Dr Patricia Austin on the legal frameworks, planning systems, and housing needs assessments that make inclusionary zoning work.

In this episode we speak with Dr Patricia Austin, a leading housing policy expert at the University of Auckland, where her research focuses on affordable housing mechanisms, planning systems, and community development. With extensive international experience studying housing systems across the UK, USA, and New Zealand, she brings a comparative perspective to understanding how different legislative frameworks shape housing outcomes. Dr Austin was instrumental in developing New Zealand's 2007 Affordable Housing Enabling Territorial Authorities Act, and created the housing needs assessment methodology that accompanied it. Her practical expertise bridges academic research with on-the-ground policy implementation, making her a sought-after advisor for local councils navigating complex housing challenges.

In this conversation, we explore inclusionary zoning as a mechanism for delivering affordable housing, with particular focus on Dr Austin's pivotal role in the Queenstown Lakes District inclusionary housing project. She explains the fundamental differences between property rights systems in New Zealand versus the UK and USA, and why these differences matter for implementing inclusionary policies. We discuss the critical importance of housing needs assessments, the various retention mechanisms that prevent affordable housing from flipping back to market rates, and why voluntary inclusionary zoning fails under New Zealand's Resource Management Act. Dr Austin also addresses the displacement caused by recent urban renewal programs, arguing that housing is far more than just physical shelter, it encompasses community connections, schools, churches, and family networks that are essential for vulnerable households to thrive.

We'd like to thank Patricia for talking time for this in-depth conversation.

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The CHA Hub Podcast is sponsored by our Founding Partner, Westpac New Zealand.

Joining us for this episode is Professor Laurence Murphy, a leading voice in human geography at University of Auckland’s School of Environment. With a distinguished academic background that includes a PhD in urban economic geography from Trinity College Dublin and lecturing roles at renowned institutions including the London School of Economics, he brings deep insight to the intersection of finance, property and urban change. His current research explores how global capital flows reshape housing, urban governance and built environments, making him one of New Zealand’s foremost scholars on housing affordability, urban policy and the financialisation of cities.

We sat down with Larry and discussed the role inclusionary housing and zoning could play in addressing New Zealand’s housing affordability crisis. He explained how planning systems overseas capture land value uplift to fund affordable housing, and why similar mechanisms could work here if backed by political commitment and strong planning frameworks.

The conversation explored how market forces have failed to produce affordable housing for the public good, the barriers posed by financialisation and neoliberal economic thinking, and how international models, from the UK’s Section 106 system to U.S. density bonuses, demonstrate practical pathways for reform.

Larry also reflected on the need to re-establish housing as social infrastructure, rethink our collective mindset around property as investment, and rebuild public trust in planning as a tool for equitable outcomes.

We'd like to thank Larry for talking time for this in-depth conversation.

Don't forget to subscribe to the CHA Hub Podcast where ever you get your podcasts from.

The CHA Hub Podcast is sponsored by our Founding Partner, Westpac New Zealand.

As sister cities, Aspen and Queenstown share more than scenic beauty; they're both wrestling with what happens when free-market real estate prices workers out of resort towns. Sara Ott, Aspen's city manager at the time of this interview, brings hard-won lessons from a community where the average home costs $13 million, yet mixed-income neighbourhoods thrive.

We spoke with Sara about the housing pressures in Aspen and the parallels with the Queenstown Lakes region. In particular we spoke about Inclusionary Zoning and the partnership with developers required to benefit long-term communities through affordable housing initiatives.

We'd like to thank Sara for taking his time to speak with us for this episode.

Don't forget to subscribe to the CHA Hub Podcast where ever you get your podcasts from.

The CHA Hub Podcast is sponsored by our Founding Partner, Westpac New Zealand.