本專題演講發表於2011年住宅學會年會，受邀講者為香港城市大學公共與社會行政學系系主任/講座教授Ray Forrest，以國民住宅的東西方社會發展經驗為題，探討國民住宅之意義與作用。首先就國民住宅的定義開始，說明國民住宅與社會住宅之異同，其次針對國民住宅的相關理論進行回顧，說明國民住宅與社會之關係，並從國宅的發展階段進行討論，包括新自由主義對國宅發展的影響，最後他強調國宅目前仍可扮演更積極的角色。

This speech was given by Professor Ray Forrest at the 2011 annual meeting of the Taiwan Housing Society held at Dong Hwa University in Taiwan. It focuses on the development of social housing from a global perspective. The address commences by first clarifying the terms ”social housing” and ”public housing”, to be followed by a theoretical review of the development of social housing that shows how social housing is related to society at large due to its social and economic impact. The neoliberal development of social housing is also addressed and so are its impacts. It is argued that social housing still can play a critical role under the current economic turmoil.