Affordable housing for sustainable development: An in-depth comparative empirical analysis of emerging areas

Housing plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty, improving living conditions, and enhancing social mobility in any nation. However, the affordability of housing, especially for low-income earners, often fails to meet the demands of communities in many countries. In response, governments worldwide have sought to optimize available housing-related resources to provide adequate accommodation for low-income residents, aiming to achieve affirmative action and poverty reduction. Despite extensive and ongoing efforts by policymakers, affordable housing initiatives continue to face significant challenges and concerns, which can result in market instability and social fragmentation. Developing countries, compared to more advanced regions, exhibit more severe issues, drawing the attention of global researchers and specialists who aim to identify and address these barriers. Nevertheless, there is a limited body of literature that explores and compares the challenges specific to developing markets, particularly in relation to local variations and contextual nuances. Acknowledging this gap, this study aims to investigate underexplored dimensions of the Vietnamese housing context, in relation to neighboring developing countries, to analyze the factors that hinder the sustainable development of affordable housing. Furthermore, based on the analysis, policy recommendations are proposed to overcome these barriers and promote the sustainable affordability of housing for low-income communities.