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International practice in planning for affordable housing

Summary

Project Number: 60322
Research Theme: Housing_affordability, Urban_planning_and_development
Project Leader: Gurran, Nicole
Funding Year: 2006
Research Centre: Sydney

Research & Policy Bulletin

Issue 105: International practice in planning for affordable housing: lessons for Australia

Australia's land use planning system could be enhanced to better support and promote affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households.

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Description

The research combined a review of literature and documented practice on planning for affordable housing within Australia and in North America and Europe, using case studies of approaches used in 18 local planning jurisdictions in the six countries studied. The cases were selected to offer a range of approaches used within different geographical and governance settings.

The case studies enable an examination of the implementation conditions, success factors and/or constraints associated with each approach, and provide the evidence base for assessing potential transfer to Australian contexts. As well as an analysis of primary legislation, policy and planning instruments, this component of the study included structured interviews and consultations with policy officers and planners at state, regional and local levels.

The key findings of the research are:

• The land use planning system plays a central role in promoting housing affordability in many cities of the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America and the Netherlands, by ensuring that the planned supply of new housing matches demand. The planning system also plays an important role in preserving existing dwellings and creating new housing that is affordable for low- and moderate-income earners.
• Planning approaches for affordability and new affordable housing creation can be grouped under five key strategic objectives: increasing housing supply; reducing barriers to affordable housing development; preserving and offsetting the loss of low-cost housing; encouraging new affordable housing; and seeking a dedicated affordable housing supply in new developments.
• Different planning mechanisms will be effective in delivering these outcomes in different market contexts. For example, in high-growth areas, protective mechanisms may be required to retain existing levels of low-cost housing, whereas in areas of lower land value non-financial incentives could be introduced that encourage a proportion of the development to be set aside for purchase by social housing providers or low-income households.
• In contrast to international practice, to date there has been only sporadic and localised implementation of planning approaches for affordable housing in Australia. A strong, nationally coordinated and consistent approach is needed that incorporates overarching planning system improvements and includes a range of specific planning mechanisms to retain, promote and create new affordable housing.
  

More Information

Positioning Paper: No. 099: International practice in planning for affordable housing: lessons for Australia
562 Kb PDF Document

Final Report: No. 120: New directions in planning for affordable housing: Australian and international evidence and implications
937 KB PDF Document

Research and Policy Bulletin: Issue 105: International practice in planning for affordable housing: lessons for Australia
175 KB PDF Document