ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the introduction, evolution and relaunch of affordable housing policies during the past two decades by situating these policies within the economic and urban context of China and with an emphasis on the implementation of the renewed affordable housing policy. China's housing reform, launched in the 1980s, constitutes the major context of the development of affordable housing policies during the past two decades. The Low Rental Housing programme is intended for urban households with the lowest incomes. Some scholars estimated that the marketization reform pushed the housing system from one extreme to the other, causing 'over-marketization'. Housing affordability is commonly measured by the price-to-income ratio (PIR) or the ratio between median housing price and median income. In implementing affordable housing policy, Chongqing is considered to be a model city. The affordable housing policy in Chongqing emphasized accommodation for migrant workers who had long been excluded from the urban security system.
