Gaps in Affordable Housing Discussions: Future Research Directions for Sustainable Development Goal 11

Affordable housing (AH) for the urban poor has continued as a prevalent challenge across most countries of the world in the face of continuous urbanization, regardless of the popularity of AH in scholarly discussions. To provide an overview of this research area in recent times, a scoping review has been conducted in this study. The study employed a systematic search across two of the most reliable databases in this field (Scopus and Web of Science) and identified 52 studies considered relevant. Standard guidelines for scoping review were followed in this study for reliability. This review mapped the general and methodological characteristics of AH studies. Findings are that AH is indeed a well-researched study, however, studies are currently skewed towards supply-oriented challenges and remedies, to the neglect of demand-oriented issues. Most studies are limited in scope which in turn limits the methodologies in AH research. Asia continent has contributed most to the AH discussion and within Asia, India has made the most contributions. Recommendations are that future studies should capture and proactively address demand-side challenges for balance, investigate wider scopes for generalizability of findings, employ more reliable methodologies and that AH investigations should follow pragmatic approaches to achieve sustainable affordable housing.