Ian McLean 2011 Green candidate for Tauranga

Affordable housing has hit the headlines again, with the annual report by Demographia railing against housing costs in the western world.

And Bob Clarkson has discovered a social conscience that was not conspicuous during his term as MP, offering to build cheap houses on the far-flung fringe of Tauranga. Will Bob also provide cheap buses, bike lanes, and other services linking his village to the rest of us, or will the taxpayer provide those once he has moved on?

Actually, Bob's proposal is exactly the solution that Demographia has in mind. Cheap land on the outskirts of town, minimum-standard boxy houses on tiny plots, and reduced infrastructure. Never mind the lack of services, the enormous commuting costs, and the economic and social consequences as productive land is converted to dormitory suburbs where neighbours barely know each other.

We had building code deregulation in the 1990s, resulting in slightly reduced costs at the time, and an enormous future cost as leaky home syndrome slowly raised its evil head. Cost estimates to our economy run into the billions.

We have inherited many cheap houses built to the minimum standards of the 1960's and 70's. Now we struggle to retrofit those houses to make them energy efficient, to repair their bad plumbing, and to minimise the health costs they deliver to our children. The taxpayer is subsidising that process and many landlords resist making the improvements.

What is affordable housing anyway? For a start, it is not cheap housing. Focus on the price of the house, and you end up with houses that are expensive to run and a lifestyle with many hidden costs. It is like buying a cheap fridge on HP: you end up paying three times its true value, and it is probably broken before it is paid for.

Bob's proposal represents all of the worst aspects of urban design when the bigger picture is viewed.

Affordable housing is housing that delivers a healthy home, an affordable lifestyle, social stability and a coherent community. It is as much about where you live and how you live, as it is about what the house costs. Is your monthly electricity bill sustainable? Can your kids get to school safely? Are they only rarely sick? Can you commute to work quickly and cheaply? Do you have a local park to play in? Does your community have a place to get together to discuss local issues?

Answer yes to all of the above, and you have affordable housing.

I recently went to a concert, set in the Waterways at Whitianga. It is hard to imagine that there is any poverty in New Zealand when you wander through that development. Aside from the $million boats lining the canals, the 'baches” are bigger than most of us could afford, and the cars sitting beside them equally so.

We apparently have many people who can afford Waterways-style developments. Just one of those boats would buy 6 of Bob Clarkson's cheap houses.

There is no question that houses are expensive in Aotearoa. On the other hand, in 1960, my parents stretched themselves to the financial limit to buy a 1930's villa in a small Waikato town. Houses have always been expensive.

The solutions proposed by Demographia (and Bob Clarkson) do not address either the fundamental issues, or the principles of sustainable urban design.

It is therefore unsurprising that we also have significant poverty. Fundamentally, the asymmetric distribution of wealth in our society is the primary cause of the unaffordability of housing for some.

Ian McLean was the Green Party candidate for Tauranga in the 2011 election.