The housing crisis as an ideological artefact: Analysing how political discourse defines, diagnoses, and responds

Abstract

It is a truism that politicians from countries around the world claim to be in the midst of a 'housing crisis'. But how do they define it, who is affected, and what is the cause? This paper provides a critical evaluation of the emergence and scope of political discourse connected to the housing crisis in New Zealand under three National Party led governments (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017), with a view to better understanding the ways in which the issue has been problematized in politics and operationalized in policy. It finds that although researchers draw upon multiple strands of evidence and recognize housing as a complex problem, the political framing of a housing crisis is simpler and shows a closer relationship to long standing ideological perspectives, notably an inefficient planning system and low supply of development land. This raises critical questions for how housing researchers can better influence politics and challenge both the lived experience of crisis and existing claims of normalcy.

Housing market price movements under tech industry expansion during COVID-19

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Understanding responses to homelessness during COVID-19: an examination of Australia

“…Focusing on New Zealand, White and Nandedkar (2019) have illustrated the importance of political ideology in how housing problems are framed, including how the framing of the problem directly leads to policy solutions that reflect political ideology, i.e., housing affordability is a problem of regulation with less government the supposed solution. Although housing policy to respond to homelessness is not always rationally informed by evidence (Parsell et al, 2014), COVID-19 provides an example of how the public health emergency gained traction because the response became informed by clinical health expertise.…”

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“…Aotearoa New Zealand is no exception, facing a pressing housing shortage that is projected to worsen with anticipated demand growth. The housing 'crisis' in New Zealand has sparked extensive discussions (White & Nandedkar, 2019). Aotearoa New Zealand's response to this crisis, with a primary focus on housing affordability (Austin et al, 2014;Gurran et al, 2014;Wetzstein, 2022), has centred on housing delivery, aiming to augment the housing supply to address present and future demand (McLeay, 2020(McLeay, , 2022Murphy, 2014Murphy, , 2016Richardson, 2022), and to alleviate house prices.…”