Journal of Housing and the Built Environment最新文献

While the relationship between local housing prices and the urban form and distribution of urban functional zones in a single city is well-discussed, the conclusion is usually sensitive to a particular city context, and cross-city comparative study is limited. This study attempts to examine the influences of urban form and urban functional zone distribution on housing prices within and between cities after controlling the city-wide socio-economic and demographic differences. Based on multiple open-source big data, such as points-of-interest (POI) and historical housing transaction data, the hierarchical linear model is utilized to compare the housing market of 10 extra-large cities in China. Results indicate that the urban form and the urban functional zone distribution significantly influence housing prices after the socio-economic and demographic differences are controlled. For inter-city comparison, an urban form with high compactness, low centrality, low polycentricity, high density, and low dissimilarity in housing development is related to lower city-level housing prices. For intra-city, proximity to work centers, high-quality hospitals, and schools shows positive associations to housing prices.

The process of Polish population aging is gaining momentum. In Poland there is a large number of people aging in place, and their physical environment and how well it is adapted to their physical needs, is linked to their health and satisfaction with their home. The purpose of the study is to identify the current state of adapting apartments to the needs of people with mobility limitations in Poland, and also to present their current standard of residence. The following aspects were analysed: access to cold water, hot water, access to sewage, toilet in the apartment or on the staircase. The study aims at providing answers regarding the degree of readiness to change the resided apartments into the ones adapted to the needs of people with mobility impairments among people over 50 (a total of 208 respondents). The authors’ aim was to find out the public mood among people aged 50 and over and their propensity to change apartments in the future The work used a public opinion research based on the performed survey and the conducted statistical analyses. The research revealed, e.g., that the respondents most often indicated the need to adapt bathrooms or toilets in their apartments or houses to facilitate mobility (52%). The respondents residing in the buildings constructed in the period 1945–1975 were most willing to change their current apartment into the one adapted to limited mobility. This is usually due to the poor technical condition of the buildings constructed in this period as well as the structural limitations that do not allow for the modernization of a bathroom or the installation of an elevator in the building.

Under the influence of aging aggravation, more and more the elderly people spend most of their time in medical buildings. However, there is still a lack of research on the elderly satisfaction with the physical environment in medical buildings in China. A total of 15 medical buildings in Northeast China were selected. The satisfaction of the elderly in the medical building with the environment was investigated through questionnaires; the sound, light and heat environment in the medical building was measured by instruments. Using the regression analysis method, we get the systematic factors that affect the quality of life of the elderly, and some relevant policy suggestions are put forward. In addition, the influencing factors were classified and stratified. The analysis showed that the three main factors affecting the quality of life of the elderly are sound, light and heat. These three factors ensure that the elderly medical care at the same time to stabilize the elderly pension environment. The results showed that the sound pressure level (SPL) of the activity room of the medical building facing the street was generally higher than that of the medical building not facing the street. Most of the respondents are satisfied with the thermal environment of the activity room. This study provides a basis for improving the living environment of the elderly in the medical buildings in Northeast China.

Abstract

Increasing the adoption of energy-efficiency measures (EEM) by households is one of the practical strategies to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For the 3.24 million low-income households in Australia, partly due to their potentially disproportionately large waste of usable energy, there is a gap between the potential for energy efficiency through existing EEM and the actual energy-efficiency level. Many measures increase energy efficiency in buildings; however, barriers persist for such households to adopt these measures, of which limited research has yet to be conducted. In response, this study examines the relationships involved by a questionnaire survey of 212 low-income households in Australia, showing that financial barriers have the greatest influence followed by split incentive barriers, with the provision of information having no significant role to play. This paper contributes to filling the gap of limited energy-efficiency research involving low-income households, revealing the effect of energy-efficiency barriers on their adoption of EEM.

Air pollution is a major environmental urban issue, particularly in fast-growing cities in developing countries. Reducing air pollution is thus a challenge while evaluating the economic value of air quality is crucial for environmental policies made. However, few studies accurately estimate this value as they neglect the possible endogeneity issues, as well as the dynamic and heterogeneous effects of air pollution. Under the hedonic framework, we therefore assess the economic effect of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) on housing prices in Beijing, China. We construct a panel based on resale apartment transactions matched with average quarterly PM_2.5 data between 2013 and 2019. To reduce the risk of an estimation bias, we apply an instrumental variable (IV) approach. Our results show that PM_2.5 is negatively associated with housing prices. Households were willing to pay an extra 0.0852% per housing unit price for an average quarterly reduction in PM_2.5 of 1 µg/m³. Furthermore, we argue that high-income dwellers tend to pay more for clean air. The negative effects of PM_2.5 across regions are significant and different. Compared with that in the basic year 2013, the negative effect increases in the first 3 years and then decreases in the last 3 years. Our findings enhance our comprehension of the economic impact of air quality and make a valuable contribution to the nuanced understanding of willingness to pay for air quality, which is beneficial in assessing and optimizing environmental regulations.

We empirically examine the nexus between Locus of Control (LoC) and housing tenure in Australia. Drawing on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey for the period 2001–2021, we find that being internal on LoC is associated with a higher likelihood of homeownership and transitioning from renting to owning a home, while being external on LoC is more likely to lead to the opposite. This result is consistent across multiple robustness checks. We also find evidence that social capital and income are transmission mechanisms through which LoC influences housing tenure. We provide some suggestions for policy.

Domestic heating transitions must balance environmental and social policy goals, which leads to conflicts between cost, pace, and cleanliness. It is a challenge for urban policies in Central European cities, where outdated social housing stock meets increasing people's aspirations on improving air quality and climate change mitigation goals. Utilizing insights from the case study of Warsaw, this research evaluates the patterns of domestic coal phase-out in social housing, combining in-depth analysis of unique heating transition data with official census records and qualitative analysis . The investigation uncovers reprivatization, revitalization, and rationalization as three avenues through which heating transitions may inadvertently contribute to gentrification and displacements. These findings underscore the dual role of heating transitions in social housing, acting as a mitigation strategy or a catalyst for socio-spatial segregation, reproducing the ideologies of the dominant urban policy paradigm.

Abstract

As a major public emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected people’s lives worldwide, resulting in changes in housing demand. Based on the China Household Finance Survey in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021, and the COVID-19 infections and confirmed cases in all cities, this study applies a difference-in-differences (DID) model to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on households’ housing consumption. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic reduces households’ housing consumption. This decline is caused by changes in households’ purchase intentions and households’ deposit. Furthermore, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is more pronounced for households living in first- and second-tier cities and in central and eastern China, and COVID-19 has a greater impact on the housing consumption of urban hukou households and households residing in owner-occupied housing. Overall, this study provides new insights into the impacts of public emergencies on household housing consumption and decisions regarding housing market participation.

Housing the working population is of paramount importance in regions relying on substantial human capital influx. Given the inadequacies in the supply of public housing, some governments are encouraging employer involvement in housing assistance provision. Therefore, it is meaningful to delve into the industrial society in which employer housing was prevalent and examine its evolving dynamics in the post-industrial society, which can offer valuable insights into contemporary policymaking related to employer-involved housing assistance. Informed by the welfare regime theory, this study investigates the provision structures of employer housing driven by specific forces in countries characterized by welfare capitalism (the UK, the US, and Germany) and welfare authoritarianism (the Soviet Union and China) in the industrial society, and discusses the trend in the post-industrial era. The findings indicate that employers under early welfare capitalism exercised substantial control over housing provision primarily for business purposes, whereas employer housing under welfare authoritarianism was profoundly influenced by state power, serving as a tool for state-led industrialization and socio-political governance. Transitioning into the post-industrial society, employer housing under both welfare regimes evolved towards a paradigm of welfare pluralism, with diversified housing aids provided through cooperation among various actors. This paper argues that welfare pluralism represents a more suitable idea for employers’ housing assistance in the post-industrial era, addressing the limitations associated with traditional employer housing, such as business burdens, sectoral inequality, and labor exploitation. The research findings can inform the formulation of employer-involved housing policies and contribute to the broader housing support system.

Student accommodation in university towns provided by the private rented sector has been severely affected by distance education and the downturn in urban rental economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though there are no predictions concerning the future of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to understand students' current experiences and paths to be ready for the adverse effects of possible future crises. A small university town, Menteşe/Muğla in Türkiye, is selected as a case study area to examine the initial impact of the pandemic on the private rented sector used by university students. One-fourth of the population is students in Menteşe, and they have been protesting about the high rent levels and poor housing conditions for years. This study focuses on the leasing and payment problems experienced by students during the pandemic, in addition to the difficulties in living conditions. These problems are considered significant regarding the future and resilience of the private housing market. The study concludes that the private rented sector should be regulated and monitored to overcome supply shortages and to improve housing quality. Also, a registration and licensing system is needed to identify student housing in the private market to overcome the difficulties arising in terms of leasing and housing quality.