Unequivocal Women’s Housing: Quality affordable housing and landscaping for women at risk of homelessness

This project addresses the need for user-focused feedback to provide a framework for future, affordable, fit-for-purpose housing types for women. The project will analyse a series of case studies of existing housing types; refuge, boarding house, tiny house, apartment, townhouse and family home, provided for women experiencing or at risk of homelessness. These were built in suburban Melbourne in the last three years and include permanent and transitional housing models. Post-occupancy study of these examples will provide important feedback on built outcomes and insight for the future design of bespoke housing for an increasing number of women needing safe, secure and affordable accommodation. The study includes; DHHS Emerge Refuge (2019), Servants Female Rooming House (2018), Launch Housing Harris Transportable Housing project (tiny house 2019), Women’s Property Initiatives Coburg townhouses (2017), Women’s Housing Limited Bayswater Family Violence housing (2018 apartments) and Women’s Property Initiatives Pakenham (2020 family homes).
This project will use evidence-based research to document projects’ spatial, social and environmental aspects via a series of interviews to understand the lived experience of residents and owner-operators. This will identify suitability of different housing types for different groups of women. This post-occupancy understanding of built projects for women does not currently exist.