Deconstructing disaster: Psycho-social impact of building deconstruction in Post-Katrina New Orleans

This phenomenological study inquired into the psycho-social impact of building deconstruction in disaster response. Nine building owners participating in a Mercy Corps’ sponsored building deconstruction program in Post-Katrina New Orleans (2005–2008), engaged in extensive interviews about their experience. The core phenomenon they shared was empowerment arising from a synthesis of positive social interaction and material discovery. Dedicated, local, Mercy Corps trained contractors brought immediate relief to these distressed participants by facilitating “a dignified end” to their buildings and by proxy to the lives they held before the catastrophe. Deconstruction allowed participants to reclaim wealth that would have been scrapped for landfill waste by federal mandate. Participants reported a sudden psychological shift from despair to enthusiasm as they regained control of their property and then discovered value out of the ruined buildings. Data indicated that merely possessing reclaimed material did not explain the psychological transformation. Four of nine informants (including impoverished individuals) experienced psychological transformation by giving all of their reclaimed material away. The sharing of material was described as akin to “donating organs” giving life to their critically injured community. Data indicated the program also promoted more environmentally sustainable behavior. Previously, deconstruction has only been addressed in terms of technical, mechanical, economic, or environmental outcomes. This study adds a new component by seeing the human side of that technical process. This report is a companion study to another; Deconstructing Disaster; Economic and Environmental Impacts of Deconstruction in Post-Katrina New Orleans, which provides a quantitative analysis of material salvage from the Mercy Corps program.     

Competition law constraints on access charges in the England and Wales water industry

Water industry regulation in the UK does not require a network owner to grant access to third parties. The regulator instead enforces common carriage on network owners through the application of the Competition Act 1998. This legislation, however, enables the regulator, the Director General of Water Services, to require only dominant companies to grant access; and gives the regulator no ex ante powers. The DGWS can intervene only when a dominant network owner has failed to grant access, and only in relation to aspects of the network that are “essential facilities”. The regulator will require access in these circumstances to be given on a non-discriminatory basis, at a price that is not “excessive”. Long run average incremental cost based prices will not be excessive. Prices calculated by reference to fully allocated cost or the efficient component pricing rule may on occasion be excessive.     

Contract strategy for design management in the design and build system

Project team members in design–build system, including owner’s representatives, design–build (D/B) contractors and architects/engineers, have to adopt new roles in managing the design of large-scale projects. The design responsibility is transferred from the owner’s organization to the D/B contractor who is responsible for the design management in the projects to be delivered by the design–build procurement system. However, there remains the concern of design management between the designer and the constructor within the D/B organization, or between the joint venture parties of a D/B project. This paper presents a study, which reviews the issues concerning the design liability and contractual provisions for design management between the designer and D/B contractor in the said contractual arrangements of design–build system. It disseminates the results of a questionnaire survey and structured interviews of three groups of project participants: owners, designers and D/B contractors. The roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in design and design management are less than clear in their respective engagement contracts. In order to improve the design management of design–build projects, this paper recommended some strategic items to be considered in drafting contracts between owners/D/B contractors, D/B contractors/designers and owners/independent checkers to address the issues.     

Different alliance relationships for project design and execution

The IMEC research programme (International Programme on the Management of Construction projects) performed an extensive benchmarking study of some 60 large engineering projects around the world during the period from 1995 to 1999. The purpose of the study was to identify best practice within different areas of management of such projects. While much of the focus of the study was on the front-end phase of the projects, some aspects of project design and execution were also addressed. This paper explores the findings of the IMEC study in this respect, with an emphasis on different models for alliance relationships in the design and execution phases. A model consisting of four different configurations of the dynamics of project development and execution has been identified. Two of these are based on a traditional arms’ length relationship in the design and execution phases. These traditional relationships have been explored in numerous existing publications and are, therefore, not dealt with specifically in this paper. The two configurations displaying a relational approach in the design and execution phases, termed “partners in design and execution” and “relational development and execution”, are described in detail. Perhaps the most important finding from the study is that there is no one “best practice” or “best configuration” for managing projects—the best-suited approach is highly dependent on the project in question and its characteristics.     

The relationship between urban conservation programmes and property renovation: evidence from Quito, Ecuador

Attempts to conserve historic centres tell us much about a society's priorities and regard for “the past”. In most cases, pressure to conserve comes from private lobby groups in the arts and education, and from the public sector through which conservation becomes activated as a programme. Critical to the perceived success of these programmes is the extent to which private property owners undertake renovation. This paper provides an overview of urban conservation policies and practices in developing countries, and draws a series of links with property renovation. It describes the evolution of a conservation programme for the historic centre of Quito, Ecuador, and presents evidence on the extent to which private property owners have been motivated to invest in building renovation. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the link between conservation and property renovation.     

Woodland as a setting for housing-appreciation and fear and the contribution to residential satisfaction and place identity in Warrington New Town, UK

This study evaluates “woodland in the ecological style” as a setting for contemporary housing by means of a case study of Birchwood, Warrington New Town, UK, using a postal questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to reveal residents’ perceptions of the aesthetic and safety aspects of the woodland, together with its underlying meanings. Most Birchwood residents liked the visual appearance of their street, though they had both positive and negative feelings towards its “trees and greenery”. Woodland in the local area figured prominently amongst the residents’ favourite places though some feared that they would be the victims of physical or sexual assault, or of robbery or intimidation from groups of young people in the woodland, and women felt particularly vulnerable. Whilst the woodland was significant for many residents it was not strongly identified with Birchwood as a place: the quality of the community as symbolised by the behaviour of local individuals, community groups and institutions was regarded as a more potent measure of local identity. Colourful and well-tended landscape interventions had the ability to act as signs of a caring community. The contribution of these findings to theoretical frameworks of residential satisfaction, restorative experiences and place identity is discussed: it is suggested, inter alia, that whilst signs of individual and collective care in the landscape contribute to communal place identity, individual experiences of wilder urban green spaces, including those of a restorative nature, are formative of individual place attachment. The implications for planning, design and management with ecological woodland are explored: urban dwellers should be able to choose their preferred way of interacting with the woodland, residential settings should accommodate a wide variety of user needs, and the vegetation on and around the streetscape should be proactively managed in consultation with the community.     

The role of agroforestry networks in landscape socioeconomic processes: the potential and limits of the contingent valuation method

Agroforestry networks can be a means to achieve landscape amelioration. Some authorities of the Lagoon of Venice drainage basin (Italy) are planning, amongst other actions to control pollution in the Lagoon, to reintroduce agroforestry by means of a GIS-supported design procedure. The goals of this paper were to assess (i) the contingent valuation (CV) (willingness to pay and willingness to accept) of agroforestry networks and its relationship with socioeconomic and agroforestry role variables, (ii) the coherence between agro-economic policies and farmers expectations, (iii) the relationship between the value of agroforestry as a “shared good” and water quality (non-point source pollution). Respondents associate a positive value/preference to the agroforestry network implementation, although this value is strongly affected firstly by their identity with the landscape and secondly by their income. The motivations of farmers’ evaluation are precise and the agroforestry network is considered not only as an “ethical object” but also as a concrete element of their own cultural and economic world. In this case the contingent value (in particular, in terms of acceptance) increases with the farmer’s economic capacity, and the farmer’s valuation is not linked only to the “good” but also to the “service” offered for implementing it. The expectations of farmers regarding an agroforestry plantation were lower than European Union incentives at the time of survey, and a lack of results in this field is probably linked to poor information and to bureaucratic difficulties. Even if there is general knowledge on water quality, there is little awareness on the non-point source pollution control effect of agroforestry buffer plantations, either in the common people or in those who are environmentally trained (e.g. planning university students). In every case the agroforestry “shared good” evaluation is high enough to permit efficient and supported intervention policies. These results confirm that landscape choices strongly involve issues of identity, perceived rights and evaluation capacity that cannot be simply resolved in terms of preference cost benefit analyses, but a clever use of the CV allows an identification of these same limitations and a partial estimation of them.     

Predictive mapping of powerful owl (Ninox strenua) breeding sites using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in urban Melbourne, Australia

Urban expansion is a principal process threatening biodiversity globally. It is predicted that over half of the world's population will reside in urban centres by 2010. If we are to conserve biodiversity, a shift in perspective from traditional ecological studies based in natural environments, to studies based in less natural environments is paramount. To effectively conserve species which occur in urban environments, comprehensive analysis is necessary to determine the processes that are driving this urban usage. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology provides a valuable tool for efficient spatial analysis and predictive mapping of species distributions.This study used GIS to analyze current breeding sites for the powerful owl, a vulnerable top order predator in urban Melbourne, Australia. GIS analysis suggests that a number of ecological attributes were influencing powerful owl usage of urban environments. Using these ecological attributes, predictive mapping was undertaken, which identified a number of potential breeding sites for powerful owls within urbanized Melbourne.Urban environments are traditionally perceived as “the wastelands” of natural environments, however, this study demonstrates that they have the potential to support apex predators, an important finding for the management of rare and threatened species.     

A preliminary study of metal distribution in three waterhyacinth biotypes

Two waterhyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) biotypes from Broward County, Florida, were collected and analyzed for chlorophyll content and metal distribution (potassium, calcium, magnesium, cobalt, copper, manganese and iron) in roots, stems and leaves. Two biotypes were distinguished by size (medium or “stunted”, and large or “super”) and by whether they were or were not eaten (“stunted” and ”super”, respectively) by the waterhyacinth weevil, Neochetina eichhorniae Warner. Results are compared with a third biotype (small or “normal”): i.e. plants from the Hillsborough and Peace Rivers where the weevils have not been released. The data indicate abnormal concentration of cobalt and iron in the leaves of the “super” plants relative to the third biotype. Fractions of calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron and copper in roots showed a significant, negative linear correlation coefficient, r, with solubility product constant (log K_sp) for metal carbonates of the small and medium biotypes.     

The management process for complex underground and tunneling projects

Management could be considered simply that process which is necessary to achieve the Owner's goals and objectives, such as function, performance, configuration, quality, cost, schedule, operability and maintainability. However, the management of major, complex, underground and tunneling projects must deal with many inputs, conditions and variables. Different organizational approaches, techniques and process have been used—but the certainty of success remains unpredictable. A particular management approach may be very successful for one project and may fail utterly for another. Major determinants are policies, laws, regulations, local conditions and precedents-past ways of doing business. However, applying “known precedents” which worked for one project to a second one may not produce the expected, successful result and may have unintended consequences. Not surprisingly, procedures for management, procurement and administration, as well as supporting services such as partnering and risk mitigation, vary significantly depending on the city, state or country. It is apparent that, as an industry, we do not have a good process to objectively normalize project results and correlate them with management strategies. This article presents an overview of management for complex, underground and tunneling projects, touches on public policy and its effects, discusses procurement concerns, suggests an improved approach for the “project delivery process” and outlines important supporting systems such as partnering and risk mitigation. In a second article, implementation of changes to current management and contracting practices, partnering, disputes review and risk mitigation will be more fully discussed.     

Expansion of the US wildland–urban interface

For at least two decades, expansion of low-density residential development at the wildland–urban interface has been widely recognized as a primary factor influencing the management of US national forests. We estimate the location, extent, and trends in expansion of the wildland–urban interface (WUI) in the continental United States. We mapped the WUI by determining the intersection of housing density classes computed from refined US Census data with a map of wildfire hazards based on broad forest types using definitions of WUI from the Federal Register. Our methods allowed us to provide a more spatially precise estimation of the WUI that better reflects development patterns of interest to forest land managers. We defined three wildfire hazard classes based on vegetation type. “High” severity applies to vegetation types in which stand-replacing fires dominate both historical and recent fire regimes, e.g., lodgepole pine forest. “Low” severity applies where fuels and climate foster mostly low-intensity fires, e.g., aspen-birch forest. “High (historically low or variable)” applies to vegetation types in which fires historically were of low or variable intensity, but recently have often burned at high intensity because of a century of fire exclusion, e.g., southwestern ponderosa pine forest. In 2000, the WUI that includes a 3.2 km community protection zone occupied 465,614 km², and contained over 12.5 million housing units. This is an expansion of over 52% from 1970, and by 2030 the WUI is likely to expand to at least 513,670 km² with the greatest expansion occurring in the intermountain west states. Roughly 89% of the WUI is privately owned land and about 65% of the WUI occurs in high or high (historically low or variable) severity fire regime classes.     

Treatment in municipal plants: Innovations for removal of phosphorus

The paper provides a background of a variety of different phosphorus removal techniques which have been reported in the literature. Forty-nine different references which may be described under the general headings of “biological”, “chemical”, “chemical-biological”, and “chemical-physical”, have been abstracted and described under a series of salient headings. The manner in which they are described considers the point of application of the process, the percentage removal of phosphorus which was experienced, the cost of the process where this was given, and whether or not the process is related to a concentrated sub-stream within the waste water treatment plant.The main emphasis of the paper deals with the concept of removing phosphorus from waste water by using a sub-stream within the plant which naturally has phosphorus concentrated considerably above the ambient (influent) concentration.A continuous laboratory-scale plant was studied, operating under contact stabilization conditions, and using an anaerobic holding technique on the return activated sludge, phosphorus was removed from the supernatant of the return sludge stream. The plant was operated with and without the anaerobic holding modification, and the results of the operation are reported in the paper. Both before and after the modification, the organic carbon as measured by COD removal was of the order of 90 per cent; and after modification of the plant to release the phosphorus from the return sludge stream, phosphorus removals jumped from 10 to 30 per cent up to a high of 75 to 90 per cent removal. A very slight decrease in sludge activity could be observed due to the anaerobic holding, but the very slight reduction in COD removal was more than offset by the increased removal of soluble phosphorus through the supernatant of the return sludge line.Development of this process onto a full-scale basis is considered as the next stage of this research programme.     

A multicriteria satisfaction analysis approach in the assessment of operational programmes

Ex-post evaluation European Operational Programmes could provide useful information and knowledge that can be used as a guide in future planning.The different concerns of the operational programme stakeholders along with the operating constraints make programme evaluation a difficult and fuzzy task. This paper presents the application of concepts and methodologies of multicriteria data analysis to identify critical success and risk factors in achieving the strategic objectives of a programme. The MUSA (multicriteria satisfaction analysis) method was used for analyzing the satisfaction of project managers with respect to satisfaction criteria associated with four dimensions: the project’s results, the operations of the programme organization, the support of the project organization and the performance of the project team.The specific case study refers to a sample of projects in the Operational Programme for Education and Initial Training in Greece which was funded by the 3rd Common Support Framework. The results show that the proposed methodology can be a valuable tool for programme organizations, especially in the case of “soft” action projects where the deliverables are intangible and project management at beneficiary organizations is provided at an ad-hoc basis.     

Oak forest exploitation and black-locust invasion caused severe shifts in epiphytic lichen communities in Northern Italy

In the last two centuries, native European oak forests have undergone a dramatic decline related to increasing human pressure for agriculture and urbanization. Oak forests were either completely eradicated and transformed into agricultural landscapes or replaced by second-growth formations. Intensive forest management and the replacement of native forests with production forests or arable lands are recognized amongst the main threats to many lichens in Europe. In this study, we used historical information on the epiphytic lichen biota which was hosted in a native oak-dominated forest of Northern Italy to identify shifts of lichen communities due to the changes in land use which occurred during the last two centuries. We also compared the epiphytic lichen communities inhabiting remnant oak forests with those found in the habitats that have replaced native forests: black-locust forests and agrarian landscapes. Almost all the species sampled during the 19th century are now extinct. The loss of native habitat and the subsequent invasion by black locust were probably the most influential factors which affected the composition of lichen communities, causing the local extinction of most of the species historically recorded. Despite the fact that oak remnants host only a few species which were historically recorded, and that they currently are the lichen poorest habitat in the study region, they host lichen assemblages differing from those of black-locust forests and agrarian stands. In these habitats lichen assemblages are mainly composed of species adapted to well-lit, dry conditions and tolerating air pollution and eutrophication. This pattern is likely to be common also in other lowland and hilly regions throughout Northern Italy where oak forests are targeted among the habitats of conservation concern at the European level. For this reason, a national strategy for biodiversity conservation and monitoring of lowlands forests should provide the framework for local restoration projects.     

The application of focal species knowledge to landscape design in agricultural lands using the ecological neighbourhood as a template

The focal species approach to nature conservation provides a method for identifying management actions required to meet the needs of the most vulnerable species in a landscape with respect to the threatening processes responsible for their decline. For each threat, a focal species is identified as the one with the most critical requirement pertaining to the threat. With multiple threats, the resulting suite of focal species can be regarded as a “focal community”, whose combined needs are used to address a range of management actions. In this paper, the critical requirements of a focal community of resident land birds are identified with respect to the threats arising from the loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitat in the central wheat-belt of Western Australia. This knowledge of their critical requirements is then used to guide a landscape design procedure for the enhancement of bird habitat in the Gabbi Quoi Quoi sub-catchment of Western Australia. The landscape design procedure is framed against the concept of the ecological neighbourhood, where the necessary size, spatial arrangement, area of influence and connectivity of existing landscape elements are used as a starting point for habitat restoration and re-vegetation.     

工程成本人文风险因素实证研究

基于问卷调查的实证研究表明,人文因素风险是工程成本管理所面对的重要风险,人文风险的管理重点是风险的转化和利用.对人文风险的应对态度,受制于对人文风险重要性的认识,承认其重要的人,更有可能采取积极的应对措施.在构成工程成本风险的若干人文因素中,与业主的关系、项目人员的道德素质和业主类型分别排在各类的最重要位置.最后建议了几个应深入研究的问题.     

Owner-Driven Suburban Renewal: Motivations,Risks and Strategies in ‘Knockdown and Rebuild’ Processes in Sydney,Australia

Decisions by individual owners about reinvesting capital in their homes are important drivers of wider processes of suburban renewal. This paper examines the motivations for owners in mostly middle-ring suburbs of Sydney, Australia, to reinvest through ‘knockdown and rebuild’ (KDR). This process—not unique to Australia—involves the wholesale demolition of older detached houses and their replacement with completely new dwellings. Until recently, existing literature on housing reinvestment has focused on practices such as renovations or modifications to existing dwellings. Yet, KDR is becoming increasingly popular and moreover appears to involve a distinctive set of actors, drivers and potential impacts. On the basis of a statistical survey of activity followed up by a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews, the general scale and attributes of KDR are summarised and then explored to discern the main perceived benefits, risks and types of development scenarios pursued. The results reveal a genuine diversity of motivations and circumstances involved in this latest physical makeover of the traditional Australian suburb.     

Analysing user preferences for co-working space characteristics

ABSTRACT

Over the past decades, the use of mobile technology has increased and the attitude towards work has changed, making it possible to work anywhere at any time. However, workers still seek work environments that stimulate networking and collaboration possibilities. This has led to the growing popularity of co-working spaces. However, little is known about the specific preferences of co-working space users. The aim of this research is to analyse user preferences for co-working space characteristics. Stated choice data were collected by means of a questionnaire which was completed by 219 respondents of 25 co-working spaces in the Netherlands. A mixed-multinomial logit model was used to analyse the user preferences. Results show that the main motivations for co-workers to work in a co-working space were that they were looking for a workplace outside their home that allows them to work in an inspiring work environment where the accommodation is affordable. Accessibility and atmosphere/interior are the most important characteristics when choosing a specific co-working space. These results provide owners or managers of co-working spaces with clear insights about how to cope with co-worker preferences by offering co-working spaces with good accessibility by car and public transport, a semi-open layout and a homelike interior.     

Remaining tree species from the indigenous vegetation of Ankara, Turkey

The city of Ankara is located in the geographic centre of Anatolia, Turkey. In the state of nature, Anatolia was covered with forests. Due to the destructive effects of civilisations passing through Anatolia over the centuries, the forest vegetation was gradually transformed to a steppe formation. After it became the capital city, a rapid planned urbanisation process was initiated in Ankara. In the first development plan, efforts were concentrated on the south axis of the city, which harbored the greatest concentration of indigenous plant cover in the valleys.In 1974, the embassy gardens and parks on the north–south axis were declared a “Natural Conservation Area”. Despite the conservation act, change and denuding of indigenous vegetation continued all along the axis due to highly increasing development. However, these conservation areas still include tree species from the indigenous vegetation. In this study, the presidency gardens, the embassy gardens and parks in Ankara that were declared a “conservation area” were evaluated in terms of the remaining tree species from the indigenous plant cover. The study aims to indicate the level of conservation of natural habitat in Ankara and to determine whether the concept of “Natural Conservation Areas” includes the protection of biodiversity or not. Moreover, the research results aim to reveal still existing tree species of indigenous vegetation, which will enlighten us regarding future landscape planning in Central Anatolia. Trees were examined by age, height and exposition. The results show that remaining indigenous tree species of the study area grow along the former ncesu River and that the terrain on which the trees stand is mostly exposed to the southwest and southeast. The indigenous tree species which do not exist in the study area are scattered in valleys along the river trails or on the hills of Ankara’s rural lands.     

The capital budgeting evaluation practices (2004) of building contractors in Hong Kong

This paper reports the investigation results of capital budgeting evaluation practices of Hong Kong building contractors. The survey aims to identify the popularity of various techniques for capital budgeting evaluation and to measure the changes of the practices longitudinally by comparing the results of the current study (2004) with those of the similar surveys conducted in 1994 and 1999. The current survey results revealed that the “formal financial evaluation” was the most popular technique for capital budget evaluation. The “payback period” was the mostly used investment appraisal technique. For risk appraisal techniques, “shortening payback period” occupied the first position. The “planning programming” remained as the most popular management science technique. Moreover, a comparison of the practices of large contracting firms was carried out to view the changes over the last 10 years. The results showed that the practice of capital budget evaluation was emphasized. The popularity of employing investment appraisal and risk analysis techniques was dropping. In addition, the capital budgeting evaluation techniques examined were fitted into a discriminant function analysis (DFA), which allowed contracting firms to be classified in accordance with their predominant characteristics in the practices. The classification result was 89.1% of all cases were correctly classified.