Australasian Housing Institute, AHI

How do Australian cities compare with global cities when it comes to homelessness?

Bevan Warner from Launch Housing presents their Capital Cities Homelessness Index, an analysis of 10 comparable cities around the world who all have a homelessness problem.

Launch Housing wanted to better understand what homelessness looked like in Australia when compared to other cities globally, as well as learn from the common factors that contribute to homelessness. 


Enter the Capital Cities Homelessness Index – released during National Homelessness Week (7th to 13th August 2023) – which looks at measures and drivers of homelessness in 10 OECD cities. Along with Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, those cities include New York, London, Auckland, Dublin, Toronto, Vancouver and San Francisco. 


The Index considers homelessness based on four measures: 


  1. The proportion of social housing;
  2. Low-income households in rental stress;
  3. The rate of homelessness in a population;
  4. The numbers of people sleeping rough in a population.


An overall ranking was developed, as well as a rating on individual measures.

“Dublin came first out of the 10 cities, meaning it was comparatively the best on the four measures of homelessness.”

How the 10 cities fared


Overall, Dublin came first out of the 10 cities, meaning it was comparatively the best on the four measures of homelessness.


San Francisco – which came 10th, ranked comparatively the poorest. While for all other cities, the number of people sleeping rough represents around 5% of overall homelessness (San Francisco has close to 70% of people experiencing homelessness sleeping rough). 

On the overall ranking, Melbourne came in at equal 6th place with three other cities, while Sydney was equal 3rd, and Adelaide 2nd. 


Homelessness has structural causes


Across all 10 OECD cities, the Index establishes that homelessness is fuelled by structural factors – a lack of affordable housing and tight rental markets. 


This highlights that homelessness has common structural causes; that homelessness is not merely the result of personal or individual failures, but that it occurs where affordable housing options decline and poverty increases.  


These are causes that can only be addressed through significant policy and structural reforms. 


The solution is not housing alone


Fundamental to the solutions, of course, is more affordable homes. We can’t end homelessness without more homes. But we also can’t end it with only more homes.

“We need only look at what the Index tells us about homelessness in London to see how building more homes is not a solution in, and of, itself.”

We need only look at what the Index tells us about homelessness in London to see how building more homes is not a solution in, and of, itself.

 

London scored the best (1st) on proportion of social housing of all 10 cities on the Index, yet worst (10th) on rental stress for people on low incomes, with 95% of all low-income households in London experiencing rental stress. London was also ranked worst (10th) on rates of total homelessness. 

 

More affordable housing will only work when the right healthcare and other supports are in place. This is because there will always be around 15 to 20% of people moving out of homelessness who will need one-off or lifelong support as a result of the trauma they have accumulated that led to homelessness in the first place.

 

Unless we get the prevention and support measures right, paradoxically, we could end up with more homes and more street homelessness.

Melbourne – a liveable city for all?


As a community housing and homelessness services provider for the greater Melbourne area, a focus for Launch Housing is naturally on Melbourne as a city.


While 48% of low-income households in Melbourne live in rental stress, compared to other cities, Melbourne performs relatively well on this measure in the Index, although further cost of living pressures are expected to drive this rating lower in the future.


Historic underinvestment in social housing is where it really bites. Melbourne’s affordable housing supply falls drastically behind the OECD average. Melbourne rates 9th, with just 2.3% of total dwellings available as social housing, well below the 7% OECD average. All the 10 cities have a visible rough sleeping crisis, with Melbourne rating midway at 5th. 


Like many other cities that activated a rapid housing response during the COVID pandemic, temporarily ending rough sleeping, Melbourne’s success in sustaining these measures will be tracked in future editions of the Index.


While Melbourne is not the best, and certainly not the worst, the Index highlights that, across individual measures, Melbourne is not far from slipping.

“We are only one policy cycle from accepting a level of homelessness that we might otherwise have thought unthinkable.” 

A wakeup call

 

This should be a wake-up call for all of us. We are only one policy cycle from accepting a level of homelessness that we might otherwise have thought unthinkable. We don't want Melbourne to become like San Francisco – a wealthy, vibrant city where homelessness is now entrenched.

 

While all of the cities on the Index have a homelessness problem, it is Launch Housing’s hope that this Index will spark closer examination by policy makers of why some cities do better on some measures. We also hope it will enable policymakers to better hone in on solutions.

 

Why does Dublin have the lowest rates of rough sleeping? Why does Adelaide have fewer low-income earners in rental stress than the other nine cities? 

 

Historic underinvestment in public housing

 

In Australia, key to understanding the current housing affordability crisis lies in looking back over half a century at the decline in investment in public housing. In 1971, public housing made up 13% of new dwellings nationally. By 2019, this declined to a mere 1.1%.

 

Australia is beginning to see the necessary investment from state and federal governments in building new affordable housing stock but, while we wait for more homes to be built, cost-of-living pressures continue to rise and homelessness looms larger for more Australians than ever.

“Melburnians now rank homelessness close to climate change as an issue that keeps them awake at night.”

More and more people are increasingly anxious about homelessness. Launch Housing’s own research tells us that Melburnians now rank homelessness close to climate change as an issue that keeps them awake at night.

Zero homelessness is possible

Despite the current housing affordability crisis, Launch Housing remains optimistic about ending homelessness.  


The Melbourne Zero campaign to end homelessness is deliberately positive because we know that an entrenched sense of hopelessness leads to inertia. Melbourne Zero is building a movement of everyday Melburnians and brands that see ending homelessness as a possibility.


If we feel that homelessness can’t be solved, we certainly won’t do anything as individuals, businesses, organisations and governments.


Melbourne Zero is based on the idea that, when people and organisations are informed and empowered to become advocates for ending homelessness, as a community we have demonstrated that the social licence to do something about it exists.

Australia can lead the world

 

Australia is the country that has shown it can be world-leading on many policy fronts: universal healthcare, gun control, our Census, our voting system, and our almost fully matured superannuation system. There is no reason why we can’t work toward the goal of ensuring housing is there for every single person to lead productive and dignified lives.

 

It is Launch Housing’s hope that the Capital Cities Homelessness Index contributes to national discussions about housing affordability, and how the only way to make our cities truly liveable city is by ending homelessness.

 

Download the Capital Cities Homelessness Index and find out more about Melbourne Zero.

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