Regeneration in Public Housing

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Australia's public housing is not adequately providing safe and secure housing for the disadvantaged and needy. This paper will demonstrate the issues that arise from the poorly planned public housing developments, particularly the issues concerning spatial concentration of commission homes in low socio-economic areas. Australian government agencies are currently exploring solutions to the problems caused by public housing estates, developed primarily following World War II to address the shortage of housing. These homes built around the period of 1940-1960 have created 'stressed' suburbs (National Archives of Australia, 2011). The physical problems of aged infrastructure and inadequately designed housing reflect only part of the issues faced by tenants who are increasingly characterised by poverty, high unemployment and low education levels. Moreover, “within some estates crime and incidences of violence are increasing and tenants are more likely to have involvement with crime as a victim and/or offender” (Athurson, 2002, p. 3).

This essay will reveal the need to create a more balanced social mix throughout suburbs and regions in Australia to stop the cycle of disadvantage. Moreover, it will provide information on the current issues surrounding social housing, the authorities’ proposals for a resolution and the expected benefits that should result from the new approach to public housing developments. Various strategies are being tested throughout estates in Australia to resolve the issues manifested in large social housing estates. The Carlton High Rise Renewal is an example of a successful approach to public housing regeneration and this should be incorporated in more public housing estates such as West Hei...

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...lopment (OECD) (1998), new policies are aiming to encourage integration of communities to hopefully expand opportunities for the people. Government bodies are always developing new ways to improve the social balance within neighbourhoods but unfortunately these drafts are not always taken in to action (Jamrozik, 2005). A recent draft report by the European Council on Employment and Social Policy (European Commission, 2001, p1) refers to the socially excluded as people being “prevented from participating fully in the economic, social or political life of the nation”. There is extensive agreement with Atkinson’s (2002, p. 4) belief that social exclusion leads to “poverty, income inequality, low educational qualifications, labour market disadvantage, joblessness, poor health, poor housing or homelessness, illiteracy and innumeracy”.

Works Cited

atkinson, k, 2002

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