Edgar Liu

The Factors Driving the Escalation of Community Opposition to Affordable Housing Development

Abstract Community opposition to locally unwanted development is not inherently problematic, but it can be destructive where conflict between proponents and objectors escalates. This paper relates mixed-methods findings from a Sydney case-study where opposition to planned affordable housing projects was widespread but uneven. Five factors are identified that escalated individual opposition campaigns in this case: public notification procedures; sense of injustice; prejudice; strong campaign leadership; and the involvement of politicians. We argue that these factors will likely also escalate opposition to the planned development of other forms of critical social infrastructure, and that an understanding of them can help minimise destructive conflicts between proponents and host communities.

Feeling at Home in a Multigenerational Household: The Importance of Control

Abstract The importance of property ownership for feelings of control and ontological security has received significant academic attention. Yet tenure may not be the only indicator of control over one’s dwelling. This paper considers the importance of control within the household in relation to household members’ feelings of home and highlights the importance of one’s relationship with other household members and their relative control over decision-making and the use of space. It draws upon research on multigenerational households in Australian cities, including a survey (n = 392), diaries (n = 21) and interviews (n = 21). Individuals’ feelings of home were influenced by their sense of control over their dwellings, which varied for different household members. This has significant implications for research on the meaning of home, and suggests that important synergies are possible between researchers concerned with the form and nature of social interactions within the family and housing researchers concerned with the meaning of home.

Changing perceptions of family: A study of multigenerational households in Australia:

Many people around the world live in households with multiple generations of related adults (multigenerational households). While more prominent in certain cultures, multigenerational living is also an important part of the lives of millions in societies where this arrangement has not been seen as ‘the norm’. Australia is one such case, where one in five people live in a multigenerational household. This article presents findings of a research project on multigenerational households in Australia, including a survey of 392 people, 21 diaries and 21 follow-up interviews to explore how multigenerational household members understand their own experiences of living together. It focuses particularly on whether they feel multigenerational living is a socially accepted living arrangement. The article concludes with a discussion about how these experiences and understandings of multigenerational family members may reflect changing social norms regarding the form and role of families in Australian society.

Challenges in transitioning to low carbon living for lower income households in Australia

ABSTRACT In the move towards low carbon living, the challenges faced by lower income groups are often overlooked. Recent rises in electricity costs disproportionate to income make this a more critical issue. Based on findings from focus group discussions with 164 lower income households and 18 stakeholders across 4 different climate zones in Australia, this paper reveals the barriers that lower income households face in improving their residential energy efficiency and in achieving low carbon living. While limited financial capacity is generally understood as a significant barrier preventing lower income households from taking up technologies to achieve greater energy efficiency and transition to low carbon living, our findings show that a mix of financial and non-financial barriers exist. These include their ability to afford energy efficient household products, control over thermal comfort and energy efficiency levels of their homes, and lack of access to reliable information. These barriers are revealed to have significant impacts on the household finances, health, and social well-being of these lower income households. The concluding discussion puts forward policy suggestions on how some current assistance and incentive programmes encouraging low carbon living could be adjusted to ensure more equitable access, encourage uptake, and improve low carbon outcomes.

Delivering social housing: examining the nexus between social housing and democratic planning

Abstract The construction of social housing in gentrifying neighbourhoods can ignite contestation, revealing tensions between economic imperatives, social policy and neighbourhood change. With a view to understanding how the convergence of these agendas preserve unpopular, but socially critical housing infrastructure, the aim of this paper is to explore how the challenges social housing implementation encounters across these agendas intersect with a broader agenda for local democratic planning. Using social housing as our empirical focus and directing attention to the gentrifying local government area of Port Phillip in Victoria, Australia, this paper reveals how a council’s main asset to support implementation – its policy frameworks – creates an urban narrative of social inclusivity and diversity. Through this case, we illustrate how elected officials and some residents draw from these policies to interject into episodes of community contestation, which we argue presents opportunities to expose and renew commitments to social housing over space and time.

The Australian dream: housing experiences of older Australians

No matter how hard some of us try to deny it, ageing is inevitable. As part of the process, what most of us would wish for is good health and having somewhere to call home. In reality, these are no...

Geographies of adult multigenerational family households in metropolitan Sydney

This paper investigates spatial trends of multigenerational adult families in metropolitan Sydney. Australias immigrant gateway city, Sydney has high housing costs and infrastructure pressures, and planning policies support higher residential densities. In this context, the accommodation of persons living in multigenerational families is examined, by major region of origin, their geographies in Sydney, and by housing costs and constraints. Results highlight that cultural origins were influential in multigenerational household formations, and such formation is higher in areas of first and second ethnic community formation areas. Multigenerational living is also more common in middle ring and outer areas of cheaper housing. Implications are drawn for more nuanced housing policies in Sydney and comparable cities, given that detached and semi-detached houses were favoured by these households, whereas two-fifths of new housing constructed in Sydney in 2011 consists of two or less bedroom apartments.