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A fresh look at contemporary perspectives on urban housing affordability

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  • Marietta E. A. Haffner
  • Kath Hulse

Abstract

The literature on housing affordability has grown rapidly since Hulchanski [1995, p. 489. The concept of housing affordability: six contemporary uses of the housing expenditure-to-income ratio. Housing Studies, 10(4), 471–491] declared that housing researchers should avoid using the term since it is not a robust concept and measurement often lacks validity. In the ensuing 24 years, however, scholars have continued to debate the definition and measurement of housing affordability as well as the prevalence and type of ‘housing affordability problems’ in various countries. This paper is a think piece which takes a fresh look at housing affordability as a concept which has persisted despite considerable contestation and scepticism about its use. It provides a critical and multi-disciplinary assessment of housing affordability starting with early conceptualization of the nexus between economic principles and social norms about housing and living standards to a reworking of housing affordability in the twenty-first century as an urban issue affecting lower and middle-income households in cities, as a consequence of the financialization of housing and urban restructuring. It argues that the housing affordability concept has been repurposed such that the focus is less on understanding housing expenditures in contributing to poverty and disadvantage within the domain of social policy and more on the urban policy challenges of growing inequities in access to urban resources. The paper highlights the challenges for urban policy in adopting and adapting rather than rejecting a multi-dimensional concept of housing affordability and consequently the importance of new ways of measuring urban housing affordability.

Suggested Citation

  • Marietta E. A. Haffner & Kath Hulse, 2021. "A fresh look at contemporary perspectives on urban housing affordability," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(S1), pages 59-79, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjusxx:v:25:y:2021:i:s1:p:59-79
    DOI: 10.1080/12265934.2019.1687320
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    Cited by:

    1. Frederik Schröder, 2023. "Linkages Between Property Prices and Macroeconomic Determinants: Evidence from Germany," ACTA VSFS, University of Finance and Administration, vol. 17(2), pages 145-160.
    2. Shahfahad & Swapan Talukdar & Mohd. Rihan & Hoang Thi Hang & Sunil Bhaskaran & Atiqur Rahman, 2022. "Modelling urban heat island (UHI) and thermal field variation and their relationship with land use indices over Delhi and Mumbai metro cities," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 3762-3790, March.
    3. Crowe, Adam & Rowley, Steven, 2024. "Measuring housing affordability: Scoping the real cost of housing," SocArXiv hg4c3, Center for Open Science.
    4. Zarul Azhar Nasir & Noormahayu Mohd Nasir & Muhammad Adidinizar Zia Ahmad Kusairee & Siti Nur’Amalina Syeddin & Nor Zarina Mohd Salim, 2023. "Evaluating the Nexus between Monetary Sector Variables and Housing Affordability in Malaysia," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 15(4), pages 31-40.
    5. Załęczna Magdalena & Antczak-Stępniak Agata, 2022. "“Lex Developer” in Practice - The Scale of Application in the Largest Polish Cities," Real Estate Management and Valuation, Sciendo, vol. 30(3), pages 86-97, September.

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