Enhancing affordable housing policy through green building principles: An integrated participatory system modelling approach

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Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Eng & Built Env
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
This thesis establishes new insights into the provision of affordable, operationally efficient rental housing in Australia, within the context of government-supported affordable rental housing schemes. A revision to the Australian ‘Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator’ (AHBA) model is proposed, which includes the integration of a green building mandate on affordable rental housing stock and the utilisation of sustainable financing pathways – notably green bonds. Linkages between the operational utility efficiency of rental housing, sustainable financing avenues, and outcomes for low- and middle-income households are investigated; furthermore, how ongoing operational utility efficiencies, achieved through green building principles, may be captured to improve the efficacy of government social support schemes as a system is examined. This research has implications for the Australian affordable housing sector. This thesis applies a mixed-methods approach to address and synthesise the following three concepts: 1) Green building principles as a demand-side subsidy to improve tenant outcomes within affordable housing policy. A case study is presented. 2) The application of green versus conventional housing bonds as a financing mechanism for affordable housing policy. A systematic literature review is undertaken to reveal plausible financing cost savings and ‘green premium’ determinants. 3) Lastly, an operational system dynamics model is developed to examine the outcomes of the AHBA in South East Queensland, and also to forecast the implications for integrating green building principles, including green bonds, against environmental, social, and economic outcomes. First, this research engages with a case study to investigate the financial value of green building principles within South East Queensland. Rising energy, water, and gas costs exert increasing financial pressure on low- and middle-income rental households, which are often subject to issues of split-incentives. The s