Briefs

Internationally, improving the environmental sustainability of residential property has been identified as an important way to ensure that economic stimulus spending is invested wisely. It can reduce energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions, improve comfort and health and support employment in the construction sector.

The AHURI-HUD International Housing Policy Exchange highlighted the role of social and economic inequality in health outcomes. The participating countries all reported people with inadequate housing who lived in low socio-economic areas were disproportionately affected by the virus.

This AHURI Brief summarises the activities already undertaken by local governments in responding to the challenges created by COVID-19. It draws on the findings of the COVID-19 Policy Exchange: Local Approaches to Pandemic Recovery, held in late 2020.

This AHURI Brief, and the series that follow, draw on themes that emerged from an International Housing Policy Exchange convened by AHURI, in collaboration with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in late 2020.

A key focus of the AHURI an US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) International Housing Policy Exchange was the response to helping people who are homeless and on the streets (i.e. ‘rough sleepers’) find appropriate housing or shelter during the pandemic.