS SOCIAL HOUSING
ARRANGEMENTS?
JENNIFER BORRELL1, KATE SHAW2
Yarra Community Housing, 2University of Melbourne
1
Yarra Community Housing provides affordable rental housing to people who are marginalised
and/or on low incomes. The organisation is in the process of implementing an adaptive ‘Social
Housing Model’, based on internal and external research. Key ingredients of the model, found
to facilitate stable housing and quality of life, include: direct access to long term housing,
specialist support, proactive tenancy management, social and economic participation,
trusting relationships (on many levels) and place-based community development. Always of
fundamental importance are affordability, safety and good quality maintenance. Research
indicates that architectural design features intersect in complex and fluid ways with social,
cultural and organisational factors to create stable and affirming housing arrangements. For
example, shared spaces on rental properties may be experienced as negative or positive
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depending on tenant characteristics and ‘mix’, tenant feelings of ownership, allocation
practices, housing density, level of support from workers and security arrangements as well as
the type, purpose, location and design of the shared spaces. This presentation will explore the
ways that social, situational, organisational and design factors intersect and ‘talk to each other’
to create harmonious housing environments for people who are marginalised and/or on low
incomes. It will also explore the role of design standards for these target groups that might be
transferred across different geographical, cultural and systemic contexts.
ANTI-SOCIAL AND INTENSIVELY SOCIABLE: THE LOCAL CONTEXT
OF NEIGHBOUR DISPUTES AND COMPLAINTS AMONG SOCIAL
HOUSING TENANTS
LYNDA CHESHIRE, SHANNON BUGLAR
School of Social Science,
The University of Queensland
The presence of nuisance neighbours among social housing tenants is a matter of considerable
policy debate and concern, yet there is limited research on tenants’ experiences or accounts
of neighbour problems and disputes, or how they arise. Through an analysis of disputes
between social housing tenants recorded by the Queensland Dispute Resolution Branch from
1999-2009, this paper seeks to provide new insight into the nature and extent of neighbour
problems encountered by social housing tenants and the conditions that often cause them to
have difficult and highly stressful neighbourly encounters. Consistent with previous research,
the paper begins by identifying two contributing factors: the so-called ‘residualisation’ of social
housing whereby social housing is inhabited by those with complex needs and challenging
behaviours; and the difficulties associated with high density living, as experienced by tenants in
medium-density social housing units. Yet, while the problems that ensue are commonly viewed
through the lens of anti-social behaviour, this paper reveals that they are also the product of
a particularly intensive form of sociability that arises among social housing tenants due to the
localised nature of their lives and interactions. These interactions more commonly resemble
the intensive patterns of neighbouring found in classic community studies of working class
neighbourhoods than they do contemporary understandings of neighbouring among more
affluent and mobile populations. The flip side of this is that conflict, gossip and a lack of privacy
are also commonly encountered, as is the exercise of social sanctions against those who do not
fit in or are seen to cause problems. When combined with the concentration of social problems
that results from the residualisation process, it is this intensively sociable, rather than just antisocial, mode of interaction that helps explain why, when neighbour relations go wrong for social
housing tenants, they do so in highly problematic and distressing ways.
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National Housing Conference 2015
opening doors...
28 to 30 October 2015 Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
Join us in Perth from 28–30 October 2015 as AHURI convenes
the National Housing Conference... opening doors in partnership
with the Western Australian Department of Housing.
NHC 2015 in Perth will be an inspiring and motivating experience for everyone interested in
discussing and debating housing and homelessness research, policy and practice issues.
For the first time, it will provide special delegate experiences tailored to practice innovation,
leadership opportunities and policy reform strategy.
•
Visit www.nhc.edu for the latest, up-to-date information about the conference. It will open
the door to everything you need to know about this exciting, innovative event.
•
Subscribe to receive NHC 2015 e-updates at www.nhc.edu.au/subscribe/ to be kept
informed.
•
Register now to take advantage of the special super saver registration fees!
If you’re interested in ensuring all Australians have a home—whether as a policy-maker,
researcher, builder, financier, planner or housing and allied service provider—this is a must
attend event for you.
We look forward to welcoming you to Perth in October 2015!
Conference convenor
In partnership with
www.nhc.edu.au
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HOW TO HOUSE THE HARD TO HOUSE: THE DISCOURSE OF THE
‘PROBLEM TENANT’ IN TASMANIAN HOUSING POLICY
KATHLEEN FLANAGAN
University of Tasmania
This paper is drawn from a PhD thesis examining the history of public housing in Tasmania
in order to develop a genealogical perspective on contemporary policy positions. One of the
perennial housing policy ‘problems’ is the question of how to accommodate the small group
of households which the market refuses to house, but who, because of their behaviour, are
extremely difficult for social housing authorities to house without creating problems with arrears,
damage to property and stigmatisation. In this paper, I examine how the state housing authority
in Tasmania dealt with this issue from the 1940s through to the 1980s. Over this period, the
Housing Department’s position shifted from disclaiming any responsibility for the housing of
‘problem’ tenants through to accepting this task as a core activity.
Previous research has explored tenant management through a governmentality framework.
Using archival records, I draw mainly on Foucault’s account of history, discourse and the
production of knowledge to explore how certain households were constituted as objects of
intervention. This genealogical approach illuminates how knowledge about the ‘problem’
household was assembled, disassembled and reassembled in response to the ongoing
existence of these families as politically and socially problematic, but present, realities.
As contemporary housing policy moves towards models premised on integrated ‘affordable’
rather than ‘social’ housing, the question of how to house the hard to house remains and so
does the quest for solutions. This paper raises questions about how ‘new’ the ‘new’ responses
being developed in fact are, but more importantly it also demonstrates how the way in which our
knowledge of the ‘problem’ is discursively produced defines what is possible and impossible in
the way of solutions. Seeing that our knowledge is not natural or inevitable or necessary opens up
space in the future for different responses in this critical area of social policy.
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H O USIN G SUPPLY
CH AIR : K ATH Y HULS E
DOES TRANSPORT INVESTMENT BOOST POTENTIAL HOUSING
SUPPLY IN METROPOLITAN AREAS?
JULIAN SZAFRANIEC1, MARCUS SPILLER2
SGS Economics and Planning, 2SGS Economics and Planning
1
This paper tests the hypothesis that improving the connectivity of a location, whether this be
situated in the established urban footprint or on the urban fringe, will implicitly improve the
dwelling yield from these areas. Using two case study projects in metropolitan Melbourne – the
East West Link and Melbourne Metro One – the paper models the impact of major transport
investments on housing location and density. In keeping with the general view in the literature,
the analysis confirms that transport improvements can galvanise apartment activity in a location.
However, it also finds that the infrastructure in question needs to be of sufficient scale and scope
to substantially boost an area’s linkages to major employment nodes. More minor transport
upgrades which focus on localised circulation are less likely to substantially lift density.
The upshot of the paper is that correctly targeted ‘city shaping’ transport infrastructure can
effectively boost the supply of housing within existing urban footprints, not through land release/
rezoning, but by raising the feasibility for more intensity uses as people trade private space for
improved services and opportunities. Such expansion in effective land supply for housing can
place downward pressure on housing prices, other things equal.
REPURPOSING COMMUNITY SECTOR LAND ASSETS FOR
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
IAN MCSHANE1, ANDREA SHARAM2
RMIT University 2Swinburne University
1
The Australian community or not-for-profit (NFP) sector has come to policy attention as
a source of well-located land suitable for affordable housing developments. The ACT
Government’s 2012 affordable housing action plan, for example, states that the land on which
many clubs and community facilities operates is underutilised, and proposes incentives for
NFPs to redevelop their sites to include affordable housing. This presentation canvasses the
re-purposing of underutilised or redundant assets owned by NFPs for affordable housing
provision. We background the nature of property assets held by the Australian NFP sector,
and discuss policy, infrastructural, social and organisational changes that open the way for
repurposing. We then discuss how NFP organisations view suggestions to repurpose their
land for affordable housing. We conducted interviews with a sample of NFPs, in which the
organisations articulated clear links between their mission, their property assets, and housing
affordability. Our interview data suggest, though, that a range of institutional and structural
barriers would need to be overcome for housing developments to occur on underutilised
NFP land holdings.
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VACANT LAND TRANSACTION-BASED INDEXES, A WESTERN
AUSTRALIAN CASE STUDY
GREG COSTELLO
Curtin University
A suitable supply of vacant land available for housing construction is the first component in
the provision of affordable housing. Despite the abundance of research into transaction-based
indexes for improved housing there have been few studies of appropriate transaction-based
methodologies directed towards vacant land. There are several reasons for this including; (i)
lack of data in regions where land is introduced to the housing system in the vacant form (ii)
the “moving target” nature of vacant land supply meaning that sales are tightly clustered in
areas where vacant land exists. When it is sold and improved the vacant land clusters move
to different price and spatial segments thereby creating significant measurement issues, a key
focus of this study.
This paper presents an empirical study analysing a rich dataset of vacant land transactions for
the city of Perth WA 1990 - 2013. The study focuses upon testing established methodology for
transaction-based indexes in housing markets applied to vacant land markets. The methodologies
include hedonic pricing (both longitudinal and strictly cross-sectional) and repeat sales methodology.
An important benefit of the study is that in analysing actual transactions at the micro level, very
specific supply characteristics are revealed for the city of Perth both across time, space and
various price segments. The results also reveal characteristics of the vacant land market from
a real option pricing framework. Vacant land represents a real option to a purchaser in that they
may construct a house according to their requirements (exercise the real option) or choose not to
build and sell the vacant land (on-sell the option). These characteristics of the market are revealed
through the analysis of repeat sales and provide evidence of a significant option pricing premium
in the sale of vacant land together with significant periods of speculative activity.
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 6
MO RTGAGES AND THE ECO N OMY
CH AIR : LYNDALL B RYANT
BUILDING BORROWER TYPOLOGIES IN THE MORTGAGE MARKET;
EVIDENCE IN AUSTRALIA
MARIA BELEN YANOTTI1, MARDI DUNGEY1,3,4 GRAEME WELLS1,
FIRMIN DOKO TCHATOKA2
University of Tasmania, 2University of Adelaide, 3CFAP, University of Cambridge,
CAMA, Australian National University
1
4
This paper explores home loan borrower characteristics in a non-parametric manner; it builds
borrower typologies based on the type of home loan product selected through the application
of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis. The investigation is applied
to the Australian mortgage market for the period between January 2003 and August 2008,
where the predominant owner-occupier home loans offered were variable-rate mortgages
(VRMs), short-term fixed-rate mortgages, discounted variable-rate mortgages, and home equity
loans. Results show that households with high income but low wealth were more likely to take
standard mortgages to finance their homes, while households with high wealth but low income
preferred products such as discounted rate loans and home equity loans. We identify six
distinctive borrower typologies in the Australian mortgage market, and conclude that borrowers
that were associated with VRMs are generally less risk averse, mobile, and have high income
and wealth. These results suggest that Australian borrowers bearing the interest rate risk in a
VRM were in a strong financial position to face an interest rate shock during the sample period.
Moreover, we argue that some borrower profiles were under-served.
INTERNATIONAL FUNDING COSTS, MORTGAGE INTEREST
RATES AND CASH RATE CYCLE RELATIONSHIP: EVIDENCE
IN THE CONTEXT OF AUSTRALIA
BENJAMIN LIU, EDUARDO ROCA, QUYNH CHAU PHAM
Griffith Business School, Griffith University
Australia is a nation of home-loan borrowers. Hence, the movement of mortgage rates is
closely watched in the country. Borrowers expect mortgage rates to synchronise with the
cash rate, particularly when the cash rate decreases. More recently, however, the media has
reported a weakening of this link. This has been accompanied by complaints from the public
and politicians that banks no longer automatically pass on full reductions in the cash rate to
mortgage holders. Banks claim that this is due to the effect of international funding costs. We
test this claim in this paper. We investigate the relationship between mortgage rates and the
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cash rate, taking into account international funding costs in the context of Australia. Using a
battery of econometric tests, we analyse data pertaining to all 20 Australian banks during the
period 1996 to 2012. We find that international funding costs significantly affect mortgage
rates, but the cash rate still continues to drive mortgage rates in Australia. However, the linkage
between the cash rate and mortgage rates has indeed weakened since 2006. Our findings,
therefore, confirm the divergence of mortgage rates from the cash rate cycle and provide
support for the claim by banks that this is due to the effect of international funding costs. This
situation creates more uncertainty in relation to the movement of mortgage rates and therefore
may discourage people from owning homes, particularly those who are first home buyers as
well as those who can least afford to buy homes. Thus, the results of our study have important
implications for housing affordability and home ownership.
THE REGULATION, MORTGAGE INNOVATION AND
HOUSE PRICE NEXUS
ASHTON DE SILVA, JONATHAN BOYMAL, STUART THOMAS
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University
Understanding how regulation, mortgage innovation and house prices interact is essential if
future policy changes are to be effective. We begin by briefly summarising the recent Australian
policy environment identifying the importance of signals and regulation . We then draw on
past international research to define a typical relationship. Based on a set of interviews with
key industry professionals as well as analysis of house prices we identify the relationships
underpinning these three important areas.
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H O USIN G FO R V ULNER AB LE PO PULATIO N S
CH AIR : R EB ECCA B ENTLEY
AN EXPLORATION OF THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF
INCLUSIVE DESIGN AND UNIVERSAL DESIGN THROUGH THE
LENS OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
CERIDWEN OWEN, CATHRYN KERR
School of Architecture & Design, University of Tasmania
The fundamental premise of ‘inclusive design’ is the development of integrated design solutions
and practices that foster broad participation and engagement in the built environment.
Although conceptually broader than ‘universal design’, at an operational level there is very little
distinction and the terms are commonly used inter-changeably. Emerging from the disability
rights movement, parameters of inclusion remain focused on bodily impairment, with issues
of mobility and access foregrounded in policy and practice. The translation of rights to access
into principles of access are underpinned by normative assumptions of ‘good’ design that
embrace abstract universalism at the expense of situated difference. Further, the discourse is
framed within a positivist paradigm that positions inclusion as a problem that can be solved by
appropriate technological and built environment solutions.
This paper responds to Rob Imrie’s challenge to question the potential for a more progressive
agenda that negotiates a path between universal rights and situated difference engaging a
broader spectrum of interests and needs. Within this over-arching agenda, the paper focuses
on the parameters of rights, diversity and inclusion in housing design from the perspective of
individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD inherently embodies diversity and
confronts typically adopted perceptions of ‘disability’. Neurodevelopmental differences in
sensitivity and cognition provide a non-physical framework for examination, force discourse on
cultural and socio-political underpinnings, and belie the possibility of ‘universal’ solutions.
Following an interrogation of the theoretical premise of ‘inclusive’ and ‘universal’ design, the
paper exposes the limitations of the operationalisation of these concepts in Australian housing
policy, design guidelines and legislation through the lens of ASD. The paper concludes by
speculating on the potential to develop more dynamic frameworks for universal and inclusive
design that navigate the complex territory between incontrovertible rights and, diverse and
negotiated needs, desires and practices.
THE FAILURE OF A VOLUNTARY CODE FOR
UNIVERSALLY-DESIGNED HOUSING
MARGARET WARD
Griffith University
Most people want to remain in their own homes, and to be active and included in community and
family life for as long as possible. A ready supply of universally-designed housing has long been
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recognised as important infrastructure not only for inclusive communities but also for the costeffective implementation of in-home health and support services for older people and people with
disability. The housing industry acknowledges the need for changes in current industry practice
and prefers a voluntary incentivised framework to mandated regulation. To this end, community,
industry and government leaders agreed in 2010 to an aspirational target of all new housing
providing minimum access features by 2020, which was subsequently endorsed by COAG as part
of its National Disability Strategy.
At the halfway point to this target in 2015, government initiatives for increasing the supply of
universally-designed housing continue to cite the agreement, yet housing providers are showing
few signs of changing their practices. Consumer groups have identified this incongruence and
currently lead the advocacy for the signatories of the agreement to be called to account.
This paper reports on this advocacy, which claims that most of the signatories are “missing in
action” and anticipates that, regardless of the economic, social and human rights imperatives
outlined in the National Disability Strategy, the agreement will fail. The paper discusses the
advocates’ recommended interventions and concludes that their call for purposeful government
intervention through regulation is justified. The paper identifies areas for further research which
will inform this debate.
RESEARCHING THE HOUSING FUTURES OF MINORITY GROUPS:
GYPSIES AND TRAVELLERS IN ENGLAND
MICHAEL BULLOCK
(BSc. (Hons) Geography, PhD (Geography), CIHM, MMRS)
This paper explores the complexities of understanding and researching the housing futures of
one of the England’s most marginalised ethnic groups: Gypsies and Travellers. Although around
three-quarters of households (UK 2011 census) live in ‘bricks and mortar’ housing, there is a
continued cultural need to live on pitches (and area of land occupied by a resident family) on
Gypsy and Traveller sites (comprising a number of pitches). The Government currently requires
Local Authorities to assess the future housing needs of this group and in particular the need
for additional pitches on sites. However, the delivery of new sites remains highly controversial
and generally subject to considerable public opposition. It is therefore essential that robust and
defensible local evidence bases are created to assess future pitch requirements to support the
housing futures of this group.
The paper brings together empirical research from studies for 40 Local Authorities over the past
5 years to establish patterns of housing need and travelling behaviour. It considers the factors
underpinning future pitch requirements and how evidence needs to be carefully interpreted
to establish future requirements. The paper also considers the challenge of researching
marginalised cultural groups, the role of community fieldworkers in the research process, and
how the findings of research are helping to shape local planning and land use policy.
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The paper concludes that the use of community fieldworkers is central to the success of
fieldwork; that analysis of pitch need requires careful interpretation to take account of household
mobility and household formation trends; the extent to which the needs of households living in
‘bricks and mortar’ housing should be considered; that policy approaches need to be sensitive
to cultural needs; and there continues to be a shortfall in pitch provision for Gypsy and Traveller
communities across England.
H OM ELES SNES S
CH AIR : DEB O R AH BATTER H A M
THE DOG THAT DIDN’T BARK? THE HOMELESSNESS CONSEQUENCES
OF UK ECONOMIC RECESSION AND WELFARE REFORM
HAL PAWSON1 , SUZANNE FITZPATRICK2
City Futures Research Centre, UNSW, 2Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh
1
The six years following the onset of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 have seen the UK economy
mired in a prolonged economic slowdown and associated weak labour market conditions placing
millions of households at financial risk. Since 2010, associated with the GFC-triggered collapse in
tax revenues, the UK Government has been implementing a raft of ‘welfare reforms’ designed to
restore the public finances by cutting social security spending mainly via reduced benefit entitlement
for low-income households. In particular, an incrementally implemented array of restrictions to
Housing Benefit bears down on the five million HB-entitled renters, and on their capacity to avoid
defaulting on housing payments. The incremental sequencing of these changes meant that the full
effects were expected to become apparent only from 2013 onwards.
However, while it was widely anticipated that the combined effects of economic weakness and
welfare reforms would trigger major increases in homelessness, especially after 2013, this appears
to have been only partially realised. Indeed, while the latest official homelessness figures for
England are running some 30% higher than at their 2009/10 low point, the number of households
accepted by local authorities as unintentionally homeless and in priority need in 2013/14 actually
fell by 2% on 2012/13.
Drawing on analysis of official statistics, together with a survey of local authorities, and key
stakeholder indepth interviews, with this paper will summarise the economic factors and welfare
reform measures which might have been expected to push up homelessness and the possible
explanations for the apparent absence of a major impact in this respect.
BRISBANE COMMON GROUND: HOW DO TENANTS VIEW
SINGLE SITE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING?
CAMERON PARSELL, MAREE PETERSEN, ORNELLA MOUTOU
Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland
There are contemporary debates about the form of supportive housing with support and how it
assists in addressing homelessness. Both scattered-site and single-site supportive housing are
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advocated with research demonstrating the former as assisting people with complex needs and
the latter favoured by politicians and philanthropists. In this presentation, the focus is on singlesite supportive housing, and the ways the residents experience their tenancy, a viewpoint missing
from the literature. Informed by the concepts of home and community, how tenants experience
their housing, supports, security, and neighbours is analysed. These themes are considered with
120 tenants undertaking a survey as part of a multistage empirical study of Brisbane Common
Ground. Based on the experiences of residents in single-site supportive housing this presentation
highlights the complex and contested views of home and community and how this is linked to
ontological security, support, controlled access and security features.
IT’S MORE THAN A BED FOR THE NIGHT: PRACTICES
EFFECTIVE FOR ASSISTING YOUNG PEOPLE TO AVOID OR EXIT
HOMELESSNESS
LYNNE KEEVERS1, HELEN BACKHOUSE2 LISA MACLEOD3
University of Wollongong 2Southern Youth and Family Services
Southern Youth and Family Services
1
3
In the context of the current crisis in housing affordability, housing futures for young people are
increasingly uncertain. Young people experience specific and often structural barriers to accessing
housing in the private rental market due to such factors as their age, income, family backgrounds
and discrimination. How communities, organisations, governments and business work to assist
young people secure quality housing is critical to their well-being, health and success in life. Despite
recognition of homelessness in the policy environment, relatively little is known about the practices
effective in assisting young people to avoid or exit homelessness and the voices of homeless young
people are often absent or go unheard in policy discussions.
Underpinned by a practice-based approach and using a two phase participatory action research
(PAR) framework this study articulates and documents the experience of young people involved
in Southern Youth and Family Services (SYFS), a not-for-profit, community-based organisation
situated on the south-east coast of NSW. Employing both quantitative and qualitative data gathering
methods this study identifies that organising practices that have the most significant impact and
benefits for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The aspects nominated by young people as making the most positive difference in their lives
encompass indicators of wellbeing, care and social justice and include: the relationship with
and the care practices of the SYFS staff; practices that assist young people learn to look after
themselves and to become independent; developing a sense of belonging and connectedness, a
sense of control over their lives and a sense of hope for the future; and access to stable supported
accommodation.
This study suggests that outcome measures used by funding bodies to assess the performance
of funded youth homelessness services, do not give sufficient weight to indicators of social justice,
inclusion and wellbeing or to relationships based on care, respect and persistence. The data also
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indicates that current policies over-estimate the importance of securing permanent housing for
young people. The young people in our study identify access to stable housing that enables them
to transition to independent housing as important.
TEN ANT PERSPECTIV ES
CH AIR : K ATH Y HULS E
THE MOBILITY ASPIRATIONS OF AUSTRALIA’S PUBLIC HOUSING
TENANTS (2002-2012)
RAE DUFTY-JONES, DALLAS ROGERS, MICHAEL DARCY
University of Western Sydney, Australia
Australia’s population is one of the most internally mobile in the western world. This has significant
implications for how housing is accessed and consumed. Recent research identifies a politics
of mobility has come to inform the development of housing policy in a number of international
contexts, including Australia (Dufty-Jones, 2012a; 2012b). In some cases those in receipt of
housing assistance are expected to become voluntarily mobile in order to relocate to improve their
social and economic opportunities. In other cases their mobility is involuntarily and directed by the
state through estate redevelopments. While the state’s motives are clear, little is known about how
recipients of housing assistance imagine their mobility and, when given greater control, how they
would pursue it. In Australia, public housing tenants are allowed to request a ‘mutual exchange’
of their homes with other public housing tenants to improve their access to family, services and
employment. Local housing authorities have traditionally managed and mediated such moves.
However in 2002 a tenant group independently established a website (Our House Swap) which
enabled them to circumvent these administrative gatekeepers and advertise their homes directly
to each other. Over a ten-year period (2002-2012) more than 10,000 public housing tenants
advertised their home for ‘mutual exchange’ on this website. The entries from Australian public
housing tenants form the dataset that is analysed in this paper. The analysis focuses on the
mobile aspirations and geographical preferences of Australia’s public housing tenants. In doing
so it presents important insight into how mobility is imagined and pursued by some of the most
vulnerable in Australian society.
AGAINST THE GRAIN: TOWARDS A CRITICAL GENEALOGY
OF RESIDENT RESISTANCE TO PUBLIC AND SOCIAL HOUSING
POLICY CHANGE
ANGELA NUNN
Public and social housing residents are among the most vulnerable populations in society,
made more so by the vagaries of changing housing policies and the reluctance of policy makers
and governments to genuinely take into account their views about where they live, despite the
use of deliberate strategies to engage and consult residents facing policy driven change. This
paper considers possibilities for developing Foucault’s genealogical approach so as to extend
the critical purchase of the governmentality analytic, and provide a new means for contesting
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knowledge production for housing policy. This work is informed by Walters (2012), who argues
against simply applying a governmentality analytic to different domains, and instead challenges
us to encounter governmentality. In particular, Walter’s suggestion to ‘change the angle’ (2012
p. 145) of the analysis of the network of governing has potential for recognising residents’
situated knowledge by making residents the starting point of analysis. It is argued that such an
approach has possibilities for recognising what are otherwise subjugated knowledges (Foucault
2003), particularly in situations where tenants are resistant to mooted policy change. This work
also draws on ideas by Medina (2011); in particularly the emphasis on genealogies developed
on the basis of engaging with those ‘… whose memories do not fit the historical narratives
available’ (Medina 2011, p. 12). It is also likely that a genealogy of residents’ resistance could
contribute to a broader project about rethinking how the notion of resistance is understood.
REFERENCES:
Foucault M 2003, Society Must Be Defended, Picador, New York.
Medina J 2011, ‘Towards a Foucaultian Epistemology of Resistance: Counter-Memory, Epistemic Friction, and Geurilla
Pluralism’, Foucault Studies, no. 12, pp. 9-35.
Walters, W 2012, Governmentality: critical encounters, Routledge, London.
Note:The phrase ‘against the grain’ is borrowed from Medina (2011).
THE EVALUATION OF THE BOARDING HOUSES ACT 2012 (NSW)
GABRIELLE DRAKE, DR HAZEL BLUNDEN
University of Western Sydney
Historically, boarding houses were used for providing temporary accommodation to visiting city
workers or people on holiday. However, boarding houses now provide both short and long-term
accommodation for persons that may not be able to afford or access other forms of housing.
In October 2012, the Parliament of New South Wales (NSW) passed the Boarding Houses Act
2012 (NSW) (the Act) to regulate boarding houses in NSW. This paper presents the findings of the
first data collection phase of a five year, longitudinal study that explored the effectiveness of the
Act.
This mixed methods study included 215 surveys and 54 interviews with boarding house residents;
57 surveys and 21 interviews with boarding house proprietors; and four focus groups with
community and health agency staff. This data collection spanned three geographical areas in
NSW: Marrickville, Ashfield and Newcastle.
The paper will present some of the policy implications identified in the study with a focus on
housing stress, residents’ knowledge of the Act, compliance and enforcement of the Act; and
residents’ unmet needs.
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H O USIN G FIN AN CE
CH AIR : GR EG COSTELLO
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AND DWELLING SUPPLY
STEVEN ROWLEY
School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University
A lack of available finance is cited by the development industry as one of the main barriers
to residential development in the post GFC climate. Without finance, the vast majority of
development projects cannot make it past the land acquisition stage let alone commence
construction. The big four banks have dominated development finance in recent years and
their strategies and decisions have had a major impact on dwelling supply. There are significant
differences in the way developers with different organisational structures, for example Real
Estate Investment Trusts, syndicated developers and small, single project firms are able to
structure their development finance and consequently the appetite of traditional financiers to
lend money. While the risk and potential returns of a specific development scheme remain
crucial for banks, the institution’s exposure to property and the financial structure of the
developer drive the final lending decision. While larger development companies are able to
borrow on the basis of their existing property assets, smaller developers struggle to secure
finance without significant equity injections and 80%+ pre-sales. The changing nature of
finance has influenced different development sectors in different ways, for example many
large greenfield developers remain unaffected, although there has been a shift towards joint
ventures, while infill development has been hit particularly hard through the ability of small, local
developers to access finance. This research explores the implications of finance availability on
dwelling supply, in particular the ability of the development industry to deliver the scale of infill
development required within regional planning schemes.
AUSTR ALI AN IN STITUTIO N AL IN V ESTO RS ’ ATTITUDES
R EGAR DIN G R ESIDENTI AL PR O P ERT Y IN V ESTM ENT
CHYI LIN LEE1 , GRAEME NEWELL2 , VALARIE KUPKE3
School of Business and Urban Research Centre, University of Western Sydney,
School of Business , University of Western Sydney, 3School of Commerce, University
of South Australia
1
2
A lack of institutional investor involvement in the private rented sector is a structural weakness
in the Australian rental market. To encourage institutional investment in the private rental market,
several residential investment vehicles such as REITs have been introduced in the US and the
UK. Despite Australian REITs being the second largest REIT market in the world, no residential
REIT vehicle is available in Australia. Therefore, it is not only essential to assess the attitudes of
Australian institutional investors regarding housing investment, but also residential investment
vehicles. A survey of Australian institutional investors concerning residential property investment
was conducted in August-September 2014. The results showed that the lack of well-structured
residential investment vehicles and low returns were seen as critical issues in residential property
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market. In addition, the most desirable features for an effective residential investment vehicle were
being managed by an experienced manager, diversified portfolio by location and delivering stable
income returns with low debt. The implications of the findings are also discussed.
INTEGRATED DATA INFRASTRUCTURE PLATFORM AS A TOOL
TO INFORM SUSTAINABLE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS
IN MELBOURNE
MUYIWA ELIJAH AGUNBIADE, MOHSEN KALANTARI,
ABBAS RAJABIFARD
University of Melbourne
Existing knowledge reveals that greater attention is focused on the use of income-mortgage
ratio and income-rent percentage for assessing housing affordability. There is sufficient
evidence to argue that this is a narrow view of housing affordability assessment, hence the
introduction of the sustainable housing affordability concept. With this perspective, several
variables are considered important and they should be included to facilitate drawing appropriate
conclusions on housing affordability assessment. However, there are challenges of assembling,
accessing and using these data variables. The overarching aim of this paper is to present the
process of developing a tool to assist in the housing affordability analysis using these multiple
criteria. This is by bringing together several datasets from different agencies, which satisfy the
many parameters. A Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) algorithm with the use of COPRAS
method is used a veritable means of driving the integration and analysis of data to support an
appropriate assessment of the key themes. It concluded that integrated data infrastructure is a
requirement to assist in making informed decisions about sustainable housing affordability.
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So
Solving Tomorrow’s Social Challenges
Institute
for the
Study of
Social
Change
Authorised by the Director, Institute for the Study of Social Change
© University of Tasmania, Australia. Info Line 1300 363 864
ABN 30 764 374 782. CRICOS Provider Code 00586B
AHRC_Handbook_A5_V5.indd 89
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 7
H O USIN G AND PLANNIN G
CH AIR : H AL PAWSO N
THE AUSTRALIAN SUBURBAN DREAM: ALIVE BUT NOT KICKING
PAUL BURTON
Urban Research Program, Griffith University
Graeme Davison has described Australia as ‘a mental suburb of England’ in which for 150 years
the ideals of suburban life provided a template of the good life for most Australians. Towards
the end of the last century this began to change, in the face of cultural and political criticism
but more pertinently in response to market adjustments by developers looking to develop
new markets for new housing products. While the cultural and political criticism did not go
unanswered and some new market developments provoked local opposition and resistance,
the suburban good life template began to show signs of fraying.
This paper begins by critically reviewing the longevity of this suburban template and the factors
that appear to be leading to its fraying. It then explores the manifestation of these changes in
the city of Gold Coast, which has grown rapidly over the last half century to become Australia’s
sixth largest city. It is also a place which to some epitomises a laissez faire approach to
planning and development and, to the extent that this is true, reflects changing notions of an
Australian suburban good life as well as its contemporary challenges. To assess the degree to
which the suburban template is fraying in this particular place, the paper draws on data from
existing studies of housing and planning in the city, interviews with local and national housing
developers and promotional material for new and older housing developments in and around
the city. The paper concludes that the Australian suburban dream is still alive, but is not kicking
and its long term future remains uncertain.
HOUSING CHOICES AND TRADE OFFS IN AUCKLAND
ALISON REID
Research, Investigations and Monitoring Unit, Auckland Council
Auckland is at a turning point in how it must think about and deliver housing solutions. It is
New Zealand’s ‘primate city’ and is home to one third of the total New Zealand population. The
population of Auckland is projected to increase exponentially, driven by natural increase as well
as net in-migration from other parts of New Zealand and overseas, which will drive the demand
for an increasing number of dwellings. Further to this, increasing ethnic and cultural diversity
and a changing demographic composition will drive demand for a variety of appropriate
housing solutions. This ongoing demand for a range of housing solutions is occurring in a
broader context of a general desire to curb urban sprawl.
The issue of enabling and encouraging supply-side factors to meet this demand is a priority for
Auckland Council, and for central government. The Auckland Plan specifically employs wording
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around a ‘housing crisis’ in Auckland, and includes a priority to ‘increase housing choice to
meet diverse preferences and needs’. The Plan proposes an urban form for Auckland of a
‘quality compact city’ with up to 70% of growth occurring within the 2012 Metropolitan Urban
Limit (MUL) over 30 years, but with flexibility for up to 40% outside the MUL.
In this context, and building on research undertaken in several Australian cities, Auckland
Council has undertaken a study into the housing preferences, choices and trade-offs that
Auckland residents would realistically make when choosing a place to live. This was a discrete
choice experiment that explored the trade-offs households make between size, location and
housing type. This presentation will report on initial findings from the study and will consider
broader implications for Auckland’s future housing supply.
V I AB ILIT Y O F SO CI AL H O USIN G PARTNERSHIP B ET W EEN
GOV ER N M ENT AND N OT - FO R - PR O FIT S ECTO RS –
R ELATIO N SHIP B ET W EEN NEO - LIB ER AL M ACR O AGENDA
AND AUSTR ALI AN PO LICY TOO LK IT
SIR IS EN A HER ATH
Macquarie University
Social Housing (SH) sector has been confronting significant fissures in many Organisation
of Economic Development (OECD) countries including Australia since late 1970s. Changes
influencing SH provision and management have originated from both supply and demand side
challenges. (Jacobs, Atkinson et al. 2010) In relation to supply side main concerns centre on the
viability of existing stocks in terms of age and location. These issues have been compounded
by a reduction in the level of funding available to SH providers. In relation to the demand side,
the SH sector has experienced growing demand resulting in longer waiting lists. Compounding
this growth in demand, there has been a qualitative shift in the nature of applications. Current
demand is mostly from people facing severe social disadvantage who have been compelled to
demand higher housing subsidies due to their social vulnerability in terms of physical or mental
ability and/or income poverty. (Arthurson 2010)
In response to the challenges facing, SH providers of many OECD countries have moved
towards searching market based solutions by partnering with the emerging not-for-profit
(NFP) community providers. (Blessing 2012). The first part of this paper traces the relationship
between macro ideological trends of neo-liberalism and the policy trajectory in SH sector
since late 1970s which have framed the current situation. The macro ideological trend of
neo-liberalism is on one hand blamed for the growing gap of social inequality where free
market struggled to provide answers. On the other hand it is possible to proposition that
neo-liberalism’s ‘variegated’ forms leave room for quasi-market approaches involving private,
public and community sectors to search for viable solutions to issues such as high demand
for SH which was considered the sole responsibility of government under Keynesian mix
economic models. This paper argues that (a) fundamentals in neo-liberalism still carry severe
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contradictions between their approaches to economic growth and social and environmental
equity (b) as a consequence contemporary SH policy approaches carry similar contradictions
illustrated through the analysis of Australian SH policy material originating from commonwealth
and state government (c) what is key to a successful community and public partnership in SH is
sincere commitment of stakeholders with crystal clear roles paying attention to the local path and
situation, learning from similar exercises and taking risks rather than direct application of a theory.
EN V IR O N M ENTAL LY SUSTAIN AB LE H O USIN G
CHAIR: MICHELLE GABRIEL
EVOLUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN HOUSING MARKET AND ITS
INFLUENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIVE HOUSING
SRIMIN PERERA
Australian households make a significant impact on the environment by generating almost ‘one
fifth of Australia’s greenhouse gases’ (Australian Greenhouse Office 2003). Given the availability
of all the environmentally responsive building materials and design methods plus, given that
a majority of Australians are concerned about the environmental changes occurring (ABS
2012), this study will contribute to the understanding of why homeowners are not demanding
environmentally responsive methods in building/ using their new home. Through literature review,
it was found that this was due to internal psychological factors which were mitigated through
contextual factors. This paper reviews the contextual factors of the Australian housing market
that has its influence on environmentally responsive housing. Some of these factors for Australia
include, financial deregulation and mortgage structure; increased housing wealth; change in family
structure; influence of colonization and migration; and suburbanization.
A HOUSE WITHOUT A VERANDAH IS LIKE A FACE WITHOUT
EYEBROWS
HELEN CAMERON
School opf Psychology, Social Work & Social Policy, 2University of South Australia.
Unless a person is rich enough to design their own house, developers and builders usually
determine the style. Inevitably this precludes the use of verandas or even adequate eaves.
A glance at any property insert from local papers demonstrates this. This trend makes no
sense in our country where hot summers are common. The less well-off then find themselves
dependent on expensive air-conditioning for comfort during hot summer weather. Energy
usage issues are also paramount with increased power costs, yet good house design could
help avoid these. How can these design factors be brought into better focus among those
with the power to make changes?
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HOUSING AS A SUSTAINABILITY ISSUE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
A CASE STUDY
KUNTAL GOSWAMI1, LOU WILSON2
Charles Darwin University 2University South Australia
1
Housing provides a strong linkage between different aspects of sustainability (economic,
social and environmental). Even though shelter is considered as one of the most basic needs
according to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is still one of the difficult policy areas even in
a developed economy. Although historically South Australia had a reputation of having a good
proportion of public housing, in recent years the data shows that many low income households
in South Australia are in housing stress and housing market of Adelaide is actually one of the
most unaffordable among the capital cities of Australia. Our paper suggests that the housing
stress will increase and will continue for a long time, as there will be adverse structural change
in the employment market in the period after the General Motors’ Holden plant closure.
The factors that may aggravate impending housing stress in South Australia are continuing
instability in the job markets, increasing health costs and rising energy costs. Our paper
suggests the adoption of affordable and sustainable housing models will reduce housing
stress and improve affordability. One of the recent initiatives of the South Australia Government
is to build medium to high-density affordable housing along Adelaide’s transport corridors.
These projects include high rise apartment buildings. This idea is theoretically prudent and
encouraging from the sustainability and affordability points of view. However, the idea is
contrary to the traditional Australian lifestyle preference for detached bungalows with a green lawn
and backyard. To implement this plan, the South Australian government may need to pay more
attention on changing the consumer preferences embedded in the present housing market
H O USIN G AND FA M ILY V IO LEN CE
CH AIR : SUSAN GOO DW IN
FORM AND CONVIVIALITY: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE
MORPHOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATIONS EXPERIENCED IN TWO
KEY HOUSING PROJECTS AIMING FOR SOCIAL INTEGRATION
BEATRIZ CRISTINA MATURANA
Universidad de Chile
Recent public policies in Chile highlight the role of social integration in delivering the changes that
will assist to improve quality of life and reduce what is perceived by many, as an increasing social
segregation in Chilean cities. Thus, integration is seen as an instrument of government policy to
achieve equity.
The recognition of the problems caused by social segregation and the subsequent interest
in social integration, is expressed and shared across most of the political spectrum in
contemporary Chile. Among public policies, the program for social integration through housing
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was developed in 2006 and the first projects built in 2008. This paper discusses early findings
of research that investigates social integration in two key housing developments. These projects
are Villa Las Araucarias in La Serena, and Casas Viejas in the capital Santiago and were built in
2008 and 2009, respectively. Due to their relatively recent construction, territorial location and
large number of dwellings in each, these projects are emblematic of a significant change in the
conception and realization of socially integrated housing in the country.
This research looks for tangible spatial expressions that may reveal levels of conviviality (or
lack thereof) among residents in these developments. It discusses the types of morphological
changes instigated by individuals and groups within the houses and public spaces. These are
changes directly or indirectly initiated by the homeowners and expressed at a neighbourhood
scale. Among these transformations are the extensions to the original houses, closing of
entrances to cul-de sacs, changes to the permeability of original fences and the establishment
of local home businesses. The significance of these changes is analysed in relation to the main
objective of this type of housing development—social integration.
KEEPING SAFE AND STAYING INDEPENDENT: EXPLORING THE
POTENTIAL OF ‘STAYING AT HOME’ SCHEMES FOR WOMEN WITH
DISABILITIES WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED FAMILY VIOLENCE
AN GELA SPINNEY1 , M ELANIE TH OMSO N 2
Swinburne University of Technology 2University of Melbourne
1
In this paper we discuss ‘staying at home’ schemes that support women and children to remain
in their home while the perpetrator of family violence is removed. These schemes typically
integrate legal, housing and welfare components, and have been shown to be successful in
enabling women to remain in their homes in a wide range of situations. We note a lack of available
evidence on whether ‘staying at home’ schemes have been considered specifically for women
with disabilities and consider the possible relevance of such schemes for these women, who
experience family violence at higher rates and face multiple barriers to leaving their home. In
doing so we expose a significant gap in the evidence base, given the high rates of family violence
experienced by women with disabilities, and the barriers faced by this group in leaving the home
“WE JUST CAN’T GET AHEAD”: WORK DISINCENTIVES
AND SOCIAL HOUSING
H AZEL B LUNDEN , M ICH A EL DAR CY
University of Western Sydney
Over the last twenty years social housing has been increasingly targeted to the highest need
households so that low income alone does not qualify a household for access. At the same time the
income security system moved to reflect the principle of ‘activation’ whereby recipients are strongly
encouraged to enter the workforce and reduce their dependence on government payments.
This presentation reports on a study, conducted in partnership with Pacific Link Housing, which
examined disincentives to employment for social housing tenants generated by the interaction
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of income tax, tapering of benefits, and income related rent. The study included modelling of the
financial impact of these policies which revealed exceedingly high effective marginal tax rates
(confirming the findings of previous research). In order to better understand factors that might
prevent or dissuade social housing tenants from working, surveys and interviews were conducted
with work-eligible tenants. While more than 85% of Pacific Link tenants surveyed have been
employed at some point in their life, only around 8% are currently working. In-depth interviews
explored households’ choices regarding housing, work and training.
While a minority are confused about details, most tenants rationally weigh the comparative
advantages of employment, income and tenure choices. For many, the net return from employment
is marginal, but more importantly, working was understood to jeopardise security of tenure. Tenants
generally expected that work they do undertake will be intermittent and insecure. Under these
circumstances tenants may reasonably choose not to pursue employment or to increase their hours
of work. In the absence of housing options offering comparable security of tenure, tenants will
continue to choose social housing over transition into insecure and unaffordable private housing and
insecure employment. The research highlights the importance of long term housing security which,
for many tenants, overrides small and possibly short term income increases.
WHEN DO TENANTS LEAVE SOCIAL HOUSING?
ILAN W IES EL , H AL PAWSO N
City Futures Research Centre, Built Environment, University of New South Wales
The paper examines the motivations of social housing tenants who choose to exit the sector, and
the immediate and longer term housing and non-housing outcomes of such moves. The evidence
of very low and declining rates of mobility among social housing tenants, appears to contrast
evidence of relatively high rates of mobility up and down the housing tenure ‘ladder’ and relatively
high level of social mobility in Australia compared to other OECD countries (Clark and Maas,
2013). This analysis has implications for current debates about the function of social housing as a
springboard for social mobility or, conversely, a ‘welfare trap’ with in-built disincentives for social
and housing mobility.
MOBILITY MOTIVATIONS OF RURAL PUBLIC HOUSING TENANTS
LIVING IN NSW, AUSTRALIA
TEGAN B ER GAN , R A E DUFT Y - J O NES
University of Western Sydney
Mobility is a core dynamic that affects the production and consumption of rural housing. As rural
areas and communities have changed over the latter decades of the twentieth and twenty-first
centuries, mobility has become an increasingly dominant theme in the rural housing literature.
These concerns between the rural housing-mobility nexus range from the effects of counterurbanisation on the affordability of rural housing to the invisibility of homelessness in rural spaces.
This paper builds on this literature to examine motivations behind the mobile intentions of NSW
rural public housing tenants who listed their home on the tenant-operated website Our House
Swap between 2002-2012 (n=4700).
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CO N CUR R ENT S ES SIO N 8
NEW MO DELS O F H OM E OW NERSHIP
CH AIR : JULIE LAWSO N
EXPLORING MODELS FOR ACCESSIBLE COLLECTIVE HOME
OWNERSHIP IN AUSTRALIA
ANDREA BLAKE
Queensland University of Technology
The housing market today is characterised by the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Whilst the ‘haves’
may have purchased their home some time ago and have benefitted from the upward movement
in property prices over the past decade, the ‘have nots’ are typically those who may be young,
individuals, single parents and many others who are perpetual renters.
Historically various forms of collective home ownership, such as housing cooperatives, have
been explored to provide the ‘have nots’ with access to affordable home ownership. For those
who seek uncomplicated governance the housing cooperative model has a limitation. This
paper explores some of the common models of collective home ownership including the more
traditional models, such as joint tenants and tenants in common, to establish their potential to
become an enduring part of the affordable home ownership scene in Australia. The governance
structures, potential limitations and risks of collective ownership models are addressed and
recommendations are made to make collective housing options more robust and accessible.
HOW PEOPLE IN RESIDENTIAL PARKS CAN FORM CO-OPERATIVES,
BUY THE LAND BENEATH THEIR HOMES AND RUN THEIR PARK
DA M I AN SA M MO N1 , DAV ID B UN CE 2
Department of Housing and Public Works, Queensland State Government
Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Adelaide
1
2
Living in your own home in a residential park is different to living in an owner-occupied house or
apartment. People living in a residential park own their home but not the land beneath it, which
is rented from the park owner. Thus residents are, at the same time, home owners and tenants.
Dwellings in residential parks are known, misleadingly, as relocatable homes. They are
transportable bungalows and possess house-like characteristics. Once sited and connected
to services they cannot be easily moved and it may cost $15,000 to $50,000 to do so.
The owner of the park holds significant power over residents: Ground rents can be increased;
the owner can apply for a change of land use to redevelop the land for another purpose; and
can evict the residents. Escalating site fees and the lack of permanent security of tenure are
the two major concerns affecting residential park households across Australia.
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This paper examines a way in which a new ownership paradigm can overcome these two
problems. It is based on the co-operative ownership and self-management of residential parks
and has been successfully implemented in the United States for 30 years. The paper investigates
the benefits of resident ownership and how the model may be transferred to Australia.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL DETERMINANTS OF
EFFICACY BELIEFS IN MULTI-OWNED HOUSING MANAGEMENT
YUN G YAU
Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong
In spite of its challenges in housing management, multi-owned housing (MOH) has gained its
popularity in the Asia-Pacific region. Previous studies on collectivism in MOH management
have suggested that efficacy beliefs play a significant role in predicting resident participation.
Accordingly, for promoting resident participation in MOH management, resorts can be made to
boosting up residents’ perceptions of self-efficacy and collective efficacy. Perceived self-efficacy
refers to a resident’s belief about his ability to influence the collective outcome while perceived
collective efficacy refers to a resident’s belief about the group’s ability to realize the collective
good. Nonetheless, the literature has spilt little ink over the determinants of these two types of
efficacy belief in collective actions. Drawing on the findings of a structured questionnaire survey
conducted in Hong Kong, this article empirically explores the factors shaping the efficacy beliefs
about resident participation in management of private MOH in the city. The analysis results
suggest that socio-economic characteristics of the residents like age, income and education level
are significant determinants of the perceived self-efficacy and collective efficacy. Besides, the
presence of owners’ corporation in a residential development is found to have a positive impact
on residents’ collective efficacy beliefs. These findings have far-reaching policy and practical
implications for MOH management.
I M PR OV IN G H OM E EN V IR O N M ENTS
CH AIR : CER IDW EN OW EN
PRODUCING SUBURBAN RESIDENTIAL SOCIAL CAPITAL
CARYL B OS M AN , PETER H O NEYM AN
Griffith University
Over the past three decades, it has become apparent that profound changes are occurring in
community formation, however defined, changing lives and transforming living arrangements.
In Australia, some residential communities are becoming (more) socially fragmented which is
leading to higher levels of loneliness and isolation. This is particular prevalent and significant as
the population ages. Some scholars argue that the production of social capital is the answer to
reviving community relations between residents in a specific locality. These researchers suggest
that an increase in social capital requires, among other things, changes to the way community
and residential planning occurs.
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In part, due to pressures such as climate change, decreasing housing affordability and rapid
population growth coupled with land shortages, many suburban residential developments
are being designed to achieve higher densities and compact living. New urbanist inspired
Community Title developments are, in theory, a way of meeting these pressures. This paper
tests this hypothesis by investigating the levels of social capital through a comparative case
study of two residential areas: one a typical 1980s suburban Torrens Title development and
the other a new urbanist inspired Community Title development circa 2000. Residents in both
case studies, located in the suburb of Coomera on the Gold Coast in South East Queensland,
Australia, were surveyed in 2013. The surveys showed that bonding social capital was lower
in the new urbanist inspired Community Title development. Bridging social capital was high in
both developments. Our research suggests that new urbanist inspired housing developments
are unlikely to increase social capital. We argue that lifestyle factors and resident empowerment
and responsibility in local decision making processes will have a positive affect on the
production of social capital. To achieve this outcome we recommend planners and planning
policy (re)focus on public involvement and participation in local decision making processes.
OCCUPANT FEEDBACK FROM AN EXEMPLAR SUSTAINABLE,
MIXED-TENURE, MIXED-USE APARTMENT DEVELOPMENT
IN MELBOURNE
TRIVESS MOORE, IAN RIDLEY, JIN WOO, MEGAN NETHERCOTE,
DAVID HIGGINS, KARISHMA KASHYAP
Griffith University
The requirement to transition to a more sustainable housing future is well recognised from both
the context of reducing environmental impacts and providing more affordable and equitable
housing provision. There is increasing research around the technical performance of buildings
which improve environmental performance and research which explores various affordable
housing outcomes. However there has been limited exploration to date in the Australian context
of developments which attempt to bring both elements together. This talk presents a case
study of the Nicholson development in Coburg, Melbourne. The Nicholson is a 199 apartment
development which was completed in 2011. At the time of its design and construction the
development was innovative across four key areas: sustainability (built to a six star standard),
the use of modular construction, being mixed-use and mixed-tenure and the governance of
the development. This presentation discusses the results of a post-occupancy evaluation of
the Nicholson. The evaluation included conducting a Building User Satisfaction (BUS) survey
and conducting follow up semi-structured interviews with occupants. The analysis found that
occupants were generally quite satisfied with the Nicholson development. They felt they had
lower utility bills from the improved design and sustainability outcomes. A main concern for
the occupants was the overheating of many of the apartments in summer-time. This resulted
in occupants needing to install air-conditioning or to spend time away from their apartments
during the hottest periods of the summer as the heat made the apartments unbearable. The
occupants were also grateful for the supermarket downstairs but were keen to see the other
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empty retail spots occupied sooner rather than later. Many of the occupants were aware
that the building included mixed-tenure accommodation but few had any issues with this
arrangement. The analysis from this project will help the development of sustainable, mixed-use
and mixed-tenure accommodation in Australia.
HEALTHY HOUSING FOR AN AGEING POPULATION: EXAMINING
THERMAL COMFORT AND AFFORDABILITY FROM THE INSIDE OUT
R ACHEL B ILLS
School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Adelaide
Older people are particularly vulnerable to hot weather, as indicated by a worldwide trend for
greater hospitalisations and mortality in older people during periods of extreme heat. Studies
have also shown that many of these deaths occur at home. Climate change experts predict an
increase in the number of extreme heat days in the near future [1], which presents a potentially
disastrous situation for the ageing population.
Studies into adaptation to climate extremes have brought to light a number of reasons why
older people fail to cope in these conditions. Whilst age-related physiological changes play a
part, there are also overarching behavioural, attitudinal and psychological reasons. Older people
can be less likely to utilise adaptive behaviours, such as using air-conditioners or opening or
closing windows, to cool down in hot weather [2]. With older people spending the majority of
their time indoors, the thermal environmental conditions inside the home may also play a part in
their poor health outcomes.
Public health authorities advise the use of air-conditioners to keep the home cool during periods
of extreme heat. Energy affordability is, however an acknowledged problem, especially amongst
the older population, and the cost of electricity has been recognised as a significant barrier to
air conditioner use [3]. Therefore the need for cost effective energy efficient design solutions is
becoming more important.
Whilst external environmental conditions have long been correlated with health outcomes, there
has been little investigation into internal dwelling conditions. This research investigates the
thermal conditions inside the homes of Australia’s older people and the effect these conditions
might have on their health. This research will also examine the barriers that prevent older people
from creating a healthy thermal environment, and investigate the cost effectiveness of design
solutions that will allow healthy housing for our ageing population.
1. CSIRO and Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Climate change in Australia: technical report 2007. 2007: CSIRO.
2. Hansen, A., et al., Perceptions of Heat-Susceptibility in Older Persons: Barriers to Adaptation. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 2011. 8(12): p. 4714-4728.
3. Chester, L., The Growing Un-affordability of Energy for Households and the Consequences. International association for
energy economics newsletter, 2014. Second quarter 2014: p. 23-27.
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AFFO R DAB LE STUDENT ACCOM MO DATIO N
CH AIR : GIN A Z APPI A
THE COST AND AVAILABILITY OF STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
STEV EN R OW LEY , ANDR EA CO N STAB LE
Curtin University
Students have a range of possible accommodation options when studying at university. Less
than 5% of students live within a residential college, university hall or residence with two thirds
preferring to stay with parents or live with a partner. By contrast, in the UK the proportion
of students in institution maintained accommodation is four times the rate of Australia.
Accommodation costs vary significantly from university to university and are dependent on
the type of accommodation and the range of utilities included. Weekly rents for on-campus
accommodation, either university run or managed by the private sector start at $140 and can
rise to over $400 when meals are included. In the vast majority of university locations it is
cheaper to rent accommodation in the private rental sector which has implications for supply in
the local market. Although there are a range of government schemes available to support low
income students such as Austudy and Youth Allowance, only a small proportion of students
receive these benefits (13 and 33 per cent respectively) while around half of students report
receiving no financial support from parents. Many students are forced to work long hours
to meet accommodation costs resulting in less time to concentrate on academic work. This
study calculated the number of hours a student would need to work to meet housing costs.
An 18 year old student on minimum wage would need to work around 35 hours per week to
meet weekly costs of $370 (rent and living expenses). The findings have implications for the
ability of non-subsidised students to effectively engage in university studies and the lack of an
appropriate and affordable dwelling supply leads to a potential disparity between the academic
outcomes of students with and without third party financial support.
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SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBOURS: GROWTH IN STUDENT POPULATION
AND DECLINING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN AUSTRALIA
NNENN A IK E
University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
In the past six decades, the Australian Higher Education (HE) sector has undergone significant
changes with increase in enrolment by both domestic and overseas students (Bradley et al.,
2008, Australia Universities, 2013). This growth in the Australia HE sector raises vital concerns
as to how students access safe, affordable and suitable accommodation as evidence exists
that there is a growing housing affordability problem across Australia (O’Neill et al., 2008,
Yates and Gabriel, 2006, Yates and Milligan, 2007). With Australian universities providing
accommodation for only about 4% of the nation’s 1,000,000 students, it is often difficult for
students to find affordable housing within reasonable distance of university campuses, in both
inner cities and regional areas (Universities Australia, 2014).
Using a case study methodological approach employing mixed methods, this exploratory study
explores how safe, affordable and suitable student housing in Australia can be achieved by
examining the supply responsiveness by the universities, private and the not-for-profit sectors.
Furthermore, the provision of safe, affordable and suitable accommodation cannot be explored
in isolation without examining what consequence this may hold for local communities where
these students live. Hence this study equally investigates what impact (economic, physical,
socio-cultural) students living in university neighbourhoods have on those neighbourhoods
considering that over 95% of students live in non-university provided accommodation.
This study advances the provision of safe, affordable and suitable housing for students
studying in Australia as well as promotes a resilient and cohesive community necessary
for community sustainability.
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TRENDS IN HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDICATORS
IN AUSTRALIA
B EN FAULK NER , DAV ID Z AGO , CAR O LINE DALEY
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Identifying households experiencing housing affordability problems assists in formulating new
policy responses across housing, planning, taxation and other portfolios. However issues such
as market segmentation, choice and the multiple reasons that households invest in housing,
mean that there are challenges in agreeing on a single measure of housing affordability.
This presentation will outline key measures of housing affordability, the current measurement
challenges and examine trends in selected measures over the past decade. In particular, it
will focus on the measures of rental affordability and home purchase affordability used in the
National Affordable Housing Agreement reporting which are based on the ABS Survey of
Income and Housing. These measures have a primary focus on the economic circumstances
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of those households that may experience difficulty entering or remaining in particular housing
markets due to their limited economic resources.
Results from our analysis of detailed housing costs associated with different tenure types
will be presented to better understand the true cost of maintaining housing in Australia. The
analysis takes into account proportions of home loans used for non-housing purposes, principal
repayments and essential costs such as body corporate fees, dwelling insurance and essential
maintenance. It also includes mean rental costs with a modified treatment of Commonwealth
Rent Assistance and refunds from outside the household.
Data will be drawn from the ABS Survey of Income and Housing, a large sample survey
designed to collect information on the income, assets, liabilities, net worth, and other
characteristics of households and individuals in Australia (excluding very remote areas), This
survey offers a unique opportunity for analysis of the distribution of income and wealth across
the population alongside detailed data on housing costs, housing subsidies and occupancy.
A factsheet describing the key measures of Housing Affordability will be available to participants.
PO LICY TOO LS AND EVALUATIO N
CH AIR : TA M LIN GO RTER
QUESTIONING THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF TIME SPENT IN
UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING
EM M A BA K ER1 , R EB ECCA B ENTLEY2 , LAUR EN CE LESTER 3
School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Adelaide, 2Centre for
Health and Society, University of Melbourne, 3Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional
Planning, University of Adelaide
1
Australia has some of the world‘s most unaffordable housing markets, a problem that has
become well established during the 21st Century. Our previous work has sought to measure the
extent of poor housing affordability, and understand its effects on the health and wellbeing of
the population. In an era of worsening affordability problems, increasing numbers of Australians
are likely to live in unaffordable housing, and for longer periods of time.
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This paper, extending previously published work, estimates a possible cumulative effect of
the length of time spent in unaffordable housing. We hypothesise that cumulative exposure to
housing affordability stress (HAS) is associated with poorer mental health (using the Short Form
36 Mental Component Summary (MCS) score). The analysis uses 12 waves of data from an
Australian longitudinal survey (HILDA 2001 to 2013).
Our results show that for both men and women, there is a measureable initial effect of ‘falling
into’ unaffordable housing, however, our analysis shows that this effect does not appear to
accumulate over time.
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ESTIMATING UNMET HOUSING DEMAND AND PRIORITY
AREAS FOR PUBLIC AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA LEVEL A HOUSING
PRACTITIONERS APPROACH
JULIE CO N SIDINE , SAR AH M EW ETT
Western Australia Department of Housing
Access to affordable housing is essential for the wellbeing of individuals, families and
communities. Low to moderate income earners are most at risk of not being able to access
affordable housing. Government Agencies and the not for profit sector provide a much needed
safety net for those who the private market has failed. In the current fiscal environment it has
become increasingly important to ensure resources are directed to areas where the level of
need is highest. One of the facets of this is understanding the geography of the unmet demand
for social and affordable housing for those in the low to moderate income bracket.
This paper presents a method for estimating social and affordable housing demand at the
Local Government Area (LGA) level. It is based on data from the 2011 Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) Census, information from the WA Housing Authority and WA State Government
population projections.
The output from the model is transformed into information which is easy to understand and can
be practically applied in the decision making process of social and affordable housing providers.
WAITING FOR SOCIAL HOUSING - INTERNATIONAL
APPROACHES TO PRIORITISATION POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
ARRANGEMENTS FOR SOCIAL HOUSING WAITING LISTS
DEB B IE GEO R GO PO ULOS
NSW Department of Family and Community Services
Many international cities are experiencing a shortage of affordable and secure housing for low
to very low income people. As a result, state housing authorities have long waiting lists for
government subsidised housing, with demand far outstripping supply.
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In NSW, social housing is administered through Housing Pathways – a multi provider system that
includes a statewide approach to applications, assessments and allocations of social housing and
other housing related assistance. The term social housing is used to cover public housing and
most community and Aboriginal housing.
A consolidated social housing waiting list has been in operation since 2010 – the NSW Housing
Register – and this captures all approved applicants waiting for social housing. In 2012/13 almost
65,000 applications for housing assistance were assessed (households). In the same year, over
400,000 people were assisted with social housing and/or private rental assistance. Despite this level
of assistance, the social housing waiting list at the end of 2013 stood at over 58,000 households.
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The first release of annual expected waiting times for social housing in 2012 provided the most
comprehensive data on approved applicants and available social housing ever released in NSW.
This publicly available information has allowed a sharper focus on the role of social housing,
specifically, policies for prioritising applicants and strategies for managing the large waiting
list. In order to deliver public value for clients and the broader community from government
investment in social housing, consideration of both equity and efficiency are key. That is, how
does government balance equity and efficiency
to deliver the best outcome for individuals and society?
Waiting lists for government subsidised housing are managed quite differently throughout the world.
This paper will present findings from overseas research in the USA, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong
- funded through a Churchill Fellowship - on policy and administrative approaches to managing
housing waiting lists, success factors and possible approaches that may be applicable in Australia.
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The State of Australian Cities national conference
has been held biennially since 2003. In 2015 it
returns to Queensland when it will be held in the
City of Gold Coast, from December 9-11.
Key Dates
The SOAC conference has always been committed to maintaining
the highest standards of scholarship in the work presented to foster
productive dialogue between academic researchers, policy makers
and other urban practitioners.
AbstrAct submissions
close 16 March 2015
We invite you to visit the Gold Coast, to attend the conference and
to present a paper that reflects your current research interests. The
2015 conference invites contributions under the traditional themes
of economy, social, environmental, urban structures, governance and
movement as well as a new theme of cities and health. Further details
of these themes are included under the call for papers.
notificAtion to Authors
11 May 2015
The main conference will again be preceded by a Symposium for PhD
candidates and early career researchers, organised in conjunction with
the new Australian Early Career Urban Research Network.
The city of Gold Coast can be a contradictory and contested place,
sometimes celebrated for its entrepreneurial approach to growth
and occasionally criticised for its local culture. Renowned for its
ecosystems and the environmental attractions of its hinterland, the
city is also vulnerable to many of the hazards exacerbated by climate
change. As the second largest local government in the country its
planning regime has to confront the challenge of promoting economic
growth while protecting the assets that make the city popular.
It is therefore an ideal location for Australia’s urban scholars to gather
and learn more about the state of Australian cities, and to debate
how our work can best contribute to the planning of our cities and
metropolitan regions.
AbstrActs in review
18 March – 25 April 2015
full PAPers due for
review 15 July 2015
PAPers in review
17 July – 15 August 2015
revised PAPers to
Authors 16 August 2015
eArly bird registrAtion
close 21 August 2015
finAl PAPer due for
PublicAtion 1 October 2015
Registration &
Call for Papers
NOW OPEN
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O UR SPO N SO RS
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
www.utas.edu.au
Institute for the Study of Social Change
Faculty of Arts, University of Tasmania
www.fairbrother.com.au
10 6
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N OTES
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W W W . AHR C2 015 . COM . AU
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