Sir, – International evidence suggests that affordable housing improves a city’s productivity by reducing the costs of housing and services. However, the evidence also suggests that the biggest contributing obstacle to the supply of affordable housing is idle land.
Static housing development results in the scarcity of the skilled workers needed, a tighter labour market, higher wage inflation and the out-migration of precisely the skilled workers needed. But most significantly it leads to a redistribution of wealth from renters to rentiers.
Allowing more building on government-controlled land is a solution.
A flexible supply of housing and construction is necessary to maintain the virtuous cycle of accommodating new workers and further productivity gains. – Yours, etc,
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THOMAS POWER,
Faculty of Engineering
and the Built Environment,
Technological
University Dublin.