Special Issue: Theoretical Concerns in Australian Housing and Urban Research

This special issue of Housing, Theory and Society brings together four papers written for a symposium that took place at the University of Tasmania to discuss the role of theory in contemporary housing and urban research. As joint convenors of the symposium we were conscious of the fact that though there is an emerging community of scholars in housing and urban studies in Australia, the opportunities for interaction are limited because of the large geographical distances between the major conurbations. We were also aware that while a large amount of empirical work has been commissioned in Australia through the auspices of the Australian Housing Research Institute, much of this research is policy focused and the opportunities for funding explicitly theoretical scholarship is limited. Our intention in organizing the symposium was to debate the relative constraints imposed by this context. In practical terms, we recognized the need to provide an informal setting for scholars to meet to discuss their research. In respect of theory, our aim was to encourage academics to consider the classifications deployed in their research alongside some of the new interdisciplinary suppositions that have influenced such disciplines as geography and sociology. What are the most substantive theoretical concerns of Australian housing and urban researchers and how does the scholarship differ from work undertaken elsewhere? To answer the first question, we identify at least five concerns. First, there has been a continued interest in understanding the conflicts within urban and housing contexts and how these are enacted. For example, the interface between planning authorities and private house-building developers (Gleeson and Low 2000), the contested spaces within urban settings and how these are enacted (Gibson 1999), and the home (Blunt and Dowling 2006). The conceptualization of ‘‘housing’’ and the ‘‘urban’’ as a field of contestation has proved productive for scholars. This said, there is a willingness to explore in more depth the way that these conflicts become manifest in different settings.