A Fresh Look at contemporary perspectives on housing affordability
November 10, 2019 by The literature on housing affordability has expanded significantly since Hulchanski’s 1995 critique, which argued that the term lacks robustness and measurement validity. Despite this, scholars have continued to debate its definition, measurement, and the prevalence of housing affordability problems globally. This paper reexamines the concept, which has persisted despite skepticism. It critically assesses housing affordability from a multidisciplinary perspective, tracing its evolution from early economic and social norms to a contemporary urban issue affecting lower and middle-income households due to the financialization of housing and urban restructuring. The paper argues that the concept has shifted focus from poverty and disadvantage within social policy to addressing urban policy challenges related to inequitable access to urban resources. It emphasizes the need for urban policy to adopt a multidimensional understanding of housing affordability and develop new measurement methods to better address these challenges.