Improving outcomes of forced residential relocation: the development of an Australian tenants' spatial decision support system

Abstract

The Australian public housing sector has undergone significant change in recent years. The public tenant profile has changed and public housing infrastructure has become largely unsuitable. At the same time, the Australian government has retreated from funding public housing infrastructure. The results of these changes are fewer public dwellings, fewer tenants housed and a stock mismatched to the needs of public tenants. Urban regeneration allows housing providers to trade unsuitable and run-down housing for fewer better-quality dwellings, but necessitates forced public tenant relocation. This paper explores residential choice among Australian public tenants and describes the development of a novel application of spatial technology—a tenants' spatial decision support system (SDSS)—to improve tenant outcomes in forced relocation.