The City of Sydney has launched the Alternative Housing Ideas Challenge in the search for new ideas to boost the diversity of the city’s housing, with a focus on increasing affordable housing.

The challenge encourages new ways of thinking about housing across financing, management and design. It is open to anyone interested in innovation in the housing sector, including architects, designers, planners, property professionals, financiers, lawyers, community organisers and students.

All entries will be put to a jury, who will choose a maximum of six entrants to receive $20,000 each to develop their concepts.

Entries must:

  • Demonstrate innovation in at least two of these areas: planning, design, ownership type, tenancy type, management (including sharing of facilities), construction, urban land supply and financing
  • Result in cheaper housing or meet the City’s definition of affordable housing
  • Be financially viable and socially and environmentally sustainable
  • Be liveable for residents
  • Be scalable and replicable

“Sydney is grappling with a housing affordability crisis. We need a diversity of housing to support diversity in our community,” says lord mayor Clover Moore.

“The City has assisted in the construction of 835 new affordable housing dwellings since 2004, by collecting levies from developers and selling our land to affordable housing providers at discount rates. This type of affordable housing allows key workers such as teachers, nurses and paramedics to live close to their place of work, improving their wellbeing, shortening travel times and reducing congestion.

“While this is a proven mechanism, it’s simply not enough. We need to meet the needs of low-income workers, elderly residents and families in our city. That’s why the Alternative Housing Ideas Challenge is looking for new ideas – from creative tenancy arrangements like shared or co-operative living, to new funding and delivery models or previously unexplored ways of developing small sites.”

The community will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the shortlisted concepts as part of the City’s consultations to shape its next major strategic plan, Sustainable Sydney 2050.

Entries for the challenge will open on Tuesday 26 March and close on Wednesday 8 May, 2019.

Image credit: Josef Nalevansky, City of Sydney