Assessing the residential choices for affordable housing

Abstract

The rapid pace of urbanization in India has exacerbated housing affordability challenges, particularly for economically weaker sections (EWS), low-income groups (LIG), migrants, and slum dwellers. Traditional affordability measures often neglect the critical link between housing costs and transportation expenditures, leading to incomplete assessments of urban poor households' actual financial burdens. This thesis aims to assess affordable housing location choices across the city by integrating the Housing plus Transportation (H+T) Index a combined metric of housing and commuting costs. It first reviews existing housing affordability frameworks and identifies the parameters essential for calculating the H+T Index. Through a combination of secondary literature review, spatial data analysis, and primary household surveys, the research computes H+T affordability values across different urban areas. Policy analysis and case studies further explore how integrated affordability measures can inform more inclusive and effective housing policies. The study ultimately proposes a contextualized H+T Affordability Index model for Indian cities, maps affordability gaps, and offers policy recommendations to bridge exclusions created by current housing strategies. Keywords: Housing Affordability, H+T Index, Transportation Costs, Urban Poor, Location Choice, Housing Cost Burden, Spatial Affordability