ONE
THOUSAND TENANTS PERMANENTLY DISPLACED FOLLOWING PUBLIC HOUSING
REDEVELOPMENT
The
book 'Mixed
Communities: Gentrification by Stealth?'
includes a discussion of the redevelopment of the Kensington public
housing estate in Victoria as part of its global analysis on the
subject.
At
the time of the redevelopments, there was a strong working class
community in Kensington (early 2000's). Public housing communities
then made up 30% of Kensington's population and contributed greatly
to the cultural diversity of the area, including residents from
Italy, Malta, South America, China, Vietnam, Horn of Africa, former
Yugoslavia, Turkey and Greece. A large proportion of children in
Kensington were from the public housing estate. By all accounts the
community in Kensington was thriving with plenty of positive
interaction between public tenants and their neighbours. ( Hulse et
al 2004 )
The
government decided to redevelop the estate which commenced in 2002
and was completed in 2012. It became known as the 'Kensington model'
and was a Private/Public Partnership ( PPP ). It was touted as 'a
test bed for future inner city housing management' (DHS, 2002).
The
project involved a mass relocation of public tenants while the public
housing properties were being demolished and new properties built -
but what is not widely known is that around one
thousand of the
relocated public tenants from the Kensington estate never returned.
They were permanently
displaced. This
information is 'not available through relevant government
departments'. Eventually however the Office of Housing disclosed that
only 20% of relocated tenants 'chose to return after settling in
their new area'. As the book states - how much choice the tenants
really had is contestable.
'Mixed
Communities : Gentrification by Stealth?' p138
Other
public housing estates to follow ... ?
The
redevelopment of the Carlton estate in 2008 had the following
projected outcome. 'In evidence to a planning panel hearing for the
redevelopment of the Carlton estate, DHS estimated that only 20
percent of the original residents would return on completion
(Government of Victoria, 2007)'
The
master plans for Fitzroy, Richmond and Prahran are also being
informed by the 'Kensington model'. ( Shaw )
'Consultation'
with public tenants.
Carlton
Residents' Association, one of the stakeholders for the Carlton
redevelopment, described the Community Liaison Committee as
'farcical' and a 'sham'.
Did
any consultations with public tenants, prior to their mass
relocation, include informing them of the government's estimated
outcome for their eventual return? Were any planned changes in the
number of units, and the number of bedrooms available in the new
units, explained to the tenants and their families before their
relocation? How many of the original tenants in Carlton returned,
following the redevelopment of their estate?
Have
entire public housing communities, acting
in good faith
with their governments, relocated with the reasonable expectation
that they would be returning to their homes and neighbourhoods?
In
reality, has the outcome of these redevelopments been the destruction
of well-established communities
and for many, if not most, of the original public tenants, their
permanent
displacement? ....
Fiona
Ross
Spokesperson
Friends
of Public Housing Victoria https://www.facebook.com/FOPHVIC
Sources
Bridge, G.,
Butler, T., & Lees, L. (Eds.). (2012). Mixed Communities :
gentrification by stealth? Policy Press.
If you type
in 'Trojan Horse' in the 'search inside' window, you can start
reading from p135
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