Opportunities and Constraints in State Housing Policy: The Example of Tasmania's ‘Affordable Housing Strategy’

The lack of Commonwealth government funds for public housing has encouraged state governments across Australia to develop ‘Affordable Housing Strategies’ to address the problems that result from the shortage of housing available for low-income households. However, to date there has been limited discussion of the implications of these affordable housing strategies and their significance as a form of policy intervention. This article highlights the Tasmanian Government's ‘Affordable Housing Strategy’ as a case study to illustrate the obstacles that confront state housing policy makers. These include difficulties in securing partnerships with the private sector, an inability to influence macro-economic policy settings, fluctuations in the property market cycle and a reliance on small and uncertain budgetary allocations. However, there is limited scope to address some of the problems that have undermined previous state and Territory housing policy initiatives by reaching agreements with local government to ease planning controls for social housing, boosting the capacity of the community housing sector and using additional budgets judiciously.     

Housing Policy in England since 1975: An Introduction to the Special Issue

Over the past 30 years the housing system in England (and the rest of the UK) has undergone fundamental changes. This Special Issue of Housing Studies is based upon a major recent evaluation of English housing policy 1975–2000. This introductory paper outlines the aims and objectives of the evaluation, and its principal conclusions. It also sketches out the broader social and economic context for the evaluation, and provides a brief introduction to the substantive papers included in the Special Issue. These papers were selected to reflect the breadth of topics considered in the evaluation, and to represent the key housing policy debates and dilemmas that have contemporary resonance as well as historical significance.     

The Next Blueprint for Housing Policy in England

This review outlines the changes to housing policy in England introduced or proposed by the UK coalition government elected in 2010. These changes form part of a longer term project to modernise housing policy, and are at the same time a response to an economic and public expenditure crisis. It is argued that these emerging proposals raise important questions for housing policy analysis and research—questions about the interpretation of earlier policy and practice, and about the factors likely to affect future policy outcomes and patterns of segregation.     

Housing Policy Changes in Ghana in the 1990s

The housing sector in Ghana has undergone fundamental changes since the 1990s. Policy focus has shifted away from direct state provision and has moved strongly towards active private sector participation in housing production, financing and production of building materials. In part, this is due to the failure of public housing programmes, dwindling state resources, unimpressive performance of state-owned enterprises, and recognition that the government alone is unable to solve the housing problem. On a broader scale, the changes are rooted in liberalization ideologies that have swept through most economies in the 1980s and 1990s, which have had varying effects on people's housing need and on the national economy. The purpose of this paper is to examine these effects, to offer some interpretations, and to outline some of the lingering challenges facing the country's housing sector.     

福利国家与住房政策

本文试图通过欧美福利国家系统和住房系统的内在联系,运用欧美学者在１９９０年代中期的最新研究成果,从定性和定量两方面来认识欧美国家的住房政策类型。     

Implicit Land Taxation and Affordable Housing Provision in England

The paper considers the proposal in England that a continuing requirement for residential developers to contribute directly to the supply of affordable housing in return for planning permission should operate alongside a new tax on land value increases due to planning permission. The paper asks whether it is right in principle for affordable housing to be supported by the implicit taxation of development. It is argued that in terms of transparency, clarity, and certainty explicit taxation is to be preferred to implicit taxation. It is thus suggested that once the new explicit tax is in place developers should no longer be routinely required to pay an additional implicit affordable housing tax. Affordable housing should, it is argued, be supported on the basis of need, not the resources available from the development process. The link between the provision of affordable housing and planning obligations should be broken.     

The Development of Housing Policy in the English Regions: Trends and Prospects

This paper explores the emergence of housing strategies at the regional level in England in the context of wider ambiguities over establishing this new tier of governance. The paper notes the growing differentiation in local housing markets across the country and examines the implications for national policy formation and the development of new regional structures and responsibilities. These trends are interpreted by reference to different models of governance and the 'rescaling' of government functions and responsibilities in housing. The implications of these processes for housing strategy formation at the regional level are then assessed. The development of regional housing strategies is then considered against three key challenges: the growth of 'network' forms of governance, the applicability of the regional level as a tier for strategy formulation and development, and the different policy responses in other sectors towards housing market change at the sub-national level. The paper concludes by briefly considering likely future developments in regional governance. In conclusion it suggests that the aim of achieving greater integration between housing, planning and economic development strategies may be threatened by underlying processes of uneven economic growth and social polarisation.     

The Spatial Pattern of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties: Implications for Fair Housing and Poverty Deconcentration Policies

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Housing policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) emphasize the spatial dispersal of housing assistance to promote fair housing objectives. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the nation's largest affordable housing subsidy program, is not administered by HUD and therefore is not closely monitored for compliance with dispersal objectives. Using spatial point pattern analyses, I identify the geographic extent of LIHTC property clustering, characterize the local clustering of individual properties and explore the determinants of local clustering within the nation's largest metropolitan areas. In most metropolitan areas, LIHTC properties are more highly clustered than multifamily housing units, although the extent of clustering differs by metropolitan area. Clustered LIHTC properties tend to be located in more densely developed central-city locations that have higher poverty rates and higher minority concentrations.

Takeaway for practice: To encourage more affordable housing construction within areas that offer greater economic and social opportunities to LHTC residents, policymakers should 1) provide incentives to locate LIHTC properties within high-opportunity areas, 2) eliminate current incentives to cluster housing in areas with inherently higher poverty and minority concentrations (Qualified Census Tracts and Difficult Development Areas), and 3) enhance coordination between HUD and the Department of the Treasury to implement federal fair housing goals.     

The Past and Future of Housing Policy Innovation: The Case of US State Housing Trust Funds

State governments are increasingly expected to help fill the gap between the demand and supply of affordable housing within the US. Little systematic attention has been paid to state housing strategies over the years, despite a lengthening record of policy innovation. This paper asks what factors influence state adoption of housing trust funds (HTFs), and if these factors differ based on how the trust fund is financed and which state agency is responsible for administering it. Utilizing an event history analysis of pooled cross-sectional data, the paper finds that whether or not a state adopts a HTF, who administers it, and how they fund it, varies based on rates of new, single-family development, the size of the black population, prior state housing expenditures, and citizen ideology. The broader implications of these findings are considered for future housing policy innovations beyond states and HTFs.     

法国社会住宅政策的演变及其启示

法国社会住宅系统创立于19世纪中叶工业革命以后,二战后逐步发展完善,形成了以政府贷款、补贴等优惠政策为刺激,通过公私舍作的方式建设管理社会住宅的系统。社会住宅系统起到了解决贫困人1：2居住问题,缓解社会矛盾,调控房地产市场等多种作用。但社会住宅空间分布集中,建设规模偏大等原因,造成了1980年代以来法国严重的居住隔离问题。2000年以后,法国确立了通过社会住宅的重新分布实现社会混和的战略目标。文章通过对法国社会住宅政策演变历程的回顾,总结出它的成功与失败之处．并结合国内的实际情况、提出中国应加大政府的财政投入、扩大融资方式,建立以租赁为主的保障性住房系统,并以此调控厉地产市场;同时注意通过综合规划,防止居住隔离现象进一步加剧,维持社会的和谐稳定。     

Housing Policy,Housing Assistance and the Wellbeing Dividend: Developing an Evidence Base for Post-GFC Economies

This paper discusses the recent evolution, at a time of turmoil within global financial markets, of Australia's housing system and considers the effectiveness of housing assistance responses formulated to assist lo- income Australians. Following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), housing was recast in the public and political consciousness and received substantial policy attention. In this era of rapidly declining housing affordability as well as threats to the supply of housing finance, the Australian Government renewed its approach to housing assistance. The paper examines housing assistance in Australia and assesses individual outcomes in terms of a ‘wellbeing dividend’. It draws upon on a survey of 1700 low-income households to examine individual outcomes for health and wellbeing across three of Australia's major forms of housing assistance. The research clearly shows that while housing assistance makes a positive contribution to wellbeing, not all forms of assistance are equal.     

Housing Policy Towards the Rental Sector in Italy: A Distributive Assessment

We study the distributive effects on Italian households of the three most relevant housing subsidies targeted to renters: a national rent supplement scheme introduced in the context of the reform that liberalised the rental market in the late 1990s, a tax credit for renters that has been recently strengthened and the implicit economic support given to tenants in the social housing sector, through below-market rents. The analysis is performed on data from the Eu-Silc survey for Italy and, in the case of the housing allowances, also on register data from 9 out of the 13 largest Italian towns. We consider, in particular, the ability of these schemes to target low-income households and their effects on the overall levels of poverty and inequality. Results from our analysis show a good targeting but very limited effect on social protection, with the partial exception of social housing.     

After Housing Policy: Housing and the UK General Election 2001

This paper describes the results of a review of the housing content of UK General Election 2001 manifestos. Housing policy was of little importance during the election campaign. The main British political parties had, essentially, a shared housing agenda--to promote and facilitate home ownership, support area and community regeneration, tackle homelessness, improve the private rented sector, and prevent building on greenfield sites. Many issues of importance to housing specialists received little or no attention, most notably that of low demand. Some policy variations within the UK were evident, for example in attitudes towards greenfield development, home ownership and stock transfer. The paper concludes that differences in housing policy are emerging within the UK as part of a new politics of devolution and that the days of a single housing policy approach for the UK are over.     

美国民营可负担住房的经营理念和管理模式——基于EAH房屋建造及管理公司的成功实践

通过介绍美国民营公司EAH的经营理念、市场运作及营造模式,探讨非政府经营的可负担住房1)发展的可行性和优越性,并从建筑设计的角度介绍了两个成功的物业实例,为我国保障性住房的建设提供借鉴。     

公交场站与保障性住房综合开发规划探讨——以厦门为例

厦门作为海峡西岸重要中心城市,城市建设用地日趋紧张,但同时厦门又是国内保障性住房建设的示范性城市。如何在有限的土地资源里实现公共利益最大化,本文以厦门公交场站与保障性住房的综合开发为切入点进行了初步的探讨,包括综合开发的引导模式、技术要求、开发政策、开发方向等。     

广州市保障性经济适用房住房研究

经济适用住房是我国住房保障制度中不可缺少的一部分。本文通过对经济适用住房现状进行分析,和对广州的经济适用住房进行调查研究,指出其存在的一些问题,并提出解决这些问题的对策。     

住宅政策与创新

住宅政策改革关系到亿万城市居民的切身利益,在中国改革开放进程中有着举足轻重的地位.在经济全球化趋势继续增强的背景下,城市发展面临新的机遇和挑战.公共管理者需要从政策创新的视角对住宅改革政策深入探讨,以保持和发展改革的成果,并对未来国家公共政策的走向作出选择.     

探求查尔斯·柯里亚建筑作品中的物质性与精神性——以贝拉布尔住宅区为例

该文以分析查尔斯·柯里亚(Charles Correa)建筑作品中物质性与精神性的表达为切入点,从价值观念和意识形态两个方面,结合他深邃的建筑思想,通过对贝拉布尔住宅区的深入剖析,全面解读了查尔斯·柯里亚(Charles Correa)的建筑作品对印度社会生活的思考,探求了设计师在建筑作品中体现物质性与精神性的设计方法。     

The Sudden Rediscovery of Housing Supply as a Key Policy Challenge

Housing supply was suddenly rediscovered as a major challenge for English housing policy in the early 2000s, after nearly three decades of neglect. There does appear to be a problem of inadequate and unresponsive housing supply in England, by international or historical standards. Although shortcomings of the house building industry and limited public investment play a part, the most important factor explaining England's housing supply problem is the operation of the land-use planning system. Policies, procedures and incentives are all implicated. The most important impact is a long-term real rise in the price of housing, differentiated by region, which is damaging both economically and socially, although there are some compensating benefits in terms of the environment. The Barker Inquiry has proposed a radical supply agenda, which has been substantially accepted by the present government. This proposes that planning targets should be geared to affordability, with more land released and market-contingent mechanisms, more social housing and supporting infrastructure investment. There is room for debate about the magnitudes involved, the role for more proactive approaches to development and the best fiscal mechanisms and incentives. However, given the fraught political economy of housing and planning in the pressured regions, there is considerable doubt as to whether these measures will be implemented on the requisite scale.     

Favoured Owners,Neglected Tenants: Privatisation of State Owned Housing in Hanoi

This paper presents selected findings from the project ‘Privatisation of public housing in Hanoi, the impacts on housing quality and social equality’ which was financed by the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA). The project analyses the consequences of privatisation on the housing conditions of those tenants and owners who live in privatised and partly privatised multi-family apartment buildings. This paper focuses on the consequences of privatisation on the housing and living conditions of tenants compared to those of owners, and presents findings. The paper concludes that privatisation actually helps to strengthen the existing inequity between different social groups, in the sense that the privatisation policy supports senior government officials, many of whom are well situated both financially and socially, and ignores poor and low-income households. Privatisation also contributes to enhancing the inequality between better-off housing areas and poorer ones. Mixed ownership, and the lack of regulations about the duties and rights of owners and tenants after privatisation, also lead to serious degradation of common areas in all residential blocks.