Socially inclusive urban governance in George Town world heritage site: housing affordability concept revisiting

PurposeThe article aims to ascertain the inclusiveness of urban governance in administering affordable housing issues; and to revisit the applicability of the one-third housing cost burden threshold in George Town World Heritage Site (GTWHS) of Penang state of Malaysia from the local perspective.Design/methodology/approachMain data was collected through a 318-respondent survey, complemented by in-depth interviews with key informants.FindingsFindings suggest that housing in GTWHS is generally unaffordable. GTWHS is neither inclusive in its housing governance and administration, nor in terms of its urban livability and sustainability. A re-examination of the applicability of the 30-percent-of-income housing cost burden threshold reveals that the local community generally perceives a “reasonable rent” in GTWHS as being less than one-third of their earnings.Originality/valueFrom a local perspective, the issues of affordable housing, its administration, and the applicability of the 30-percent-of-income housing cost burden threshold in GTWHS have received inadequate attention. These crucial issues are closely linked to the livelihoods of the GTWHS community.