‘Beyond the clichés of the hand-books’: Le Corbusier's architectural promenade1

This study places Charles-Edouard Jeanneret/Le Corbusier's concept of the architectural promenade within the culture of La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1887–1917. It is based on in-depth empirical research being currently carried out in private and public archives in La Chaux-de-Fonds and in other Swiss towns. The paper also considers to a lesser extent specific aspects of the architecture of Le Corbusier in Paris after 1917, which are in accord with the La Chaux-de-Fonds period of 1887–1917, based on current in-depth research in private and public archives in France. The essay, which thus presents completely new empirical evidence, is part of research in progress towards a monograph in preparation for the MIT Press. By extrapolation, through its analysis of Jeanneret/Le Corbusier's architectural promenade within the cultural and intellectual context of La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1887–1917, the study addresses the problematics of the architectural language of the Modern Movement.     

New energy retrofit concept: ‘renovation trains’ for mass housing

A large operation is required to make Europe's existing housing stock more energy efficient, in terms of both demand reduction as well as the installation of local renewable energy technologies. The combination of overall (national) energy targets and the European Union's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) targets suggests the scale of this task involves the retrofitting of millions of houses. An example of a large-scale, rapid process is presented where a series of houses have been retrofitted using a standardized process. A pilot project exploring this strategy has been completed in Kerkrade, the Netherlands. Several innovations were introduced, tested and refined for the renovation of 150 houses: a serial retrofit process, a renovation time of ten days per house with the houses inhabited during the process, and responsibility for energy performance assigned to the construction team. The construction process is a ‘renovation train’ moving from one house to the next. The experiences are now being used and developed for a follow-up project: a new concept can be used to scale up the process from 100 to 10 000 renovations a year.     

From long-term homelessness to stable housing: investigating ‘liminality’

Abstract

This paper uses the term ‘liminality’ to refer to the experience of feeling like an outsider when people are transitioning from one housing status (long-term homelessness) to another (housed). Three dimensions of liminality are identified: ‘material’, ‘relational’ and ‘psychological’. The material dimension covers how people feel about their housing and whether they find it difficult to make the transition from homeless to housed. The relational dimension focuses on whether people are able to rebuild relations with family and friends. The psychological dimension includes how people deal with the stigma of homelessness. The paper demonstrates that most people can overcome the material dimension of liminality if they are given appropriate support, but they find it more difficult to overcome the relational and psychological dimensions of liminality. We conclude that moving on from long-term homelessness is not straightforward and we point to the policy implications of these findings.     

‘Equal right to housing’ in Hong Kong housing policy: perspectives from disadvantaged groups

The ‘right to housing’ incorporates at least five different dimensions which are all indispensible for the minimum satisfaction of such right, namely, housing that is adequate and affordable, enjoyed without arbitrary interference or forced eviction, and the right of choice to opt for rent or home-ownership as well as neighbourhood. ‘Equal right to housing’ essentially means equal opportunity or non-discrimination in the fulfillment of all dimensions of ‘right to housing’. In Hong Kong, for those with economic means, the extent of their ‘right to housing’ are largely satisfied; however, this may not be the case for those from the lower socioeconomic strata, especially members of disadvantaged groups from the latter, who are doubly deprived. This paper will examine the views on ‘equal right to housing’ in Hong Kong housing policy from four disadvantaged groups, namely, single-parent families, ethnic minorities, homosexuals and Mainland New Arrivals, by drawing on information from in-depth interviews with members of these groups, representatives of organizations serving these disadvantaged groups, property sector practitioners, Equal Opportunity Commission representative and members of the general public. On the whole, the members of the disadvantaged groups, especially those from the lower socioeconomic strata may not enjoy equal opportunity to different dimensions of the ‘right to housing’ in Hong Kong, mainly due to discriminatory selection of tenants on the part of private landlords as well as the limited economic means of some of them. These may be, to some extent, magnified by some biased practices in public housing policy. This paper will end by examining some of policy implications of ‘equal right to housing’.     

‘Change for the Better?’—making sense of housing association mergers in the Netherlands and England

Mergers among housing associations have become a frequent phenomenon in both the Netherlands and England. The general literature on mergers highlights the need for research to consider the wider political and business environment, managerial motives and strategic choices, to adopt a process perspective and to evaluate outcomes in relation to competing definitions of goals and success criteria. This article applies these perspectives to consider drivers for and experience of housing association mergers in the Netherlands and England, competing motivations such as efficiency savings in relation to borrowing and procurement costs, improved professionalism and organisational capacity and external influence. We discuss the pace and motivations of mergers, the expected positive and negative effects, and actual outcomes. We focus on the impact of mergers on stakeholder satisfaction, housing production and operational costs. Based on our findings we discuss the implications for policies and practice in both countries. Our main conclusion is that the relationship between the size of housing associations and their performance is not straightforward. This is partly because large and small associations are generally trying to do different things in different ways and have contrasting strengths and weaknesses; thus judgements about whether mergers and concentration of ownership in third sector housing is a change for the better are dependent upon considerations of underlying purposes and success criteria.     

‘To Go Beyond or Not to Be’ Unsolicited Architecture: An Interview with Ole Bourman

The complex dynamics of today's architecture require a deep intellectual freedom. This is something that Dutch architectural critic Ole Bouman espouses through his provocative writings and lectures and his advocacy of ‘unsolicited architecture’. Luca Guido invited Bouman to reflect on what it means to be an architect today and how it might be possible to pursue critical practice beyond the conventional construction processes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘They took the land,now we’re fighting for a house’: Aboriginal perspectives about urban housing disadvantage

Aboriginal Australians experience substantial housing disadvantage on a range of measures, yet relatively little is known about how urban Aboriginal people perceive their housing circumstances. While most Aboriginal people live in urban or suburban areas, research and policy attention has tended to focus on remote housing issues. This paper draws on focus groups conducted with Aboriginal people at an Aboriginal Medical Service in Western Sydney (n = 38) about their housing experiences and beliefs about why many Aboriginal people experience the housing disadvantage they described. Participants described a landscape in which their housing experiences were materially affected by their Aboriginality and inextricably linked to racial discrimination, poverty, marginalization, the lack of social and affordable housing and disempowerment, all with negative implications for their psychosocial well-being. Participant views aligned with critical race theory, with race described as a fundamental structural force that created and deepened housing disadvantage beyond economic hardship alone.     

Urban challengers weaving their networks: between the ‘right to housing’ and the ‘right to the city’

Abstract

The article applies a field theory approach to further the analysis of grassroots movements in an urban context. By employing the theoretical framework of Strategic Action Fields merged with the concept of norm entrepreneurs and combined with an idea of networks of challengers, two parallel but different social movement networks in Poland are analyzed. In this comparison the authors discuss differences in strategy and political – discursive – opportunities mobilized within respective fields between the more established housing movement and an emerging Polish urban renewal movement in the light of on-going change in the urban realm. By comparing the networks of challengers in both fields and simultaneously trying to identify the dominant institutional logics within each, we test the usefulness of the Strategic Action Field approach.     

‘Super-gentrification’ triumphs: gentrification and the displacement of public housing tenants in Sydney’s inner-city

Abstract

This study analyses the super-gentrification of Millers Point, an inner-city area in Sydney, Australia, and the displacement of its 465 public housing tenants. Drawing on in-depth interviews with public housing tenants and homeowners, media reports and government media releases, it argues that a key reason for the displacement was the super-gentrification of the area that was hastened dramatically by the Barangaroo development, a massive urban spectacle on the site of the old port adjacent to Millers Point. Unlike the earlier analyses of super-gentrification described by Lees and Butler where an already gentrified area is settled by super wealthy households over a period of time, the shift to super-gentrification status in Millers Point did not involve households moving into an area already gentrified. Rather, the process was premised on the Barangaroo development and the displacement of public housing tenants. The displacement meant that the heritage-listed public housing dwelling were now available for purchase by exceptionally wealthy households.     

‘The star in the profession she invented for herself’: a brief biography of Elizabeth Denby,housing consultant

This paper offers a short biography of the housing consultant Elizabeth Denby (1894–1965). It begins by proposing a context, and way of conceptualizing how the built environment is created, in order to explain Denby and her work and suggests that she is best understood as forming part of a tradition of influential women space‐makers which began with Octavia Hill. It then proceeds to a discussion of the three main areas of practice in which she became a significant figure in the world of housing and architecture in inter‐war England. This focuses on design projects such as Kensal House; her development of a distinctively pro‐urban theory of planning exemplified in the All‐Europe House mixed‐development project; her book Europe Re‐housed and her work in design reform. In concluding, the paper evaluates Denby’s longer‐term influences and argues first that the extent of her ideas and influence in the inter‐war period helped perpetuate the eligibility of women to comment upon and inform the making of the British landscape into the post‐war era. Secondly, it argues that this influence also derives from her membership of that cohort of reformers which effected the union of the philosophies and practices of the voluntary housing sector with the emerging modernist movement in architecture, design and planning in the 1930s and war years, a marriage that would have considerable impact on the form of post‐war Britain.     

‘Problem families’ in public housing: discourse,commentary and (dis)order

This article contributes to a chain of literature extending back to the late nineteenth century on the ‘problem family’, particularly when encountered by housing providers as the ‘problem’ tenant. Using archival evidence of the techniques employed by one social housing provider in the mid-1970s to identify a definitive solution to the challenges posed by ‘problem’ households, I trace the patterns and practices in ‘problem family’ discourse more broadly, and their intersection with those of other discursive fields, particularly eugenics and social work. I show how attempts to define, identify and design models of rehabilitation for ‘problem families’ can be understood as forms of a discursive strategy which Foucault identified as ‘commentary’, and argue that such commentary remains intrinsic to welfare state efforts to tackle entrenched disadvantage.     

Sheep grazing in ‘lawnscape’ management: an emissions comparison with conventional ‘lawnscape’ management

The use of sheep in lawnscape management is touted as a low-carbon alternative to conventional lawnscaping; however this claim remains unsubstantiated. While conventional lawnscaping generates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, primarily through fuel combustion, sheep grazing produces methane (CH₄) as well as manure which releases embodied nitrogen as nitrous oxide (N₂O) as it degrades. These gases have a carbon equivalency of 25 and 298 respectively, indicating their much greater potency as GHGs relative to carbon dioxide (CO₂). This paper is the first to critically profile and compare GHG emissions produced by grazing and conventional lawnscape management. It discusses critical factors affecting the carbon footprint of both practices, and develops a framework for evaluating lawnscape management emissions. This study finds that replacing lawnmowers and the treatment and application of compost with a grazing regime can reduce net lawnscape management emissions by 34–37%, or 980 kgCO₂e/ha/year.     

Inclusionary housing policy: a tool for re-shaping South Africa’s spatial legacy?

In South Africa, recent initiatives to restructure cities towards greater compaction and integration include the formulation of an inclusionary housing policy, where private property developers are expected to offer some affordable housing in their developments. This paper examines policy and practice in the City of Johannesburg where an inclusionary housing policy is intended to work together with a growth management strategy to direct infrastructural investment. However the policy has hardly been used. The paper examines the policy and its development, initiatives to use it, and the challenges it faces. Key constraints include: resistance by the property development industry and middle/upper-income residents; South Africa’s huge income inequalities and hence housing price cliffs; and institutional and legal issues. These concerns have in part underpinned the lack of supportive national policy. In this context, local policies have been confined to specific, deal-driven projects, but these have also been fraught with problems, and have delivered few affordable units. The potential of inclusionary housing policy for reshaping South African cities therefore seems limited, although it could play a small role if national policy with careful attention to implementation were formulated. An alternative form of mixed income developer-led housing seems to have greater potential, although it is focused on low/middle-income housing and relies to a significant extent on government subsidies, in contrast to inclusionary housing proper.     

‘Le caprice du prince’ — The problem of the Bastille Opéra

July 1982 saw the launching of a project to build a vast new popular opera house at the Place de la Bastille in eastern Paris. It is one of the Grand Projets, a 15.3 billion francs (about 15 million pounds) urban renewal scheme which includes expanding and renovating the Louvre, two new museums (the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de la Villette), an international communication centre at La Défense, relocating the French Ministry of Finance, an Arab Institute, and at least eleven urban regional projects (see Fig. 1). The defeat of the Socialists at the March 1986 election, to be replaced by a period of cohabitation, has jeopardized the future of the Grands Projets.

This article is not a comprehensive appraisal of the Bastille Opéra scheme but has two limited aims. Firstly to discuss how the last government intended to create the new Opéra as the supreme symbol of the Socialist era. This involves an examination of the project's reception by the press and by those responsible for implementing the scheme.

Secondly, to suggest that the former government's declared wish to democratize opera may not have been the most important concern and to ask whether opera can ever really become a ‘popular’ art form. The conclusion is that far from being revolutionary, Mitterrand's objectives are not so dissimilar to those of his predecessors. The latest in a series of grand architectural gestures, the Opéra was initiated primarily to commemorate a period of government and, more specifically, an individual ruler.     

‘Involve me and I’ll understand’: creative capacity building for participatory design with rural Cambodian farmers

Abstract

Participatory design (PD) has proven successful in the design of technologies in Western markets and shows promise as a method for humanitarian technology development. However, there have been few studies of PD in developing markets. In general, these studies have noted several process challenges due to cultural, societal and geographical differences. These challenges are restricting the widespread use of PD approaches for, and with underserved communities, and in turn reducing the long-term impact each project could make. This article presents findings from the implementation of creative capacity building workshops in rural Cambodia. Findings include suggested refinements to the design process; the need for flexible delivery methods; and the development of guiding questions for understanding the participant and ensuring appropriate educational content. The workshops show promise as a methodology for enhancing designer–participant collaboration in PD.     

‘It depends what you mean by the term rights’: strata termination and housing rights

Strata title was introduced in Australia over 50 years ago and offered a legal mechanism for space to be vertically subdivided and traded. Importantly, it allowed individualised property rights to be applied to multi-unit housing. In New South Wales, recent changes to the Strata Scheme Development Act allow termination of strata schemes with less than unanimous support of owners. A central feature of the discussion surrounding the implementation of these changes was to question the rights associated with ownership of strata. This paper presents findings from key-informant interviews undertaken in the lead up to the reforms to the NSW legislation governing strata termination. Analysis of these interviews demonstrates the complex ways in which property rights are understood in relation to strata termination within the broader context of housing. This paper argues that successful implementation of the new legislation impacting upon property rights in strata will require concerted engagement with wider social concepts and understanding of housing within the Australian community.     

Obstacles and opportunities for reducing dwelling size to shrink the environmental footprint of housing: tenants’ residential preferences and housing choice

The environmental footprint of housing is greatly influenced by the size of a dwelling. Housing size is the result of households’ dwelling selections; accordingly, it is critical to consider residential preferences and choices to inform efforts towards housing sustainability. This study aimed to understand tenants’ preferences for and choices of housing size as one amongst several dwelling characteristics and identify obstacles and opportunities for reducing size in the light of promoting sustainable housing. We employed logistic regression models to analyse a survey with 878 Swiss tenants, and our results identify preference for large dwellings as a major obstacle for reducing dwelling size among affluent tenants. Conversely, tenants with lower income might be forced to move to a smaller dwelling due to financial constraints or attribute higher importance to the financial benefit of lower rents. However, financial disincentives along with substantial non-monetary costs of moving, such as the disruption of local bonds and the difficulty of finding a satisfactory dwelling, can outweigh the benefits of moving to a smaller dwelling. To overcome such obstacles, we suggest offering incentives and other facilitating measures for downsizing moves as well as ensuring an adequate supply of smaller dwellings capable of providing high living quality. We highlight the potential of studying housing functions to conceptualize dwellings fulfilling these requirements.

     

Beyond Le Corbusier and the modernist city: reframing Chandigarh's ‘World Heritage’ legacy

Mounting concern about the slow progress of the drive to reconstruct Britain's cities in the late 1940s and 1950s led to a sustained debate about strategies and priorities. This paper offers insight into the climate of ideas of a key period in the recent past by considering the work of the Society for the Promotion of Urban Renewal (SPUR). A pressure group that campaigned for resuscitation of urban reconstruction under the banner of ‘urban renewal’, SPUR staged exhibitions and published manifestoes that reasserted core urban values, reconfigured decentralization on an intraurban basis, proposed multi-level circulation systems and, latterly, sought to redress the balance of rehabilitation and conservation strategies against comprehensive redevelopment. After a contextual introduction, the opening section of this paper clarifies two key concepts – ‘reconstruction’ and ‘renewal’ – that shaped thinking about the replanning of British cities in the early postwar period. The ensuing sections analyse the origins and founding ideals of SPUR and examine its key projects and manifestoes. The conclusion reflects on consensus and plurality in the group's work in the context of wider currents of thought about urban renewal.     

Correction to: Obstacles and opportunities for reducing dwelling size to shrink the environmental footprint of housing: Tenants’ residential preferences and housing choice

Journal of Housing and the Built Environment -