Capitalising on the Housing Crisis: Territorial Stigmatisation, Urban Renewal and Displacement

This chapter shows how governments have facilitated the sale and demolition of public housing by constructing these buildings as ‘problem spaces’ that are inhabited by ‘problem communities’. This discourse is reproduced in sensationalist media reporting that frames public housing towers, in particular, as derelict, lawless spaces that support criminal activity. The reproduction of these discourses is integral to ‘urban renewal’ programs which promise to demolish these spaces, eradicate social problems and create a gentrified space which generates revenue for governments. Renewal programs, and measures such as ‘social mix’ housing, resemble a form of class warfare that governments and institutions such as the media have waged against public housing residents. In 2023, the Victorian state government announced plans to demolish 44 public housing towers, leading to the potential displacement of up to 10,000 public housing residents and their communities. This continues a major trend in housing policy within Australia, whereby public housing on public land is effectively made available to private housing developers, while some of the most marginalised members of society are displaced and disconnected from the diverse communities that they belong to. I highlight examples of communities in public housing who are resisting these discourses and policy measures, by reframing the discourse around public housing and its residents.