Study of Accessibility of Different Income Groups to Affordable Housing in Metropolises (Case Study of Mashhad)

Housing has affected many aspects of life, and it is considered one of the most important components of development. For this reason, it is the principal effort of its executives and policymakers to access the housing they need. So that, most governments claim that have taken effective actions in this regard. To test this claim, this study has been evaluated how different income groups have access to affordable housing in Mashhad. The research method was descriptive and analytical, and required data were collected from administrative documents and questionnaire completion. The sample selected in this study was 3820 of the population of Mashhad, city with a population of approximately 3 million. The collected data were evaluated using various statistics, especially Gini and Atkinson index. In order to estimate the coefficients more accurately, the need adjustment index was used. The results showed that the range of Gini coefficient and Atkinson index before and after adjustment need to be between 0.132-0.021 and 0.019-0.040, respectively. These coefficients show that the situation of housing distribution has worsened after adjusting for the need, there have been significant disparities between municipalities, the tendency to address inequality has not been adequately addressed, and the claim of equitable policies has not been substantiated. Indeed, housing policies have only targeted middle- and upper-income groups. Accordingly, the proposed strategy of this study is to change the orientation of housing policies and to involve more people in the design and implementation of these policies.