Generational conflict and middle-class decline in higher density housing debates

Abstract

Utilising the pragmatic sociology of critique, this article qualitatively analyses how middle-class housing activists publicly oppose or support higher density housing or intensification in the Auckland Unitary Plan. With growing concerns about inter-generational housing inequalities and the impacts of intensification, there has been a rise in resident opposition groups and pro-development activists who clash in public debates. While these groups are often in conflict with each other, this article seeks to understand how they both invoke public justifications to go beyond their personal interests in housing and to also reveal the broader political and economic drivers of the housing crisis, which are not widely discussed by these activists. Exposing the broader issues underlying intensification and the housing crisis, such as middle-class decline, helps contribute to a less divisive public discourse that highlights the shared concerns of housing activists while going beyond polarising generational narratives.