New Zealand dream

The New Zealand dream (or the Kiwi dream) is centered on the acquisition of a family house on a quarter acre section, with at least one motor vehicle. The New Zealand dream is similar to the Australian Dream. For many New Zealanders this dream could also include a pleasure boat, a bach and a holiday at the beach.

The New Zealand dream of acquiring a family home was supported by government policies from the late nineteenth century through much of the twentieth century , although housing affordability has become a political issue, with limited measures to alleviate rising house prices.

The opposite of this New Zealand dream is called smart growth. The smart growth concept has no quarter acre section, no family house and no car. People live in small apartments and use public transport. Smart growth commonly occurs in countries with little land (e.g. Hong Kong).

When New Zealand and Australian couples have children they show a very strong preference for family housing (Figure 1). Australian research shows 85% of people who live in apartments would rather live in a house.

American families also prefer family houses, with studies showing that Americans living in multi-family dwellings (apartments etc.) have less children, lowering the demand for schools . One hundred typical homes generate an average of 54.7 school-aged children; but multifamily homes generate only about two thirds the students, with 36.7 school-aged children per 100 households. Apartment households have much lower incomes than those living in family houses and are more likely to suffer from poverty related problems such as overcrowding.

Studies have shown that fertility is highest among couples living in single-family houses and lowest among those residing in apartments. Experts claim that shortages of family housing can cause low birth rates. “Some have suggested that, like laboratory specimens, Italians have responded to their ever-more-crowded-suburbs and cramped apartments by curbing procreation”. Children “aren't wanted in the condominia (apartments), in public places where they can disturb”. “Houses are bigger in the U.S. and generally more available. That may help explain why Americans have more babies”.

...
Wikipedia