Cyclical versus Structural Sustainability of Homeownership: Is Counter-cyclical Intervention in Housing Markets Enough?

The economic and housing market difficulties that emerged as a result of the recent global financial crisis (GFC) have encouraged a focus on the cyclical sustainability of homeownership. As a result, there has been inadequate attention paid to the impact of increased real household incomes and wealth on the structural sustainability of a housing system built on homeownership as the dominant tenure. This paper argues that, where housing supply is relatively inelastic in the long run, underlying demand pressures may keep house prices on a path which continues to diverge from household incomes. This will add to borrowing constraints already faced by aspiring first homeowners with low and moderate incomes and with limited wealth. If financial institutions tighten lending standards in response to the GFC, households with limited equity and limited capacity to pay will find it even more difficult to gain access to finance than has been the case in the past. This raises the question of whether homeownership can be sustained at its current levels. The paper uses outcomes in Australia to illustrate the points made and suggests that other countries, such as the UK, may well be about to follow the same path.     

Just Housing Policy: Is There a Moral Foundation for a Homeownership Policy?

There is no lack of social and political reasons in favor of public policies oriented toward helping people to become homeowners. In this study, we undertake a normative inquiry into the moral foundation, if any, behind those politically viable and beneficial publicly supported homeownership programs. What we want to examine is whether public support of homeownership is a question of justice or merely a matter of beneficence. In particular, we have reviewed three different portrayals of homeowners: homeowners as right-holders; homeowners as stakeholders; and homeowners as decent citizens. Our position is that it would do more harm than good to defend homeownership as a matter of basic rights; instead, homeownership can be justified by developing Bruce Ackerman's idea of stakeholding and the notion of asset-building as championed by Michael Sherraden. To conceive homeownership as what people deserve as stakeholders as well as a form of lifelong asset that people can rely on when encountering risks and contingencies provide sufficient ground to render public support of homeownership.     

The Sustainability of an Entrepreneurial City?

The paper applies an urban political ecology approach to interrogating the use of sustainability constructs by key international governance agencies. We draw on political economy of urban sustainability to identify central themes in the reports to reveal limitations and contradictions in the deployment of the environmental sustainability construct. We argue that the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank offer little towards the development of a new vision for future cities, only affirmation of neoliberal urbanism. Promisingly, some of ‘key trends’ identified by UN-Habitat will enhance the democratic content of socio-environmental construction. This will achieve a more equitable distribution of social power and inclusive mode of environmental production.     

Sustainability Science and Planning: A Crucial Collaboration?

In this age of public skepticism about science, sustainability science offers a way to increase the application of science in planning and policy. This paper explores the relationship between science and society and the emergence of sustainability science. A comparison of the theory and practice of sustainability science and planning reveals the potential for a natural partnership. Based on the analysis, I suggest ways that planning may bridge the gap and build on the opportunity to strengthen its purpose and impact.     

“抄”?“杪”?

建筑工业出版社所出版的关于古代建筑的书刊,常常将“栱”误为“拱”,这当然是校对的疏忽。近来忽然又出现了将“抄”误为“杪”。我正在想:大概是因为改正“木”旁误为“提手”旁的错误,竟将“抄拱”两字均改为木旁,于是使原来正确的“抄”错改成“杪”了。顷得读清华大学《建筑史论文集》第六     

Is fluoridation a fraud?

During the past 15 years tooth decay rates have declined markedly amongst children in many parts of the industrialised world. Over the same period, however, decay rates have increased dramatically in children in developing countries. For many years it has been claimed that water fluoridation is the most important and cost-effective method for controlling dental caries. A series of recent papers in the scientific literature have challenged the 'fluoridation hypothesis', since the decline in decay reported in the developed countries has occurred in both fluoridated and unfluoridated areas. In some countries of the developing world, tooth decay is now reaching crisis proportions, hence it is important to know whether fluoridation really can "reduce tooth decay by about 60 per cent", or if the dental profession has been promoting a 'flawed' hypothesis for more than 40 years.     

Is nature really natural?

The paper argues that nature is basically cultural, but that nature does not occupy a fixed place in the human cultural universe. It may be a mental construct in the sciences or in the arts, an empirical aspect of working process or scientific investigation, a philosophical, religious or mythological presupposition for our existence, or part of a discursive rhetoric concerning socially coded naturalness. In each case, humans have been inextricably linked to their natural conditions throughout history. One consequence is that the categories which determine our practical and mental approach to nature are products of culture. Another is that although nature is an indispensable part of culture, nature will still be nature without our culture.     

Is construction an industry?

There has been a frequent misconception in analyses of construction sectors of the national economy: the tendency to describe these activities as ‘an industry’ or a small and stable set of ‘industries’. This has led to confusion. Construction was inappropriately assimilated to various forms of manufacturing industry. Characteristics of the construction process were treated as ‘problems’, to whose solution substantial energies were unnecessarily diverted. There has been muddle about the extent to which macro-level planning is appropriate, notably on R&D strategies and innovation for improved industrial efficiency. Construction projects increasingly use unfamiliar technological bases, comparable to ‘technology fusion’ in other sectors. A more fruitful emphasis may be to regard construction as organized as agglomerations of projects - rather than as a discrete industry or a fixed constellation of firms. The idea of the ‘demand chain’ is introduced.

The paper concludes that a ‘technological paradigm’ should replace the ‘industry paradigm’ and that an enduring question remains to explore what is meant by construction ‘capacity’.     

Is linguistic landscape necessary?

Linguistic landscape (LL) studies have primarily been undertaken by linguists not landscape scholars. By reviewing two works in LL, this review article questions several assumptions of LL and claims the field can be considered a logical extension of any holistic consideration of elements of analysis warranted to be carried out under the banner of traditional sociolinguistics. By questioning what the sub-field of LL offers studies of language in and of landscape, this polemic queries how landscape focused LL actually is and identifies how further LL studies may arise with a more directed landscape emphasis.     

Is production outside management?

It is contended that the root cause for disagreement between lean construction proponents and management scholars is related to the new direction of management research which was proposed in 1959 in two influential books, by R.A. Gordon and J.E. Howell and by F.C. Pierson. It was argued that management was to be approached through three root stems: behavioural science, economics and quantitative modelling. The mainstream academic work on management has followed the guidelines presented in these books. Unfortunately, this kind of management science has also attracted vocal and wide criticism regarding its practical relevance. The 1959 work rejected the production-centric scientific management tradition – a tradition on which lean construction has been based. Thus, the underlying disagreement is about the role of production in management: is production a starting point for management or outside management? This root disagreement is demonstrated through two research topics at the heart of the development of management science after 1959: organizational theory, as developed by J.R. Galbraith, and transaction cost economics, initiated by O. Williamson. Based on evidence from the analyses made, it is suggested that the failure to include production in theory has been one major cause for the problematic situation of management science in the last 50 years.

Il est soutenu que la cause première du désaccord entre les partisans de la construction rationalisée et les chercheurs en gestion est liée à la nouvelle orientation de la recherche en gestion qui a été proposée en 1959 dans deux livres influents de R.A. Gordon et J.E. Howell et de F.C. Pierson. Il était avancé que la gestion devait être abordée selon trois branches principales: les sciences du comportement, les sciences économiques, et la modélisation quantitative. Le courant dominant des travaux universitaires en gestion a suivi les directives exposées dans ces livres. Malheureusement, ce type de sciences de gestion s'est également attiré de vigoureuses et larges critiques à l'égard de sa pertinence pratique. L'ouvrage de 1959 rejetait la tradition d'une gestion scientifique centrée sur la production – une tradition sur laquelle s'est fondée la construction rationalisée. Ainsi, le désaccord sous-jacent porte-t-il sur le rôle de la production dans la gestion: la production est-elle un point de départ pour la gestion ou se situe-t-elle en dehors de la gestion? Ce désaccord de fond est démontré à travers deux thèmes de recherche se situant au coeur du développement des sciences de gestion après 1959: la théorie organisationnelle, telle qu'elle a été élaborée par J.R. Galbraith, et l'économie des coûts de transaction, dont O. Williamson est l'initiateur. Sur la base des éléments probants apportés par les analyses faites, il est suggéré que le fait de ne pas avoir inclus la production dans la théorie a été l'une des causes principales de la situation problématique des sciences de gestion ces cinquante dernières années.

Mots clés: gestion de la construction?construction rationalisée?théorie du design organisationnel?économie des coûts de transaction?déchets     

“Urban Farming Is Going High Tech”

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: How do traditional forms of urban agriculture and the newer digital urban agriculture converge and diverge from one another in terms of land use and gentrification? I interrogate the subject of digital urban agriculture with data from 82 semistructured interviews and notes taken during public forms and tours of facilities. Respondents were located in Denver (CO; n?=?30), New York (NY; n?=?26), and San Francisco (CA; n?=?26) and held positions ranging from community organizers, investors, local food powerbrokers, and planners to engineers involved in facilitating urban foodways based on vertical farming, automation, and related technologies. I find digital platforms—systems exhibiting characteristics including real-time surveillance, artificial intelligence, and automation—share similarities with traditional urban farming systems. Both platforms have the potential to disrupt dominant political economies and also have links to gentrification and other inequitable land use patterns. Potential divergences include differences in a) social, cultural, economic, human, and built capital barriers and outcomes; b) land use life course; and c) zoning.

Takeaway for practice: Digital urban farming systems inhabit a regulatory gray area; respondents encountered agricultural, industrial, or commercial zoning permits. The “digital” aspects of these systems contributed to this ambiguity and are used by powerbrokers to obtain further zoning permission than is possible with traditional urban agriculture. Compared with more traditional urban farming systems, digital urban agriculture taps into different forms of human capital. Finally, my findings are inconclusive on the issue of land use life course. Some data indicate digital farms will remain in urban cores, whereas other evidence points to the eventual migration of these platforms to the metropolitan periphery.     

What Is a Forecast for?

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The forecasts transit agencies submit in support of applications for federal New Starts funding have historically overestimated ridership, as have ridership forecasts for rail projects in several countries and contexts. Forecast accuracy for New Starts projects has improved over time. Understanding the motivations of forecasters to produce accurate or biased forecasts can help forecast users determine whether to trust new forecasts. For this study I interviewed 13 transit professionals who have helped prepare or evaluate applications for federal New Starts funds. This sample includes interviewees who have had varying levels of involvement in all 82 New Starts projects that opened between 1976 and 2016. I recruited interviewees through a snowball sampling method; my interviews focus on the interviewees’ perspectives on how New Starts project evaluation and ridership forecasting has changed over time. Interview results suggest that ridership forecasters’ motivations to produce accurate forecasts may have increased with increased transparency, increased influence on local decision making, and decreased influence on external (federal) funding.

Takeaway for practice: Planners can evaluate the likely trustworthiness of forecasts based on transparency, internal influence, and external influence. If forecast users cannot easily determine a forecast’s key inputs and assumptions, if the forecaster has been tasked with producing a forecast to justify a predetermined action, and if an unfavorable forecast would circumvent decisions by the forecaster’s immediate client, forecasts should viewed with skepticism. Planners should seek to alter conditions that may create these conflicts of interest. Forecasters seem to be willing and able to improve forecast accuracy when the demand for accurate forecasts increases.     

Is solar air conditioning feasible?

This paper examines the feasibility of desiccant cooling in UK climates, using gas-solar hybrid technology for regeneration. Desiccant cooling is a heat driven system. It has potential to reduce energy costs and environmental pollution, when compared with conventional vapour compression systems. The regeneration of the desiccant can be provided by any low temperature warm air or water source including waste heat, CHP, gas or solar. Heat recovery is also available. Gaia Research worked with Napier University to develop computer codes for the simulation of solar energy collection and hot water delivery to drive the desiccant cooling system, based on real meteorological data. A solar desiccant computer model was developed with the University of Leeds which analysed the energy consumption and costs associated with desiccant cooling using meteorological data for an inner London site in 1994. The study demonstrates that coupling the desiccant system to solar collectors produces significant savings in both running cost and CO2 emissions. The existing models of solar contribution and desiccant cooling will be refined. This will enable an assessment to be made of the UK opportunities for energy conservation and CO2 emission reduction in relation to latitude, internal design conditions, and real loads. Cet article traite des possibilites de realisation de systemes de refroidissement par deshydratation dans les conditions climatiques propres au Royaume-Uni, en faisant appel a la technologie hybride gaz-energie solaire pour la regeneration. Compares aux solutions classiques de compression de vapeur, de tels systemes de refroidissement, bases sur la puissance thermique, permettent de reduire les couts energetiques et de diminuer la pollution environnementale. La regeneration du deshydratant peut etre assuree par toute source d'eau ou d'air chauffee faiblement: chaleur perdue, CHP, gaz ou energie solaire. Le Groupe Gaia Research et l'Universite Napier ont travaille ensemble au calcul de codes informatiques pour simuler le captage de l'energie solaire ou la fourniture d'eau chaude pour alimenter le systeme de refroidissement par deshydratation en fonction de donnees meteorologique brutes. Avec l'Universite de Leeds, ils ont mis au point un modele de deshydratant solaire qui analyse la consommation energetique et les couts du refroidissement par deshydratation; ce modele utilise des donnees meteorologiques recueillies a Londres en 1994. Cette etude demontre que l'association d'un systeme deshydratant a des capteurs solaires degage des economies non negligeables au niveau des couts d'exploitation et reduit sensiblement les emissions de CO2. Les modeles existants, bases sur la contribution de l'energie solaire et du refroidissement par deshydratation, seront ameliores et serviront a evaluer les possibilites pour le Royaume-Uni de faire des economies d'energie et de reduire les emissions de CO2 en fonction de la latitude, des parametres de conception et des charges reelles.     

“Joyoung”豆浆机?OR “JILIyong”豆浆机?

<正>豆浆养生风近年大热,即使没喝过自制豆浆的消费者应该也知道"九阳"这个品牌的豆浆机。但正所谓树大招风,企业品牌做得响亮很容易会引起他人的觊觎。2016年,九阳股份有限公司(简称九阳公司)将中山市九阳小家电有限公司(简称:中山九阳)及相关网络销售平台折800的经营者团博百众(北京)科技有限公司(简称团博公