Community Land Trusts and Indigenous Housing in Australia—Exploring Difference-Based Policy and Appropriate Housing

Previous work has highlighted the primacy of non-economic rights in Indigenous housing objectives. This paper builds on that work and Sanders' other work demonstrating the limited relevance of ‘mainstream’ home ownership for many Indigenous communities, exploring whether models based on community land trust (CLT) principles might be appropriate for articulating Indigenous housing aspirations. The paper describes current Indigenous housing scenarios in urban, regional and remote New South Wales and Queensland, and findings regarding the resonance of CLTs with Indigenous housing objectives. While dominant policy and public discourses promote Indigenous home ownership as an economic development strategy, or as requiring the alienation of Indigenous lands, the research found neither to be primary sector imperatives. The paper draws on difference-based arguments regarding Indigenous affairs arguing that a focus on diversity emerging from informed Indigenous choice finds a role for policy supporting diverse Indigenous housing aspirations.     

Living on the Margins: Comparing Older Private Renters and Older Public Housing Tenants in Sydney,Australia

An increasing number of older Australians are dependent on the private rental market for their accommodation. Through the use of semi-structured in-depth interviews, the life circumstances of older renters (65 plus) in both public housing and private rented accommodation in Sydney are explored and compared. Using Amartya Sen's concepts of capabilities and functionings, the study illustrates that due mainly to lower accommodation costs and greater security of tenure, the public housing tenants interviewed had far greater capability to live a life they valued. In contrast, most interviewees in the private rental market were struggling financially and were extremely anxious about their security of tenure. Their capacity to control their present and their future was very limited.     

Housing pathways,aspirations and preferences of young adults within increasing urban density

Abstract

There is growing recognition within housing preference studies that younger housing consumers are more amenable to compact dwellings. Yet, there remains uncertainty around the drivers of these preferences. In Auckland, the development of a spatial plan emphasizing intensification has attracted opposition from residents, reinforcing a notion that compact housing is largely unappealing. Utilizing a housing pathways approach, we question this notion through examining the housing narratives of Generation Y, a cohort whose preferences are largely ignored in this debate and poorly understood within housing research. This paper highlights the influence of past experiences on attitudes to changing urban environments, providing several themes related to housing experiences that have the potential to influence preferences. We conclude that a process of ‘acclimatisation’ to density is likely as Generation Y become exposed to higher-density housing. However, to encourage positive experiences, compact dwellings must attend to the dynamic nature of contemporary housing pathways and provide quality housing, located where young people aspire to live.     

The Significance of Demographic Change in the Swiss Approach to Private Rented Housing: A Potential for Ageing in Place?

Recent findings indicate that changing social constructions of age are mirrored in a growing desire for autonomous living in later life. This individualised concept is referred to as ‘ageing in place’. This paper discusses the challenges for the housing industry and examines to what extent maintenance and development strategies of Swiss real estate investors are meeting the changing demands of older people. Drawing on a number of case studies in Switzerland the paper concludes that investors' concepts of older people and their needs are not merely out of step with the reality of older people's lives and choices but obstruct the desire to age in place. Furthermore, an analysis of the market potential of older people's wish to stay in their present home demonstrates that some investors may be failing to exploit serious business opportunities that could arise from providing services to older people.     

Social Mix Discourse and Local Resistance to Social Housing: The Case of the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan,Australia

In response to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–2009, the Australian government introduced the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan. Central to the plan was the allocation of AU$5 billion to the construction of 19 000 new social housing dwellings. The construction was seen by the Australian government to be a way of stimulating the economy and adding to the social housing sector. While social housing construction was supported by the not-for-profit sector and academics, a number of localised disputes arose. This article traces the ways in which the discourse of social mix was mobilised by residents to resist social housing construction. Simultaneously, the discourse of social mix was used to position residents as supporters of social housing, while actively seeking to resist new construction in their neighbourhood, which was positioned as running counter to the ideals embedded within the discourse. In promoting the perceived benefits embedded within the discourse of social mix, residents mobilised a complex resistance strategy that worked to destabilise claims of self-interest and NIMBYism.     

Homeless young people ‘strategizing’ a route to housing stability: service fatigue,exiting attempts and living ‘off grid’

Abstract

While access to housing has been identified as a crucial enabler to young people exiting homelessness, relatively little is known about the experiences of youth who encounter barriers in their attempts to secure housing. Mobilizing a pathways approach, this paper examines homeless young people’s experiences of seeking housing in a context of housing market forces that blocked their efforts to carve a route out of homelessness. The research, which is biographical and longitudinal, was conducted in Ireland between 2013 and 2016 and involved the collection of data at two points in time. At baseline, 40 young people aged 16–24 years and 10 of their family members were recruited (Phase 1) and, at the point of follow-up two years later (Phase 2), 74% of participants were retained in the study. By Phase 2, just 24% of the study’s young people were housed, pointing to significant barriers of access to housing. Moving beyond the identification of the impact of housing market forces on young people’s ability to exit homelessness, the analysis examines young people’s responses, focussing on the strategies used by them as they attempted to reclaim autonomy and control over their housing futures. Implications for the development of sustainable housing solutions that specifically cater to the needs of homeless youth are discussed.