They say those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. When it comes to social and affordable housing, it seems the Albanese government – with its Housing Australia Future Fund – is content to disregard the lessons of the past. Traditionally, public housing has been provided by the states and built with federal taxes. When poverty increases – after wars and crises – most countries increase public housing, but not in Australia..

Housing is most often seen as a product, not a process. As hard as it is to design good houses, the process to get affordable housing built is way more difficult. For 70 years the easy option has been to keep building further out, at the fringes of the city. But we’ve reached the outer limits: the look-alike McMansions are too far from Melbourne’s city centre, new suburbs lack infrastructure…

Australia loves suburbia. We are the most suburbanised OECD nation: more than 40 per cent of the population in two extended cities, 70 per cent in 10. But as I’ve written before, we’re ruining that suburban dream by building houses twice as big on blocks half the size, devoid of gardens and trees, further from city centres and amenities, and with fewer residents in each home. So what might we do about it?

I grew up in suburban Melbourne and Sydney in the 1960s. I was lucky. You could walk or cycle to schools and shops; lots of places to explore; modest bungalows on large blocks with backyards for play, and sport with local children; birthday parties under Hills Hoist tents; the beach was close by bus or tram. It’s a world away from contemporary suburbia: far from the city centre and water, without public transport…