Is the human right to water sufficiently protected in Spain? Affordability and governance concerns

Most research on water poverty focuses on developing countries. However, research is also needed in developed countries, where water may be too expensive for some households. This paper examines the case of Spain, using data from 16 cities that combined are home to 35% of the Spanish population. We study both national and local systems of regulation and governance. The objective is to determine whether low-income families face a genuine threat of exclusion from water supply. To this end, we analysed whether the Spanish legal framework allows that water supply is cut off for non-payment of the bill. We also did different estimates of the percentage of the family income spent on the water bill, which in some cases can surpass 10%. The estimates account for tariff discounts, as well as assistance programmes available to those who are struggling to pay their water bill. Although there is no problem of affordability for an average Spanish family in general, we conclude that families at risk of poverty face a real threat of exclusion from water services because they are not able to pay for them and the institutional framework does not sufficiently protect them.     

Settling in or moving out? Exploring the effect of mobility intentions on public housing exits

This paper seeks to understand how public housing residents’ mobility intentions affect their actual exits. The results suggest that mobility intentions do have a significant effect on public housing exits. However, the rate of exit among those who intend to move out of public housing was similar to those who did not intend to leave. In addition, tenure had a significant effect on the odds of exiting alluding to issues of duration dependence. However, neighbourhood conditions did not fully explain public housing exits. Our proxy for policy reform had a large effect on the odds of exiting of public housing. This result suggests that changes in housing assistance programmes and urban housing policy could largely account for public housing exits. Overall, the results imply that while public housing residents may have positive and negative mobility intentions, their exits may primarily be due to shifts in housing policy and social welfare programmes versus individual characteristics and neighbourhood conditions.     

Do economic crises lead tourists to closer destinations? Italy at the time of the Great Recession

This article studies how distance influences the choice of tourists about their holiday destination during times of economic crisis. In particular, we analyse the specific case of domestic tourism flows across Italian regions during the 2000–2012 period by estimating a gravity model. Our estimations yield the effect of distance year by year. The output suggests that distance gained weight during the years of the Great Recession and therefore confirms, from a macroeconomic perspective, that tourists tend to choose closer destinations in times of crisis.     

Causes and Consequences? Exploring the Shape and Direction of the Housing System in the UK Post the Financial Crisis

The impacts of the global financial crisis continue to reverberate around the world. This paper explores its impacts in the UK in general and England in particular in relation to the housing market and housing policy. It examines the underlying trends which were already in place before the financial crisis and the impact of the crisis and the government's policy responses on the housing and mortgage markets. The paper argues that the crisis mainly exacerbated already long established tensions while the current policy solutions have ameliorated, but not fully, resolved these pressures.     

An assessment of the fate, behaviour and environmental risk associated with sunscreen TiO₂ nanoparticles in UK field scenarios

The fate of Ti was examined in an activated sludge plant serving over 200,000 people. These studies revealed a decrease of 30 to 3.2 μg/L of Ti < 0.45 μm from influent to effluent and a calculated Ti presence of 305 mg/kg DW in wasted sludge. Thus, using sludge as a fertiliser would result in a predicted deposition of up to 250 mg/m² of Ti to soil surfaces using a recommended maximal agricultural application rate. Given the major use of TiO₂ in many industrial and domestic applications where loss to the sewer is possible, this measured Ti was presumed to have been largely TiO₂, a proportion of which will be nanoparticle sized. To assess the behaviour of engineered nanoparticle (ENP) TiO₂ in sewage and toxicology studies, Optisol (Oxonica Materials Ltd) and P25 (Evonik Industries AG), which are representative of forms used in sunscreen and cosmetic products, were used. These revealed a close association of TiO₂ ENPs with activated sludge. Using commercial information on consumption, and removal rates for sewage treatment, predictions were made for river water concentrations for sunscreen TiO₂ ENPs for the Anglian and Thames regions in Southern England. The highest predicted value from these exercises was 8.8 μg/L for the Thames region in which it was assumed that one in four people used the recommended application of sunscreen during a low flow (Q95) period. Ecotoxicological studies using potentially vulnerable species indicated that 1000 μg/L TiO₂ ENP did not affect the viability of a mixed community of river bacteria in the presence of UV light. Direct exposure to TiO₂ ENPs did not impair the immuno-effectiveness of earthworm coelomocyte cells at concentrations greatly above those predicted for sewage sludge.     

How was it for you? Experiences of participatory design in the UK health service

Improving co-design methods implies that we need to understand those methods, paying attention to not only the effect of method choices on design outcomes, but also how methods affect the people involved in co-design. In this article, we explore participants' experiences from a year-long participatory health service design project to develop ‘Better Outpatient Services for Older People’. The project followed a defined method called experience-based design (EBD), which represented the state of the art in participatory service design within the UK National Health Service. A sample of participants in the project took part in semi-structured interviews reflecting on their involvement in and their feelings about the project. Our findings suggest that the EBD method that we employed was successful in establishing positive working relationships among the different groups of stakeholders (staff, patients, carers, advocates and design researchers), although conflicts remained throughout the project. Participants' experiences highlighted issues of wider relevance in such participatory design: cost versus benefit, sense of project momentum, locus of control, and assumptions about how change takes place in a complex environment. We propose tactics for dealing with these issues that inform the future development of techniques in user-centred healthcare design.     

Changes in water quality of the River Frome (UK) from 1965 to 2009: is phosphorus mitigation finally working?

The water quality of the River Frome, Dorset, southern England, was monitored at weekly intervals from 1965 until 2009. Determinands included phosphorus, nitrogen, silicon, potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, pH, alkalinity and temperature. Nitrate-N concentrations increased from an annual average of 2.4 mg l^− 1 in the mid to late 1960s to 6.0 mg l^− 1 in 2008-2009, but the rate of increase was beginning to slow. Annual soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations increased from 101 μg l^− 1 in the mid 1960s to a maximum of 190 μg l^− 1 in 1989. In 2002, there was a step reduction in SRP concentration (average = 88 μg l^− 1 in 2002-2005), with further improvement in 2007-2009 (average = 49 μg l^− 1), due to the introduction of phosphorus stripping at sewage treatment works. Phosphorus and nitrate concentrations showed clear annual cycles, related to the timing of inputs from the catchment, and within-stream bioaccumulation and release. Annual depressions in silicon concentration each spring (due to diatom proliferation) reached a maximum between 1980 and 1991, (the period of maximum SRP concentration) indicating that algal biomass had increased within the river. The timing of these silicon depressions was closely related to temperature. Excess carbon dioxide partial pressures (EpCO₂) of 60 times atmospheric CO₂ were also observed through the winter periods from 1980 to 1992, when phosphorus concentration was greatest, indicating very high respiration rates due to microbial decomposition of this enhanced biomass. Declining phosphorus concentrations since 2002 reduced productivity and algal biomass in the summer, and EpCO₂ through the winter, indicating that sewage treatment improvements had improved riverine ecology. Algal blooms were limited by phosphorus, rather than silicon concentration. The value of long-term water quality data sets is discussed. The data from this monitoring programme are made freely available to the wider science community through the CEH data portal (http://gateway.ceh.ac.uk/).     

The key to sustainable urban development in UK cities? The influence of density on social sustainability

High residential density is an important element of the compact city concept alongside mixed land uses, well-connected urban layouts, and easily accessible public transport networks. However, there is little consensus on how dense ‘high-density’ residential development should be, nor on what are the impacts of such urban environments on residents. This paper attempts to address this gap in knowledge by exploring the concept of density within the context of sustainability, calling on empirical evidence conducted in the UK by the CityForm research project. This research examined the relationship between elements of urban form (including density) and sustainability. This paper specifically makes reference to the relationship between density and aspects of social sustainability, specifically social equity (i.e. access to services and facilities), environmental equity (i.e. access to and use of green/open space) and sustainability of community (including perceptions of safety, social interaction and community stability). An extensive postal questionnaire survey and series of follow-up in-depth focus groups were conducted in a number of neighbourhoods in five UK cities to examine the hypothesis that high-density neighbourhoods were less likely to support socially sustainable behaviour and attitudes than low-density ones.     

From pragmatic to politicized? The future of water remunicipalization in the United States

The United States has experienced swings of public and private operation of its water services for more than 150 years. This paper examines the most recent swing, that of remunicipalization. We argue that much of this remunicipalization is taking place for ‘pragmatic’ reasons related to cost savings and service quality, but there are also signs of more ‘politicized’ forms of water remunicipalization taking place, similar to efforts elsewhere in the world where the process has often involved heated ideological debates and mass mobilizations. Combined with a growing politicization of other social, economic, and environmental issues in the US, water remunicipalization could become more politicized in the future, but a fragmented ‘pro-public’ movement, combined with ongoing efforts to outsource water services and growing resistance to remunicipalization from private water companies, may constrain this potential.     

Application of statistical power analysis – How to determine the right sample size in human health,comfort and productivity research

The minimum size of subjects required for the research on human health, thermal comfort and productivity is a frequently asked question. In this paper the idea of power analysis, which helps to determine required sample size as well as to interpret research results, is introduced in order to promote good practice of power analysis in the context of human and building environment relationship research. How to calculate effect size from published article or experimental data is presented with plenty of examples. The effect sizes of several physiological and psychological measurements indicating the effect of indoor environment quality on human health, thermal comfort and productivity are presented, which could be worked as references when researchers planning their own studies. How to determine required sample size when planning a study and how to interpret the research results with power analysis are also illustrated step by step with samples. Finally how to make decisions when evaluating the study results is summarized. It is expected that these examples and the summary could help researchers to better apply power analysis in indoor environment quality (IEQ) studies. Some statistical terms used in this paper, such as power analysis, effect size, and t-test, etc., are explained in detail in the Appendix.     

What has debt got to do with it? The Valuation of Homeownership in the Era of Financialization

Based on comparative focus group data from Norway, Denmark and England, this article asks why people take on substantial mortgages to become homeowners. It argues that financialization of the housing market has resulted in a widespread investment philosophy at the household level and changed the way people think and talk about “the home”. High levels of mortgage borrowing have become commonplace and are justified by social valuations of owner-occupation based on beliefs around freedom through homeownership. Like previous research, the study shows that homeownership offers social identity, stability and belonging. But, this is wrapped up in an investor’s language, such that the distinction between homes as socially valued living environments and homes as investment objects has become blurred. This makes it difficult – perhaps impossible – for households to assess the risks involved in home purchases.     

Rethinking the mechanism of the social impact assessment with the ‘right to the city’ concept: a case study of the Blue House Revitalization Project in Hong Kong (2006–2012)

Over the past two decades, urban renewal has become a major means to increase the efficiency of land production in Hong Kong (HK). Although the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) have introduced the social impact assessment (SIA) mechanism to mitigate the social impact of renewal projects, social conflicts have intensified between affected residents and the URA/HKHA. To what extent can SIA effectively mitigate the social impacts of urban renewal in HK? To answer this question, the author draws on a mixture of empirical and secondary materials to analyse the development, assessment procedures, and report format of SIA in HK as a basis to evaluate the challenges of this mechanism. Then the author goes on to critically analyse how thinking on ‘right to the city’ and affected residents’ comments come together to inform reflections on SIA in HK. The author argues that the SIA mechanism in HK remains technocratic in nature because it does not function effectively in addressing the needs of affected residents and resolving the deep-rooted conflicts between residents’ right of living and pro-growth development.     

How does the community resilience of urban village response to the government-led redevelopment? A case study of Tangjialing village in Beijing

Building on the critical resilience literature, this study aims at analyzing how the community resilience (CR) of urban village (UV), which is challenged by multiple natural and socio-economic disturbances such as climate change, land occupation, and industrialization, responses to the government-led redevelopment (GLR) and its hidden mechanism. A conceptual framework incorporating social, economic, institutional/governmental, material domains and community capital was established with reference to the work of Cutter, Burton, and Emrich (2010), and was applied as the conceptual springboard to assess the resilience of Tangjialing village. The results suggested that the GLR in Tangjialing village was generally a successful practice for enhancing CR, which was tightly associated with the economic empowerment for local residents and formalization of informal economic activities and negatively affected by insufficient public engagement. Accordingly, policy implications about enhancing the resilience such as protecting the farmers' “private rights” as landowners, providing employment guidance and assistance and implementing cooperative planning were proposed.     

Housing Associations in the Republic of Ireland: Can They Respond to the Government's Challenge for Major Expansion?

In the late 1990s, faced with rapid escalation in house prices and rising housing stress, politicians and policy-makers in the Republic of Ireland expressed widespread concern about inadequacies in social housing provision. In one of a series of responses the government has recently announced an ambitious plan to promote and to resource the existing small housing association movement so that its annual output would increase eightfold in the early years of the new century. There is little existing research on the work of housing associations in the Republic of Ireland or about their contribution to housing provision and policy and there is clearly an urgent need for a careful analysis of the capacity of the voluntary sector and of its strengths, weaknesses and potential. Pending such a study, this paper aims to provide an overview of the voluntary sector's development in the context of the evolution of Irish housing policy and considers some of the developmental and policy issues which will arise from the government's decision to promote the voluntary and co-operative sector.     

Mirror of the state or independent image? – Conceptual perspectives on the question of a legitimacy shift to the output dimension in local democracy

This contribution discusses the theoretical and conceptual implications of asking about the legitimacy of local democracy and the relevance of discussing ‘performance legitimacy’. The role of local government in generating or undermining democratic legitimacy is ambivalent. It is questionable whether there can be something like a genuine legitimacy of local government at all, considering its subordinate and functionalised role in the modern (welfare) state. In the first part of the article, the complexity and controversial status of political legitimacy in general and local government in particular is exposed. It is argued that the effective interplay of justification (giving acceptable reasons for policies) and demonstration (performing successfully by fulfilling promises), which is at the core of generating legitimacy, cannot be deduced from general concepts and fixed in a general model. Generating a self-reinforcing dynamic of public support and linking different dimensions of legitimacy (input, throughput, output) is a matter of reflexive institutionalisation. Being part of a democratic welfare state has provided local governments in Western democracies with a stabilised focus of legitimacy. At the same time, local governments are particularly under pressure to adapt, to innovate and to modernise. Four broader narratives of changing democratic legitimacy sources with respect to local government are discussed. The shift to ‘performance legitimacy’ has to be seen in a wider context of redefining the meaning of (local) democracy as mapped out by the four narratives.