Barriers and opportunities for medium density housing in small, regional cities: Stakeholder perspectives from Cairns
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
Medium Density Housing (MDH) is advocated for sustainable urban growth while retaining the amenity and liveability of lower-density urban forms. Despite these advantages, affordable and diverse MDH proves challenging to implement in suburbs with access to employment and services. While scholars do explore barriers and solutions to implementing MDH in Australia, regional city contexts are less understood. Stakeholder perspectives on MDH and its implementation are also limited. This research presents a stakeholder analysis in the regional city of Cairns to address these important gaps. The research employs a case study approach including semi-structured interviews with 19 stakeholders across public and private sectors: developers, architects/building designers, government and industry planners and real estate agents. Stakeholders expressed barriers that are well-documented in the literature–such as the risk-averse nature of the finance sector–but also note key regional differences such as land constraints in world heritage areas, poor public transport, distance from supply chains, soaring insurance costs and susceptibility to cyclones. In the face of these challenges, Cairns stakeholders argue for certain forms of MDH alongside strategic planning, leadership, cross-sectoral and community engagement to support effective MDH infill. These insights are pertinent to other regional cities struggling with MDH in low density contexts.
Journal
Australian Planner
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N/A
Volume
58
ISBN/ISSN
2150-6841
Edition
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Issue
3-4
Pages Count
15
Location
N/A
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
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Publisher Location
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Url
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Date
N/A
EISSN
N/A
DOI
10.1080/07293682.2023.2183225