Challenging the Stigma of Public Housing: Preliminary Findings from a Qualitative Study in South Australia

Many poor suburbs in Australia with higher than average numbers of public housing tenants do not simply suffer material disadvantage but also suffer from poor reputations that are reinforced though stigmatising assumptions that portray their residents negatively. Preliminary findings from qualitative research undertaken in Adelaide, South Australia paint a somewhat different picture of some residents in public housing which counters such stereotypes and assumptions and suggests that the picture is not as bleak as the stigmatised accounts suggest. This article examines the ways in which residents in stigmatised suburbs and housing actively resist and challenge the negative image ascribed to them and concludes by considering the public policy implications that come from the research.     

Home Ownership for Low Income Families: Key Findings from the Five Year Victorian Capital Indexed Loan Evaluation Study

This paper presents key findings from a recently completed five year evaluation study of the impact on low income families of a Victorian State Housing Authority home loan scheme. The research was funded by the Department of Planning and Housing, Victoria, and carried out by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The study was designed to test the feasibility of providing families who were either in public housing or on the waiting list with low start, inflation-adjusted, home loans. This paper examines three outcomes: changes in employment patterns, home repairs and improvements, and estimated capital gain. The findings contribute to larger debates within sociology over the meaning and impact of home ownership and the privatisation of housing.     

老年人视角的广州典型保障性社区养老服务配套差异性评价

研究以广州市的10个典型保障性社区为研究对象,开展针对老人的评价问卷调查(N=632)和现场质性观察.调查数据基于列联表分析、聚类分析,从老年居住人群认知评价的角度,揭示广州保障性社区养老服务与设施配套的差异特征、类型及其影响因素.研究发现,样本社区的总体满意度偏低,且不同社区和养老配套的评价差异明显,中低收入老人的年...     

临港新城：城市规划技术探索的最佳实践区

临港新城,是上海城市发展建设史上规模最大的新兴产业新城,将在一片滩涂和农田上承担起上海建设国际航运中心、发展现代服务业和先进制造业的历史重任。随着新城规划建设的不断推进,在城市规划的各个层面都开始呈现出了领先一步的探索性和更深一步的思考性。临港新城,已经逐步成为上海探索城市规划学科发展和管理提升的最佳实践区和示范区。     

区域视角下的战略规划——开展《广西北部湾经济区发展规划研究》的几点体会

空间结构的选择及功能区划的划定是实现经济社会发展及生态环境保护目标的关键.战略规划在长期城乡规划的实践中,逐步建立起来的以空间布局为特征的思想方法和技术路线同样可以运用在区域空间尺度.<北部湾发展规划>研究就是一次战略规划思想和技术在区域层面上的应用.结合<北部湾发展规划>研究实践,探讨了规划研究的基本思路、技术路线以及其中的几个主要问题,提出寻求区域社会经济发展的"原动力"以及开发与保护的平衡是规划的根本任务所在.同时认为:区域规划是战略规划未来发展的一种新途径.     

Supply and Demand for Low Energy Housing in the UK: Insights from a Science and Technology Studies Approach

Economic theory about supply and demand suggests that if consumer demand for a product increases then producers respond by increasing supply. In the UK housing market there is emerging evidence of consumer demand for low energy housing, yet little has been built to date by private sector housebuilders: existing low energy housing is largely within the social housing and self-build sectors. Ideas from science and technology studies (STS) are introduced to help further understanding of why the housing market might be slow to respond to changing consumer preferences. Although standard economic concepts concerning costs and price are able in part to explain the situation, greater attention to socio-technical issues highlights some of the reasons why innovation and change are difficult to effect. The housing market is best viewed as a socio-technical system, whereby the social and the technical are interlinked.     

Using the adaptive model of thermal comfort for obtaining indoor neutral temperature: Findings from a field study in Hyderabad,India

There is a dearth of thermal comfort studies in India. It is aimed to investigate into the aspects of thermal comfort in Hyderabad and to identify the neutral temperature in residential environments. This was achieved through a thermal comfort field study in naturally ventilated apartment buildings conducted during summer and monsoon involving over 100 subjects. A total of 3962 datasets were collected covering their thermal responses and the measurement of the thermal environment. The comfort band (voting within –1 and +1), based on the field study, was found to be 26–32.45°C, with the neutral temperature at 29.23°C. This is way above the indoor temperature standards specified in Indian Codes. It was found that the regression neutral temperature and the globe temperature recorded when voting neutral converged when mean thermal sensation of the subjects was close to 0. This happened during the period of moderate temperature when the adaptive measures were adequate. The indoor temperatures recorded in roof-exposed (top floor) flats were higher than the lower floors. The thermal sensation and preference votes of subjects living in top floors were always higher. Consequently, their acceptance vote was also lower. It was found that the subjects living in top floor flats had a higher neutral temperature when the available adaptive opportunities were sufficient. This was due to their continuous exposure to a higher thermal regime due to much higher solar exposure. This study calls for special adaptive measures for roof-exposed flats to achieve neutrality at higher temperature.     

空间视角下的城市色彩研究——京杭运河杭州段城市色彩规划实践

以已有色彩研究方法为基础,探寻可以综合城市中影响色彩的因素;从空间视角出发,把握整体、连续、调和、分级的城市空间色彩规划方法,以人的视知觉为依据,使城市色彩规划与研究更加合理、易于实施。