Affordable housing (AH) for the urban poor has continued as a prevalent challenge across most countries of the world in the face of continuous urbanization, regardless of the popularity of AH in scholarly discussions. To provide an overview of this research area in recent times, a scoping review has been conducted in this study. The study employed a systematic search across two of the most reliable databases in this field (Scopus and Web of Science) and identified 52 studies considered relevant. Standard guidelines for scoping review were followed in this study for reliability. This review mapped the general and methodological characteristics of AH studies. Findings are that AH is indeed a well-researched study, however, studies are currently skewed towards supply-oriented challenges and remedies, to the neglect of demand-oriented issues. Most studies are limited in scope which in turn limits the methodologies in AH research. Asia continent has contributed most to the AH discussion and within Asia, India has made the most contributions. Recommendations are that future studies should capture and proactively address demand-side challenges for balance, investigate wider scopes for generalizability of findings, employ more reliable methodologies and that AH investigations should follow pragmatic approaches to achieve sustainable affordable housing.
| Published in | Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 10, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12 |
| Page(s) | 61-90 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Affordable Housing, Housing Policy, Housing Research, Housing Supply Value Chain, Sustainable Affordable Housing, Urban Poor
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APA Style
Akinwande, T., Hui, E. C. M. (2025). Gaps in Affordable Housing Discussions: Future Research Directions for Sustainable Development Goal 11. Urban and Regional Planning, 10(2), 61-90. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12
ACS Style
Akinwande, T.; Hui, E. C. M. Gaps in Affordable Housing Discussions: Future Research Directions for Sustainable Development Goal 11. Urban Reg. Plan. 2025, 10(2), 61-90. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12,
author = {Timothy Akinwande and Eddie Chi Man Hui},
title = {Gaps in Affordable Housing Discussions: Future Research Directions for Sustainable Development Goal 11
},
journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
volume = {10},
number = {2},
pages = {61-90},
doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20251002.12},
abstract = {Affordable housing (AH) for the urban poor has continued as a prevalent challenge across most countries of the world in the face of continuous urbanization, regardless of the popularity of AH in scholarly discussions. To provide an overview of this research area in recent times, a scoping review has been conducted in this study. The study employed a systematic search across two of the most reliable databases in this field (Scopus and Web of Science) and identified 52 studies considered relevant. Standard guidelines for scoping review were followed in this study for reliability. This review mapped the general and methodological characteristics of AH studies. Findings are that AH is indeed a well-researched study, however, studies are currently skewed towards supply-oriented challenges and remedies, to the neglect of demand-oriented issues. Most studies are limited in scope which in turn limits the methodologies in AH research. Asia continent has contributed most to the AH discussion and within Asia, India has made the most contributions. Recommendations are that future studies should capture and proactively address demand-side challenges for balance, investigate wider scopes for generalizability of findings, employ more reliable methodologies and that AH investigations should follow pragmatic approaches to achieve sustainable affordable housing.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Gaps in Affordable Housing Discussions: Future Research Directions for Sustainable Development Goal 11 AU - Timothy Akinwande AU - Eddie Chi Man Hui Y1 - 2025/05/24 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12 DO - 10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12 T2 - Urban and Regional Planning JF - Urban and Regional Planning JO - Urban and Regional Planning SP - 61 EP - 90 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-1697 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20251002.12 AB - Affordable housing (AH) for the urban poor has continued as a prevalent challenge across most countries of the world in the face of continuous urbanization, regardless of the popularity of AH in scholarly discussions. To provide an overview of this research area in recent times, a scoping review has been conducted in this study. The study employed a systematic search across two of the most reliable databases in this field (Scopus and Web of Science) and identified 52 studies considered relevant. Standard guidelines for scoping review were followed in this study for reliability. This review mapped the general and methodological characteristics of AH studies. Findings are that AH is indeed a well-researched study, however, studies are currently skewed towards supply-oriented challenges and remedies, to the neglect of demand-oriented issues. Most studies are limited in scope which in turn limits the methodologies in AH research. Asia continent has contributed most to the AH discussion and within Asia, India has made the most contributions. Recommendations are that future studies should capture and proactively address demand-side challenges for balance, investigate wider scopes for generalizability of findings, employ more reliable methodologies and that AH investigations should follow pragmatic approaches to achieve sustainable affordable housing. VL - 10 IS - 2 ER -
School of Business and Administration, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon, Hong Kong Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Department of Public and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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