The impact of urban renewal on neighborhood housing prices in Taipei: an application of the difference-in-difference method

This study examined the impact of urban renewal delineation time on housing prices in neighborhoods undergoing urban renewal. More specifically, the study used the difference-in-difference method to assess successful housing transactions in Taipei City from 2008 to 2011. According to the empirical results, before the implementation of urban renewal, the average housing price in the areas that later underwent urban renewal (the treatment group) was lower than that in neighborhoods that did not undergo urban renewal (the control group) by 11,180 NTD. After the urban renewal projects were publicly announced, the price per ping of the control group was increased by 148,800 NTD, while the price per ping of the treatment group was increased by 163,680 NTD. This means that the housing prices per ping in the urban renewal areas were increased by 14,880 NTD more than the housing prices per ping in the areas not affected by urban renewal after the urban renewal projects were publicly announced. This increase, then, indicates the value added after implementation of urban renewal delineation time on houses in the neighborhood. Therefore, research into the impact of urban renewal on housing prices should be concerned not only with the neighborhood factors or time factors of urban renewal delineation. Rather, the two types of factors should be considered at the same time.     

Emergency housing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: an assessment of the FEMA travel trailer program

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005. More than 1800 persons died, and the disaster stands as the costliest in U.S. history. Over 200,000 former residents of New Orleans continue to reside elsewhere. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency housing program, and specifically the design, manufacture, and deployment of its travel trailer housing units, remain the subject of controversy. The FEMA travel trailer program is critiqued, as is recent empirical evidence on the deleterious health outcomes experienced by many trailer occupants. The results of a pilot investigation are reported, whereby the post-occupancy assessments of a group of occupants of single-site FEMA trailer installations were compared to a group residing in two FEMA trailer park communities in New Orleans. Among the findings, the travel trailer unit was assessed by occupants as difficult to personalize to occupants’ preferred patterns of use, inadequate in size, affording few site amenities, and little overall privacy, and the unit itself functioned as a source of chronic environmental stress. The findings are translated into a theoretical/operative model of person-environment interactions, to assist in further research on this subject.

Lessons for LEED® for Neighborhood Development,Social Equity,and Affordable Housing

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® for Neighborhood Development (LEED®ND) is a rating system designed to encourage sustainable development. I explore why and how most LEED®ND projects ultimately fail to meet the equity goals inherent in sustainability. I survey 114 LEED®ND accredited professionals (APs) and conduct 20 interviews with LEED®ND APs to illuminate the role of the rating system in developer decisions to include affordable housing in their projects. I also explore why nonprofit developers see value in seeking LEED®ND certification for their projects. Although a limited sample, it provides insights into how the certification process affects developer decisions. I find that the LEED®ND rating system does a poor job of encouraging developers to provide affordable housing: Only 40% of LEED®ND-certified projects include affordable housing. LEED®ND APs do not feel that the system offers sufficient incentives to overcome the risks and costs of providing affordable housing. Nonprofit developers might pursue LEED®ND to create savings for residents, but may be deterred by the cost of certification. Most respondents feel that the affordable housing credit should be increased and improved to provide adequate incentives to developers.

Takeaway for practice: Planners cannot count on LEED®ND certification to ensure the provision of affordable and mixed housing in sustainable neighborhoods. The LEED®ND system could be improved by weighting the affordable housing credit more heavily; developers could also be incentivized to build a greater mix of housing. The certification costs could be lowered or subsidized for projects with affordable housing and assessed on a per unit basis. Additional credits could be given to projects that significantly reduce utility costs for low-income residents.     

Environmental impact assessment of housing projects

The purposes, tasks and stages of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) practice for housing development projects have been considered. The implementation of the EIA of these projects is proposed in three stages:

1. Identification of the existing state of the environment.

2. Identification of natural and anthropogenic factors which are of significance for designing housing developments and the arrangement of recreation facilities.

3. 3. EIA of the existing development projects.

The approach given is illustrated by the EIA of four development projects in one of the Vladivostok “microdistricts”, 2,3 km² in area, designed for 22,000 residents. A set of ten maps has been compiled for the future construction area which illustrates spatial spreading and significance of each factor for the housing development. Possibilities are shown for the increase of positive characteristics and the neutralization of considerable negative characteristics of the natural environment by means of town planning. Measures are proposed to improve the environment for recreation facilities.     

Clients’ assessment of architects’ performance in building delivery process: Evidence from Nigeria

The overall intent of this research is to provide architects with information that can be used to improve their performance so as to optimally satisfy the client's requirements and achieve high-quality overall project performance in Nigerian construction industry. Architect performance criteria were identified based on literature within the domain of architect responsibilities. The assessment of architects’ performance was carried out through a questionnaire survey of clients of recently completed building projects in Nigeria. Analysis of data includes comparison of criteria using importance–performance index analysis. Factor analysis was carried out on criteria where architects are falling below average, to group and explore the latent structure of the criteria in the data. The results showed that the architect needs to focus on management skills and ability, buildability, design quality, project communication, project integration and client focus. These results would encourage architects to perform better within their full responsibilities in the building delivery process and deliver high-quality projects within Nigerian construction industry.     

Housing finance in the Nordic countries

The aim of this article is to describe and compare the housing finance systems in the Nordic countries from a housing policy perspective. The starting point is the obvious similarity between the countries in economic, cultural, geographical and historical respects. While a housing consumption goal is important to all these countries and in spite of their similarities, the countries have chosen quite different housing finance systems.

It is suggested that one explanation of these differences is different methods of targeting or selectivity. Nevertheless, some countries do have a more selective policy than others. One explanation may be differences in the housing stock. It is observed that countries with a high share of selective subsidies do not have a public, non‐profit housing sector. The paper ends with a discussion of the need for more research in this important area.     

Mediation Model for Improving Cost Factors That Affect Performance of Small-Scale Building Construction Contract Business in Nigeria: A PLS-SEM Approach

Performance of small-scale building construction contract business poses a challenge to the sustainable development of the construction industry, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. Small-scale construction contract business plays an important role in the economic development of any nation. In Nigeria, small-scale construction contract business has a tremendous role in the development of rural areas. This study assesses the mediation effects of client support with advance payment on cost factors that affect performance of small-scale contract businesses in Nigeria. The study identified three factors that affect cost performance of construction projects in developing countries: cash flow problems, effects of fraudulent practices, and effects of the nature of construction environments. In total, 550 survey questionnaires were administered to stakeholders in the Nigerian construction industry. Stratified proportionate random sampling method was used for the selection of respondents and 387 questionnaires were returned, with 357 used in the analysis.     

The effectiveness of selected housing subsidies in the Czech Republic

The goal of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of the new housing policy in the Czech Republic as an example of a transitional society after the collapse of communism. The first part provides a brief history of the housing policy dating back to 1918. The second part presents the results of empirical tests of effectiveness (or equity) of selected housing subsidies applied during the transition. As in other transitional countries, the considerable decrease in the financial affordability of housing after 1989 demanded an active housing policy. Housing subsidies, whether direct or implicit, were, however, often not well targeted. The economic subsidy from rent regulation, tax relief and housing allowances are especially assessed here.

Achieving Regional Housing Planning Objectives: Directing Affordable Housing to Jobs-Rich Neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Low-income households face affordability issues and are often forced to live in areas with limited job access and inadequate transportation. Local communities exacerbate these problems through exclusionary zoning. We study the impact of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) change in allocation formula under California’s affordable housing mandate. The old policy followed a fair share strategy, whereas the new policy requires local jurisdictions to locate mandated affordable housing units in jobs-rich areas. We compare affordable housing produced in the region before and after ABAG adopted the jobs-housing policy; we also compare the new patterns to the location of market-rate housing and to the experiences of San Diego (CA) and Los Angeles (CA), both of which retain fair share allocation. We do not control for variables that may have affected affordable housing location. ABAG’s policy shift is associated with a 104% improvement in the balance of housing and jobs at the local level; affordable housing units are more likely than market-rate housing to locate in jobs-rich areas, which may indicate that localities prioritize affordable housing. We also find that more affordable housing locates in such areas in the San Francisco Bay Area (CA) than in San Diego or Los Angeles.

Takeaway for practice: A voluntary regional government in a state with mandatory affordable housing requirements can affect the production and distribution of affordable housing. A total of 25 U.S. states require localities to include affordable housing elements in their comprehensive plans; we suggest that regional and local planners use these opportunities to meet multiple policy goals by directing affordable housing to jobs-rich neighborhoods.     

Results from the application of a performance-based housing regulation in Cadoneghe,Italy

The article aims to report the experience of a little town, Cadoneghe (suburbs of Padua, northern Italy), in managing a Performance based Building Code. Although pressed by a high housing demand, Cadoneghe asked a design team and a research team for a help to define new basic rules and control tools, to avoid the most usual failures of Italian mass housing projects. The administration pursued the application of these rules in four stages:

• •Consultation to support design inception;
• •Review of scheme design documents;
• •Review of detail design documents;
• •On-site inspection.

The article describes the procedure and review strategy, the control tools that researches made up to support control phases, positive and negative outcomes.     

Changing Demographics and Housing Space Demand: The Case of Seoul Metropolitan Region in Korea

The aim of this paper is to estimate the future medium and large housing needs of low-income renter households of Seoul Metropolitan Region (SMR), and to recommend housing policy responses to these needs. Using demographic methods, this study first projects the total housing needs of SMR, then decomposes them into the needs for different housing sizes by tenure and household expense using the household–housing size matrix. Between 2005 and 2015, approximately 360 000 medium and large rental housing units are needed. We argue that the Korean government should prioritise rental housing policy, and diminish the polarisation in housing conditions between the better off and the worse off.

     

Modernist housing estates in European cities of the Western and Eastern Blocs

The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast modernist housing projects in Western and Eastern Blocs built in the period of accelerated urban growth that took place mainly in the 1960s and 1970s. The obvious starting point is that cities in the Eastern Bloc were different from Western cities because of the distinct nature of their urban policies, the centrally planned economy, the absence of a free land market, the impact of industrialization on building construction, etc. However, there are many concepts in urban planning and design, as well as urban processes and urban forms, shared by both ideological systems and that can be clearly recognized in housing estates from that period.

This paper offers a comparative perspective of the nature of some of those modern Housing Estates built on both sides of the Iron Curtain such as Grands Ensembles in France, Großsiedlungen in Germany, Polígonos de viviendas in Spain, or Socialist Housing Estates equivalents in Eastern Bloc countries. The goal is to understand how mass housing forms were related to the modernist international urban culture of the Athens Charter and what was the role of urban design in the significant loss of environmental quality appreciable either in the West or in the East in those years of accelerated urban growth almost everywhere in Europe.     

Floor Space per Person and Housing Development: An Urban Growth Approach to Estimate Housing Supply in Hong Kong

This article estimates an empirical model of new housing supply in Hong Kong based on the urban growth approach. The article introduces a new factor, space usage per person (SPP), to this model reflecting the quality of housing, the demand and supply aspects of the housing market, along with prices and other standard variables. SPP may also be used as a human settlement development indicator. Empirical results provide strong evidence that the introduced new factor exerts a strong positive influence on new housing supply, and that even a marginal change in the space usage pattern would have a great impact on housing supply. This suggests that non-price measures too should receive priority when estimating future housing development needs. Empirical estimates also suggest that a 10 per cent rise in real house prices leads to a 0.6 per cent increase in new housing starts and twofold rise in real house prices would increase the entire housing stock by 6 per cent.

     

Affordable housing in border cities: The work of Esperanza de Mexico in Tijuana

This paper explores the socio-economic conditions that produce the lack of affordable housing in cities along the U.S.-Mexico border and describes various efforts to tackle this issue. Specifically, the paper evaluates publicly funded initiatives such as Casas Urbi and Homex, privately funded projects, as well as community based initiatives such as the work of the non-profit organization Fundación Esperanza de Mexico in the city of Tijuana. The paper interrogates the use of self-build construction systems, volunteer support, community empowerment, ecological programs, and affordable financing as a framework for future affordable housing developments in the area.     

Spatial planning and housing policy: On the ties that bind

Spatial planning and housing policy in the Netherlands have supported each other for many years. In addition, spatial planning has played a stimulating role in carrying out spatial policy. Since the end of the 1980s, however, a new coalition has emerged between spatial planning and environmental policy, especially at the intraregional level. In the same period, housing policy has become strongly market-oriented. Thus, frictions have arisen in the relation between spatial planning and housing policy. This paper deals with a number of contradictions between housing policy and spatial planning:

-the artificial shortage of land for housing;

-the tension between urban density and consumer preferences;

-the rigid housing differentiation, which is at odds with the flexibility of housing markets;

-the danger of spatial segregation; and

-the tension between residential construction and environmental priorities.

It proves difficult to combine an ambitious central spatial planning policy with a market-oriented housing policy. A more promising solution would be to approach both fields as a combination of market and policy. This would entail more policy in housing and more market in environmental policy. More coordination between spatial planning and housing policy is both possible and desirable.     

Local and Community Driven Development approach in the provision of basic facilities in Jos,Nigeria

Over the last decade, the government of Nigeria has introduced the concept of Local and Community Driven Development (LCDD) in the provision of physical and social infrastructure. The LCDD approach is adopted in Nigeria as a response strategy for tackling infrastructural deficiency in slum settlements. The use of this approach is becoming increasingly popular in Nigerian cities but there is limited empirical research to examine the key issues that influence project outcomes at the local level. This study fills this gap by presenting a case study from the experience of implementing physical and social infrastructure projects in the city of Jos. The project research adopts a case study strategy to examine the financial and administrative arrangement for the implementation of infrastructure projects. Primary data was collected through interviews with officers selected from the institutions that play relevant roles in urban development and housing provision in Jos. The interview data was then examined alongside the secondary source material collected. The findings suggest that: the decentralisation of administrative roles from central to local level impacted positively on the implementation of projects; the partnership between government and International Development Agencies promoted success in the funding of projects; and it is the political endorsement of the partnerships that gives the LCDD approach some legitimacy in Jos. However, the local bureaucratic system in Jos is side-lined in favour of newly created autonomous implementation agencies and the indigenous financial institutions are not involved. These flaws appear to create redundancy in the existing bureaucratic system and also threaten the sustainability of the LCDD in Jos. On the basis of these findings, recommendations for improvement are made.     

Thermal upgrades of existing homes in Germany: The building code, subsidies, and economic efficiency

One of the cheapest ways to reduce CO₂ emissions is thermal renovation of existing homes. Germany is a world leader in this project, with a strict building code, generous state subsidies, and an advanced renovation infrastructure. The effects of its policies are here explored in the light of progressive tightening of the building code, and the strict criteria for subsidies. Data on costs and outcomes of residential building renovations are presented from published reports on renovation projects, and cross-checked with projects investigated directly. Comparisons are made in terms of euros invested for every kilowatt hour of heating energy saved over the lifetime of the renovations, for standards ranging from 150 kWh (the lowest standard) to 15 kWh (the highest) of primary energy use per square metre of floor area per year. It is found that the lowest standard is an order of magnitude more cost-effective than the highest, in terms of both energy saved per euro invested, and return on investment over the lifetime of the renovations, regardless of fuel prices. It is argued that this throws into question Germany's policy of progressively regulating for higher renovation standards, and offering subsidies only for projects that go beyond the minimum standard.     

A systems view of temporary housing projects in post‐disaster reconstruction

Natural cataclysms (earthquakes, hurricanes and so forth) become natural disasters when they coincide with vulnerabilities; unfortunately, informal settlements in developing countries are only too often highly vulnerable – a reality amply and unhappily confirmed by available statistics. In this context, reconstruction projects are sandwiched between the short‐term necessity to act promptly and the long‐term requirements of sustainable community development – a situation that is currently reflected in alternative and conflicting paradigms at the policy level.

Adopting a case‐study approach, we explore the use of temporary housing within two post‐disaster environments, where the impact of different organizational designs leads to fundamentally different solutions to the short‐term housing problem.

Our research adopts a dynamic systems approach, associating strategic organizational team design with the development of tactical technical proposals. Two case studies from Turkey and Colombia show that a coherent approach to the sequential stages of providing immediate shelter, temporary housing and permanent reconstruction is not always obtained. The research results emphasize that the performance of reconstruction projects is directly linked to the design and management of the project team.     

Subway capitalization effect in Beijing: Theory and evidence on the variation of the subway proximity premium

This paper analyses the relationship between community attributes and the subway home‐price capitalization effect, asking whether the magnitude of the subway proximity premium is affected by neighbourhood economic status and location. Using longitudinal data from Beijing, the paper estimates that decreasing a community's distance to a subway station by 10 per cent increases the housing price per square metre by 0.2 per cent ~ 0.9 per cent. The paper also shows that, subway capitalization effect is around 0.1 per cent ~ 0.2 per cent lower for communities that have higher quality and charge a 1 Yuan higher property management fee. Moreover, the analysis also reveals that the subway capitalization will decrease by around 0.08 per cent as a community's distance to the central business district (CBD) increases by 1 km.