Judy Stubbs

1
Social sustainability and housing

• Judy Stubbs
• University of Western Sydney
• Presentation to NCOSS/Shelter NSW Bursting at
  the seams? conference,
• Parramatta, 1 November 2004

2
Social Sustainability

• Origin of social sustainability in earlier
  concerns re physical environment
• Agenda 21
• A goal of sustainable development should be to
  ensure socially responsible development while
  protecting the physical and social resource base
  for the benefit of future generations (UN 1992)
• Access to safe and healthy shelter is
  essential to a person's physical,
  psychological, social and economic well-being and
  should be a fundamental part of national and
  international action on sustainability (UN
  1992)
• The importance of participation, particularly of
  those most marginal in society

3
The Precautionary Principle

• The Precautionary Principle
• when there is a possibility of serious or
  irreversible harm to the environment, protective
  action should be taken in advance of scientific
  proof of harm. Hence the precautionary
  principle serves to anticipate and prevent damage
  to the environment (Harding and Fisher 1999, p.
  v).

4
Affordable housing central to concerns of
social sustainability

•      Access to safe and healthy shelter for all
  should be placed at the centre of any debate
  about social sustainability of Sydney and its
  related regions.
•  
• The need to anticipate the impact upon the
  availability to safe and healthy shelter of any
  planning or policy decisions is vital.
•  
• Maintenance and creation of affordable and
  appropriate housing thus becomes a vital concern
  for questions of social sustainability.

5
Housing Affordability in Sydney

• No. of first homebuyers halved since 2001 despite
  low interest rates (Powell and Withers 2004).
• There are no LGAs in Sydney where h/h on median
  income can afford to buy and very few where can
  afford to rent (Berry Hall 2000)
• Rental stress affects a high proportion of
  those on Commonwealth Rental Assistance even in
  low housing cost areas (Powell and Withers 2004)
• Despite mechanisms to protect affordable
  non-strata-subdivided flats boarding houses
  (e.g.NSW SEPP 10) 60 of affordable flats and
  units lost in the 15 years to 2001 in Sydney and
  Wollongong (Stubbs 2003)
• Affordable housing retention as well as creation
  is a vital issue for urban sustainability
  social justice

6

• Q1 How can we move affordable housing to the
  centre of policy considerations and action as a
  vital component of social urban sustainability?
  

7

• Q 2 How can we balance the need for improvements
  to the housing and infrastructure in key areas
  with the retention and creation of affordable
  housing in these areas?

8

• Q3 How do we deal with the need for appropriate
  and affordable housing for older people as a high
  priority?