Miriam Maina is a researcher at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She previously worked at the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa and is interested in creating more equitable urban spaces1.
Affordablehousingaction.org asked Dr. Maina for her thoughts on our post: On The Logic Of Locating Deeply Affordable Housing Close To Work Opportunities, which discusses policies for building social housing in urban centres in South Africa.
Dr. Maina responded, “the challenge emerging in the field (especially in Metropolitan areas) is how to ensure that affordable/low-income housing is developed in well-located areas, which tend to be more high-value land.”
Dr. Maina also identified the value of having good data about available land, resident incomes and what is being built, in order to evaluate the results of policies intended to build more affordable/low-income housing. As she pointed out, “there is a mismatch between policy intent and implementation, which is a challenge to be faced in all of [South Africa’s] large urban centers.”
South Africa is not alone
Housing advocates and planners in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. face similar challenges when providing reasonably priced housing close to work opportunities in urban areas. Current policy and funding programs are adding very few affordable homes to the housing stock in urban areas where land prices are so high.
Good data is also an issue, starting with the definition of “affordable.” Affordability is commonly linked to private market rents, which are rising faster than incomes. Using “affordable” in this way separates it from any meaning that is useful in understanding whether policies are providing housing that is affordable for people with very low incomes2.
How do international connections help housing advocates, academics and planners?
While there are obvious parallels in the challenges of building affordable/low-income housing in close-to-work opportunities, can international connections really make a difference?
It certainly seems to be that way in the related field of youth homelessness. Connections among researchers and policy makers in Australia, Canada and Europe have supported the expansion of proven strategies that help young people to avoid becoming homeless. Here’s an article in the European Journal of Homelessness, which describes that process and the results: Social Innovation in Preventing Homelessness amongst Young People in Canada and Wales: International Engagement as a Key Driver
To expand international connections regarding inclusionary housing policies (and other aspects of housing equity), you can reach Dr. Maina at binti.m@gmail.com
Footnotes
- We found Dr. Maina through Quote This Woman +, a non-profit that is based in South Africa and working to expand the voice of women in the media. Quote This Woman + maintains a data base of experts in housing and affordability issues as well as a much wider range of subjects, including youth, health, disability, business, environment and foreign policy.
- The terms “deeply” affordable or “truly” affordable are often used to link housing costs to people’s incomes, and are a better indicator of homes that will actually be affordable for people with very low incomes.
