Housing, housing assistance and social cohesion

In recent years, policy makers in Australia and other countries, such as Canada, the UK and certain European countries, and in supranational organisations such as the European Union and the Organisation for Economic and Cultural Development (OECD) have expressed interest in social cohesion, an old concept which has been revived and recast in the light of current public policy concerns and issues. There has been over a decade of research and debate on issues such as 'loss of community' and 'decline in social capital' which indicate a fear that social cohesion has been declining and the threat that this appears to pose to social order. [Introduction]