Delivering affordable housing through public-private partnerships: ambiguity, complexity and uncertain technology

The sharp rise in housing prices and rents observed in numerous cities worldwide over the past decade has generated considerable debate on housing affordability. While housing affordability now holds a prominent position on political agendas, governments are grappling with the challenge of identifying suitable processes and participants to address this problem. Recognising that relying solely on private or public sector approaches is proving insufficient, there is increasing interest in partnership arrangements. This includes utilising public-private partnerships (PPPs), which have been extensively employed in other sectors but are still in their early stages for affordable housing. There have been some experiments with PPPs for housing, typically focusing on retrofitting or regenerating public or social housing estates, but their application remains limited. This paper employs Kingdon's agenda-setting and alternative-setting theory to explore this emerging issue, using a case study of a municipal-led PPP aimed at providing affordable housing on municipal land. Key findings indicate consensus in framing the current housing crisis as an affordable housing crisis. Second, they suggest a conducive environment for a continued increase in private sector involvement in affordable housing. Finally, they suggest that agenda setting and alternative setting are entangled in ambiguity, complexity, and unclear technology, with conflict resolution, hinging on arguments of inevitability. In essence, the paper argues that the use of public-private partnerships for affordable housing embodies a significant change in the orientation of public housing policies and calls for a continued examination of the power dynamics underlying these reorientation processes.