2026/03/11 by Carla Maria Kayanan, Rob Kitchin · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · Decision Sciences · #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies #demographic modeling and climate adaptation
paper · doi:10.1080/19491247.2026.2638195
openalex publication_date 2026/03/11 · openalex created_date 2026/03/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
How many housing units need to be built to meet demand is a perennial question that governments in market economies must grapple with and act on. Build too few units and excess demand will drive up market prices resulting in overcrowding and homelessness. Build too many and oversupply could lead the market to crash. This paper examines the nature and substance of data debates centred on estimating housing need and demand to highlight the ways in which housing evidence is constructed, challenged, and parsed into evidence-based policy. It does this through a case study of Ireland’s Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) tool, an instrument used by local authorities to estimate local supply targets based on annual housing targets set by central government, as well as counter-estimates made by other stakeholders. Analysing the narratives used by central and local government, state agencies, and market actors, we demonstrate how different stakeholders mobilise data within varying data valences to support their policy, operational, and market ambitions. This framing highlights the data politics of evidence-informed instruments and policy, which despite claims for objectivity and non-biased decision-making are always value-laden and contested.