NIMBY

• "For all its high-level socialism, Latin America is in many ways a place where it's easier to own a home, start a business, or move as you choose," said Scott Beyer, the author of "Latin America's Urban Experience."
• "California shouldn't copy everything about Latin America -- especially the socialism that is built into its political history and fabric.
• But state policymakers would do well to learn from the best aspects of Latin America's urban policy."
• PRI's Free Cities Center cultivates innovative ideas to improve urban life based around freedom and property rights -- not government.

• Up for Growth , a cross-sector member network committed to solving the nation’s housing shortage and affordability crisis through data-driven research and evidence-based policy, today released its second annual report, Housing Underproduction in the U.S. 2023 , a longitudinal study tracking nationwide housing underproduction from 2012-2021.
• In fact, the number of counties across the U.S. experiencing underproduction increased 32 percent, with the bulk of the increase in suburbs and small towns.
• “On its surface, an easing of the housing shortage in urban areas seems like positive news for homeowners and renters.
• Due to a sudden and dramatic drop in unit delivery, housing underproduction increased by 47.8 percent in small towns.

• This NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) resistance has led to urban sprawl in areas of Western Sydney with a well-documented lack of services, infrastructure and jobs.
• Recent research showed affluent Sydney communities closer to the city centre are highly influential and organised in resisting development in their neighbourhoods.
• Read more:
  Jobs deficit drives army of daily commuters out of Western Sydney

The ethnic divide is growing

• As the chart below shows, most residential development has been in the outer suburbs, 30-40km from the city centre.
• NSW Department of Planning and Environment population projections for 2021-2041 suggest the vast majority of population growth is going to be in these outer areas.
• The map below shows inner local council areas will grow much more slowly than the outer ones.
• As the map below shows, the concentration of the non-white population in outer areas is also increasing at a much faster rate.

And the trend is set to continue

• The report forecasts about 27% (64,000 a year) of the international migrants will settle in Greater Sydney.
• Natural population increase (births minus deaths) for Greater Sydney is estimated to be around 36,000 a year.
• So most of the city’s population growth is going to be from international migration.
• Migration data from recent years also indicate this trend is likely to continue or even grow.

By reducing the ethnic divide, Sydney will be better off

• He recommends the government shift its focus to higher-density housing in the CBD and inner suburbs.
• Continued urban sprawl on former farmlands and natural woodlands in outer Western Sydney is leading to poorer economic, sustainability and climate outcomes.
• There is a need for further research on the relationship between ethnic segregation and our decisions on what to build and where.
• We need to better understand NIMBYs’ motivations for opposing all development in their areas and the systemic racism resulting from this resistance.

• The federal budget will be handed down today, and housing will be a key talking point.
• While home ownership has been the Australian tradition, it should not be the only option for secure and affordable housing.
• Rental housing policies, as opposed to policies aimed at construction, have an immediate widespread impact on housing affordability and security of tenure.

5 policies for rental housing

• Such policies typically accompany caps on annual rent increases.
• This can be in the form of housing vouchers delivered directly to tenants.
• The amounts of rental assistance should be adjusted to reflect the actual rental cost trends of recent years.
• To avoid stigmatisation and ghettoisation, social housing should house people on a range of incomes.
• This puts them at risk of exploitation and increases the overall housing pressure.

5 policies for home ownership

• If enough housing is built to meet buyer demand, and the population remains stable in an area, house prices at the metropolitan level will reduce.
• Height bonuses and tax incentives should be provided to developers who build dense housing – especially in inner cities and next to public transport stations.
• It stems from upper-income classes who cast themselves as progressives defending the local character while in fact they seek exclusivity.
• This type of housing is for people in crisis situations, such as victims of domestic violence, or who are homeless.
• It largely pays for itself because it offsets the social costs of homelessness and offers major benefits for the beneficiaries.

The risks of sticking to the status quo

• Why was the crisis allowed to develop in the first place?
• Because many profit a great deal from a broken housing system – disregarding the inequalities and gentrification waves that come about as a result.
• Australian society should come to share an understanding that a dwelling is a space needed for living.