Andrea Sharam

Understanding the nexus between poverty and homelessness: Relational poverty analysis of families experiencing homelessness in Australia

Abstract This article aims to improve understanding of the nexus between poverty and homelessness, with a particular focus on families with children. It draws on relational poverty analysis which analyses the processes, structures and social relations which create and sustain poverty. The article is based on a longitudinal and qualitative study of Australian families with children during and after periods of homelessness, which found that the families experienced not only a lack of material resources but also the social and other processes that impoverish, exclude and disempower, including exposure to violence, lack of family and institutional support, and pressure to relinquish children. The participants had a strong social identity as families and actively resisted the marginalization and individuation processes they encountered. The article argues that conceptualizing homelessness as a process of “destitution” can provide a theoretical basis for understanding the relationship between poverty and homelessness which to date remains remarkably unexplored.

Security in retirement. The impact of housing and key critical life events

The proportion of aged persons in Australia is set to increase significantly, posing many challenges. Amongst these is the growing number of households who lack housing security in retirement. The Age Pension in Australia is set at a comparatively low rate compared to other developed countries, reflecting an historical period when home ownership rates were high. xa0A decline in home ownership and the residualisation of the social housing sector, and the consequential increase in the proportion of low-income households in poorly regulated private rental housing however have meant the social insurance role of secure housing is not available to an increasing number of aged Australians. In this paper we examine tenure, wealth, gender, educational attainment and relationship status over time of recently retired Australians and those at midlife to identify key factors that influence households’ accumulation of wealth and thus their security in retirement. Using cross-sectional data from the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s Survey of Income and Housing, longitudinal data from the Household, Income Labour Dynamics Australia survey, and qualitative interviews with divorcees we find that gender, educational attainment, changes in relationship status and housing market conditions have a significant impact on wealth accumulation and tenure. Our findings indicate that social change, and adverse ‘critical life events’ (Stone et al 2015) have significant impacts on households by and at midlife, and beyond. Of particular concern is that the housing market itself is a key source of wealth accumulation and dispossession. A very marked outcome is that to be private renter at 45 years of age is likely to mean being a renter and highly impoverished, in retirement. The number and proportion of older, lone person households has increased dramatically albeit that men and women tend to have different trajectories into poverty.

Making apartments affordable: Moving from speculative to deliberative development

Urban consolidation policies in Australia presuppose apartments as the new dominant housing type, but much of what the market has delivered is criticised as over-development, and as being generic, poorly-designed, environmentally unsustainable and unaffordable. In contrast to the usual focus on planning regulation and construction costs as the primary issues needing to be addressed in order to increase the supply of quality, affordable apartment housing this paper uses Ball’s (1983) ‘structure of provision’ approach to outline the key processes informing apartment development to reveal a substantial gap in critical understanding of how apartments are developed in Australia, and identifies economic problems not previously considered by policymakers. Using mainstream economic analysis to review the market itself, the authors found high search costs, demand risk, problems with exchange, and lack of competition present key barriers to achieving greater affordability and limit the extent to which ‘speculative’ developers can respond to the preferences of would be owner-occupiers of apartments. The existing development model, which is reliant on capturing uplift in site value, suits investors seeking rental yields in the first instance and capital gains in the second instance, and actively encourages housing price inflation. This is exacerbated by lack of density restrictions, such as have existed in inner Melbourne for many years, which permits greater yields on redevelopment sites. The price of land in the vicinity of such redevelopment sites is pushed up as landholders expectation of future yield is raised. All too frequently existing redevelopment sites go back onto the market as vendors seek to capture the uplift in site value and exit the project in a risk free manner. The paper proposes three major reforms. Firstly, that the market for apartment development be re-designed following insights from the economic field of ‘Market Design’ (a branch of Game Theory). A two-sided matching market for new apartments is proposed, where demand-side risks can be mitigated via consumer aggregation. Secondly, consumers should be empowered through support forxa0 ‘deliberative’, or ‘do-it-yourself’ (DYI) development models, in order to increase competition, expand access, and promote responsiveness to consumer needs and preferences. Finally, planning schemes need to impose density restrictions (in the form of height limits, floor space ratios or bedroom quotas) in localities where housing demand is high, in order to dampen speculation and de-risk development by creating certainty. However restrictions on over-development on larger infill sites needs to be offset by permitting intensification of ‘greyfield’ suburbs. Aggregating existing housing lots to enable precinct regeneration and moderate height and density increases would permit better use of airspace thus allowing design outcomes that can optimise land use while retaining amenity.

Identifying the financial barriers to deliberative, affordable apartment development in Australia

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to identify the financial barriers to the supply of affordable apartments in Australia and examine whether demand aggregation and “deliberative development” (self-build) can form a new affordable housing “structure of provision”. Design/methodology/approach - – Market design, an offshoot of game theory, is used to analyse the existing apartment development model, with “deliberative development” proposed as an innovative alternative. Semi-structured interviews with residential development financiers are used to evaluate whether deliberative development could obtain the requisite development finance. Findings - – This investigation into the financial barriers of a deliberative development model suggests that, while there are hurdles, these can be addressed if key risks in the exchange process can be mitigated. Hence, affordability can be enhanced by “deliberative development” replacing the existing speculative development model. Research limitations/implications - – Market design is a new innovative theoretical approach to understand the supply of housing, offering practical solutions to affordable apartment supply in Australia. Originality/value - – This research identifies financial barriers to the supply of affordable apartments; introduces theoretical understandings gained from market design as an innovative solution; and provides evidence that a new structure of building provision based on “deliberative development” could become a key means of achieving more affordable and better designed apartments.

Inquiry into social impact investment for housing and homelessness outcomes

This research investigated Social impact investment (SII), which aims to generate and actively measure social and financial returns. There are several promising SII models—including housing supply bonds, property funds, funding social enterprises, social impact bonds and social impact loans. Effective SII requires suppliers of goods and services, intermediaries, suppliers of capital, government and beneficiaries to work together.

The voices of midlife women facing housing insecurity in Victoria, Australia

Single, older women in the State of Victoria, Australia, have emerged as a group experiencing housing insecurity and being highly vulnerable to homelessness in their old age. A sizable demographic cohort, it is a group that could overwhelm the existing homelessness service system. One of the most surprising aspects of this trend is their propensity to be tertiary educated. Focus groups revealed ‘critical life events’ as significant, and a shared ‘control belief’ in the value of education. Given that education is a key means by which Australian governments seek to remedy homelessness, the entry of educated women into the homelessness population suggests policy needs to re-examine homelessness causation and explicitly apply a gender-lens.

The barriers to re-purposing not-for-profit real property assets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers to the re-purposing of under-utilised real property assets owned by Australian not-for-profit (“NFP”) organisations for affordable housing provision. Design/methodology/approach – Exploratory research was undertaken with five diverse (non-housing) NFP organisations. Findings – The research indicates that NFP organisations who are not principally engaged in housing provision, but hold surplus or under-utilised land and property assets, may be willing partners in affordable housing provision. However a range of institutional and structural barriers would need to be overcome for housing developments to occur on under-utilised NFP organisations land holdings. Research limitations/implications – The small scale of the study limits generalisation from the research findings. However, the findings point to an opportunity for innovation in housing land supply that warrants larger scale research. Practical implications – This research provides evidence ...