City Futures Research Centre
20^th Anniversary Celebration

Understanding the factors influencing a social/affordable housing project’s financial viability in diverse market conditions is an important practical challenge for housing providers and funding agencies, alike.

Since its 2011 inception by Prof Hal Pawson and Prof Suzanne Fitzpatrick (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh) the Homelessness Monitors series (ongoing in 2025) has generated 30 in-depth reports analysing homelessness problems and solutions in the UK and, latterly, Australia.

Despite a growing number of families living in apartments, urban policy and the development industry have largely overlooked their needs.

Despite recognition of the social, physical and economic value of cycling for transport, Australia has seen a decline in participation in recent decades.

As the City Futures Research Centre celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2025, we are revisiting high-impact projects that have shaped urban policy and practice.

The renewal of social housing estates has long been a focal point of housing policy in NSW, and since inception 20 years ago, CFRC has played a central role in documenting, analysing, and evaluating these efforts.

Rental housing in Australia has been facing intensifying stress marked by undersupply, unaffordability, and insecurity. As part of our engagement with this issue, the Centre has led critical research on ways to enable large-scale institutional investment in both market price and affordable rental housing.

Published in 2020, Housing Policy in Australia: A Case for System Reform by Prof Hal Pawson and colleagues provided a comprehensive analysis of Australia’s housing system, exposing its weaknesses and calling for structural reforms.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming how cities are planned, managed, and experienced. But as AI systems become more embedded in decision-making processes, particularly in planning and development, questions of trust, transparency, and accountability are more critical than ever.

In the housing field, as much as in other policy domains, cross-country comparisons can sharpen understanding of domestic approaches and systems, as well as potentially helping to inform alternative policy options and choices.

For too long, housing policy in Australia has been largely treated as a population welfare issue, disconnected from the core debates shaping national economic strategy.

Access to safe, affordable and sustainable housing is the main objective of the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness. Yet for hundreds of thousands of Australians, this basic need remains unmet.

Over the past two decades, CFRC researchers have played a leading role in redefining how social disadvantage is understood in Australia’s urban environments. 

With rising homelessness rates, research from the City Futures Research Centre is helping policymakers reimagine housing systems to better support vulnerable and marginalised populations.

With an estimated four million people now living in strata and titled homes in Australia, strata living has become a defining feature of Australian cities.

As Australian cities grapple with the challenges of ageing housing stock, population growth, and planning for sustainable urban forms, researchers at the City Futures Research Centre have been exploring how to equitably and effectively renew and redevelop our urban neighbourhoods. 

As Australia's population ages, developing responsive housing strategies that reflect the needs and preferences of older Australians has become a pressing policy imperative.

In an era of deepening housing crisis across Australia, timely and reliable data has never been more essential. Digital tools can unlock insights and improve planning and housing decisions.

In an era of big data, automation, and rapid urban growth, the ability to accurately and efficiently assess the value of land and property is more critical than ever.

The City Analytics Lab (CAL), located at UNSW’s Anita B Lawrence Centre, is a pioneering facility that brings together research, teaching, and engagement in urban planning and design.