Data Spotlight:

Inclusive Housing

Housing is a cornerstone of equitable urban development, shaping people’s ability to live with stability, dignity, and security in cities. Across different local contexts, challenges related to housing affordability, adequacy, and access continue to affect who can remain in their communities and who faces displacement or housing insecurity. These challenges are shaped by structural factors such as housing markets, income distribution, and planning systems, and they are not experienced evenly. People with low incomes, larger households, newcomers, and others facing structural barriers in housing markets are often disproportionately affected.

Throughout this section, indicators are presented in ways that reflect local realities and priorities, recognizing that cities emphasize different aspects of housing equity depending on their context, data systems, and policy tools.

Housing affordability reflects the extent to which people can access housing that aligns with their income and household needs. In practice, affordability pressures everyday housing choices, particularly for households with limited options in the local market. It is shaped by broader economic, market, and policy conditions and is not the sole responsibility of local government. Addressing it requires coordinated action across different levels of government and the housing sector. Within this context, the City of Newcastle uses the levers available to support improved housing outcomes locally.

Newcastle housing affordability definition:

Affordable housing and affordable rental housing in Newcastle refers to housing that is affordable for households on very low to moderate incomes. Income categories are defined as a proportion of median household income:

Very low income: up to 50 percent;
Low income: 50 to 80 percent;
Moderate income: 80 to 120 percent.

Based on Newcastle’s definition of housing affordability, 3,839 households in Newcastle were identified as being in need of affordable housing, with families representing the largest share of those seeking support. At the same time, the local rental market offers few affordable alternatives: over a twelve-month period, only 309 rental properties were accessible to households with low income.

5.8%

of all households in Newcastle
are unable to access market
priced rentals.

This figure reflects households whose income levels effectively exclude them from the private rental market, illustrating how constrained housing options can intensify insecurity for people already facing structural barriers in the housing system.

In response to these challenges, the City of Newcastle focuses on increasing the supply of affordable rental housing, improving housing diversity, and addressing both long-term and immediate housing pressures. This includes setting a citywide affordable housing target of 15 percent, applying evidence-based targets for urban renewal and new developments, leveraging planning controls and contributions, and collaborating with community housing providers, government, Aboriginal Land Councils, and industry to deliver solutions.

In Austin, housing affordability is approached through a different local lens. Austin measures affordability based on its capacity to produce or preserve affordable housing units.

Austin housing affordability definition:
Housing affordability in Austin is defined as the availability of housing units affordable to households earning up to 80% of the median family income, where housing costs do not exceed 30% of household income.

Since 2018, Austin has added 11,934 affordable units as part of a long-term goal to deliver 60,000 affordable homes by 2030.

This indicator reflects how local planning tools, funding mechanisms, and policy choices shape access to affordable housing in a rapidly growing city, while also pointing to longer-term efforts to expand supply and reduce displacement pressures.

In Malmö, housing affordability is assessed through indicators such as overcrowding and housing-related financial strain. Overcrowding has remained a persistent challenge, with around 14 percent of households living in overcrowded households, defined as situations where children over the age of 12, or adults who are not a couple, are required to share a bedroom.

At the same time, the share of households experiencing a strained housing economy has steadily decreased over the past decade, dropping from about 13 percent to around 8 percent.

Malmö strained housing economy definition:

In Malmö, a strained housing economy refers to households whose net income does not cover essential living costs, including housing and food, based on the average regional rent large enough to avoid overcrowding.

While spatial constraints continue to shape residents’ experiences of home, fewer households now face severe pressure in meeting essential living costs, pointing to gradual improvements alongside remaining challenges.

To support affordability, Malmö uses social bonds to fund investments that improve living conditions for disadvantaged groups. In 2025, the City of Malmö issued its first social bond worth SEK 600 million. At the end of the year, there were eight approved investments with a total value of approximately SEK 1.2 billion. For example, this funded affordable housing in Sege Park, increasing supply of affordable housing through new construction and freed-up housing in existing stock. The rent in these newbuilt or renovated houses are approximately 12-20% below the average rent in the city, making them affordable and accessible to the majority of the residents in Malmö.

Homelessness is a complex housing challenge shaped by structural factors such as income inequality, housing market pressures, segregation, and access to social support. There is no single definition of homelessness that fits all contexts, and cities use different indicators to reflect their local realities and data systems.

Austin homelessness definition:

Homelessness in Austin is defined though the Homeless Response System and refers to people who interact with homelessness service at any point during the year. This includes people facing both short-term and prolonged housing instability through local programmes.

Building on Austin’s homelessness definition, the city places particular emphasis on disaggregating homelessness data by race, reflecting local priorities and historical context. This approach acknowledges that people of color experience homelessness at disproportionate rates due to structural factors such as segregation, disinvestment, and unequal access to housing and economic opportunities, and supports more targeted and equitable responses.

Grounded in a clear and ambitious vision that everyone has access to stable housing and the support they need to thrive, the Austin Homeless Strategy and Operations Strategic Plan establishes a roadmap for systemwide leadership, targeted investments, and measurable outcomes. The plan reflects eight months of listening, analysis, and collaboration with residents, service providers, public agencies, and community partners and centers on five focus areas: System Leadership, Impactful Community Investments, Crisis Response, Communications, and Investing in People.

In Malmö, homelessness data is disaggregated by children and adults, reflecting the city’s local context and highlighting how homelessness affects people differently depending on age and household composition.

Malmö homelessness definition:

In Malmö, homelessness includes people who are rough sleeping or living in temporary accommodation, those leaving institutions without secure housing, and households living in insecure housing arrangements, such as long-term social rentals or short-term private rental contracts.

This distinction draws attention to the specific challenges associated with family homelessness, as well as differing pathways into homelessness and support needs for adults. By separating these groups, Malmö’s indicator supports a nuanced understanding of lived conditions and helps inform responses tailored to different life stages. From 2021 to 2023 the number of adults experiencing homelessness decreased from 1,897 to 1,288, while the number of children declined from 635 to 322.

In Newcastle, homelessness is measured using census data and a statistical definition developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with data disaggregated to better understand who is most affected.

Newcastle homelessness definition:

In Newcastle, homelessness is defined as situations where people do not have fixed suitable accommodation. It includes living arrangements in a dwelling that is inadequate, has limited or no tenure, or denies space for social relations. It can include sleeping rough, couch surfing and staying in unstable or overcrowded accommodation.

Census data shows that the number of people experiencing homelessness increased from 657 in 2011 to 1,081 in 2021. Over the same period, the number of people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander also increased, representing around 10 percent of the homeless population in 2021. This reflects broader structural challenges related to access to housing, income, and support systems.

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