Search Results (51)

This article provides a comprehensive description of the spatial transformations of the former Fornebu Airport area near Oslo, Norway, into a multifunctional urban district. The article presents an overall picture, covering both the chronology and various aspects (urban planning, organizational, financial, and technical) of this project and assesses its current state. The text also explores the project’s specifics and outlines the perspective for further research. The site of the former Fornebu Airport is located on a peninsula approximately 7 km from the center of Oslo. Its transformation began in the late 1990s, coinciding with the relocation of air traffic to the new Gardermoen Airport. Since then, the development process has undergone several phases and is now highly advanced. The development features a clear functional and spatial structure (containing housing as well as workplaces and public facilities), resulting from deliberate design decisions and ongoing adjustments. There has also been strong progress in terms of sustainability, especially in technical solutions. The implementation of this project relies significantly on a few private investors who align with the frameworks established by public entities, particularly the urban regulations introduced by the local Baerum municipality. Although the project does not incorporate revolutionary technical or organizational solutions, it serves as an interesting example of current trends in urban planning. Full article

The dynamic fluctuations in the real estate market significantly impact the development of the national economy. Investigating the spatiotemporal characteristics of housing prices can assist the government in formulating rational regulatory policies. Taking Zhengzhou City as the research subject, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of housing prices based on housing price data and POI (Point of Interest) data from January 2022 to March 2024, utilizing a spatial scale of 500 m × 500 m grids. A hedonic price model and a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model were constructed to examine the mechanisms of 12 influencing factors on housing prices. The results indicate that housing prices in the eastern part of Zhengzhou are higher than those in the west, with an overall declining trend observed in Zhengzhou’s housing prices. Among the influencing factors, the age of the house exerts the greatest impact on housing prices, while finance has the least influence. The GWR model demonstrates superior fitting performance compared to the hedonic price model. The mechanisms of the influencing factors exhibit spatial heterogeneity. This study provides valuable insights for relevant government departments in Zhengzhou City, contributing to the optimization of urban planning and the regulation of the real estate market. Full article

Urban sprawl poses a significant and escalating challenge in developing countries, including Iran, leading to substantial transformations in urban areas. Despite efforts to manage urban spatial development, uncontrolled urban sprawl exerts considerable pressure on resources, infrastructure, and the environment. This study aims to identify and quantify the drivers of urban sprawl and investigate their interrelationships within Iranian metropolises. To achieve this objective, the study employs a mixed-method approach, commencing with a review of the existing literature and expert surveys based on PESTEL analysis and the Delphi method. This stage identified and categorized 40 key drivers (sub-factors) into six main categories (factors): political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. Subsequently, the DEMATEL-based Analytic Network Process (DANP) method is utilized to explore the internal interrelationships among factors and sub-factors and to determine their relative weights, offering deeper insights into their relationships and relative importance. The findings reveal a complex interplay of political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors driving urban sprawl in Iran. Key drivers include political fragmentation, economic competition, social preferences for suburban living, rural-to-urban migration, increasing housing demand, weak legal regulations, natural constraints, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and the impact of technological advancements. Based on these findings, the study recommends a holistic approach to sustainable urban development in Iran, emphasizing the need for stakeholder engagement, participatory decision making, legal reforms, and significant investments in public transportation infrastructure. Full article

With rapid urbanization, improving school quality in compulsory education is critical for optimal educational resource allocation. This study integrates a random forest machine learning model, GIS spatial analysis, and a spatial econometric model to examine the spatiotemporal differentiation of school quality in Dalian, China, in 2016 and 2020, as well as its relationships with the construction land development cycle, population density, and housing prices. The findings reveal a core–periphery structure, with overall school quality on the rise and basic facility configuration exerting a stronger impact than teacher strength. Among internal resources, per capita sports venue area (PCSFA) and per capita teaching equipment value (PCTRE) contribute most significantly to school quality, while high-quality clusters in traditional educational hubs, university-covered areas, and transitional zones spur improvements in surrounding schools. The population density, housing prices, and the construction land development cycle all positively correlate with school quality, highlighting the need for coordinated action among urban planners, education authorities, and housing regulators to ensure that land development, housing affordability, and school facility investments advance equitable access to quality education. These results provide a novel perspective on compulsory education quality assessment and offer a valuable foundation for guiding education policies and urban development strategies. Full article

Under the influence of factors such as extreme weather and accelerated urbanization, China has witnessed a sharp escalation in conflicts between various land-use functions, leading to a significant rise in tensions between people and land. The coordination of production, living, and ecological functions is particularly important for strengthening ecological civilization and achieving regional high-quality development. The concept of “Production–Living–Ecological” (PLE) Spaces, proposed as part of China’s ecological civilization initiative, refers to a spatial framework that integrates production spaces (land for agriculture, industry, and commerce), living spaces (land for housing, consumption, and public services), and ecological spaces (land supporting ecosystem regulation and biodiversity). Based on this perspective, this paper investigates the current situation and potential of land-use function conflicts in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in 2020. Utilizing the multi-criteria evaluation analysis method, the study develops a land-use function-evaluation model. Furthermore, the paper establishes a diagnostic model for the intensity of land-use function conflicts based on the different permutations and combinations of land unit function intensities. The land-use function conflicts are categorized into ten types and four stages. The main findings are as follows: (1) In 2020, the overall production, living, and ecological functions of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao Greater Bay Area were at high, medium-high, and low levels, respectively. The land in the stable and controllable stage, the largely controllable stage, the largely out-of-control stage, and the severely out-of-control stage accounted for 39.22%, 28.73%, 25.41%, and 6.64%. The focal points of the intensity of land-use function conflicts were mainly located in Guangzhou, Foshan, Shenzhen, and Dongguan. (2) The study area was exposed to varying degrees of risk from land-use function conflicts, and the area proportion of low conflict potential area, with the proportions of low, general, higher, and high-conflict-potential areas being 47.88%, 23.43%, 22.14%, and 6.54%, respectively. (3) The primary hotspots of conflict potential were concentrated in Dongguan City and the administrative border areas of “Foshan–Zhaoqing”, “Foshan–Jiangmen”, and “Guangzhou–Zhongshan”. Full article

Climatic changes lead to many extreme weather events throughout the globe. These extreme weather events influence our behavior, exposing us to different environmental conditions, such as poor indoor quality. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) poses a significant concern in the modern era, as people spend up to 90% of their time indoors. Ventilation influences key IAQ elements such as temperature, relative humidity, and particulate matter (PM). Children, considered a vulnerable group, spend approximately 30% of their time in educational settings, often housed in old structures with poorly maintained ventilation systems. Extreme weather events lead young students to stay indoors, usually behind closed doors and windows, which may lead to exposure to elevated levels of air pollutants. In our research, we aim to demonstrate how real-time monitoring of air pollutants and other environmental parameters under extreme weather is important for regulating the indoor environment. A study was conducted in a school building with limited ventilation located in an arid region near the Red Sea, which frequently suffers from high PM concentrations. In this study, we tracked the indoor environmental conditions and air quality during the entire month of May 2022, including an extreme outdoor weather event of sandstorms. During this month, we continuously monitored four classrooms in an elementary school built in 1967 in Eilat. Our findings indicate that PM2.5 was higher indoors (statistically significant) by more than 16% during the extreme event. Temperature was also elevated indoors (statistically significant) by more than 5%. The parameters’ deviation highlights the need for better indoor weather control and ventilation systems, as well as ongoing monitoring in schools to maintain healthy indoor air quality. This also warrants us as we are approaching an era of climatic instability, including higher occurrence of similar extreme events, which urge us to develop real-time responses in urban areas. Full article

Rapid urbanization has intensified public housing development and building density, posing significant challenges to residents’ well-being and urban sustainability. With the population of the Greater Bay Area on the rise, enhancing the spatial quality of public housing is now essential. The study proposed a quantitative framework to evaluate the relationship between the residential design elements and perceived density in high-density public housing neighborhoods. It employed a virtual reality perception experiment to analyze the relationship between significant spatial indicators and perceived density by investigating 16 high-density residential layout models in 3 configurations: Tower-Enclosed, Balanced Slab-Enclosed, and Staggered Slab-Enclosed. The results indicate that: (1) greater building height intensifies perceived density, leading to sensations of overcrowding and discomfort; (2) an increased sky ratio mitigates perceived density, fostering a more open and pleasant environment; (3) recessed residential facades enhance residents’ density perception; and (4) Staggered Slab-Enclosed Layout configurations receive the most favorable evaluations regarding perceived density. The authors attempt to go beyond current regulations to propose tailored solutions for Shenzhen’s high-density context, improving spatial efficiency and residential comfort in future public housing designs. The finding provides scientific evidence to support urban planners and policymakers in developing more resilient and sustainable high-density neighborhoods. Full article

Urban farming provides diverse benefits to cities and their residents, including access to fresh food, increased food security, healthy dietary habits, improved physical and mental health, increased green spaces, and climate regulation. Urban attitudes and perceptions play crucial roles in urban farming development. However, despite the recent interest in urban farming, studies on the profiles and perceptions of urban farmers are lacking. This study aimed to clarify the motivations of urban gardeners, features of urban farmers, and differences in motivations between urban and non-urban farmers. We used Japan as a case study to add to the knowledge of a developed Asian country regarding the challenges that society faces. Approximately one-third of the respondents practiced urban farming, while one-sixth wanted to try it. Most urbanites practiced farming around their houses or apartment buildings. The benefits of urban farming considered by Okinawan respondents were safe and fresh food, health improvement, and green spaces, which were not significantly different from those in other regions. Respondents older than 50 were more likely to engage in urban farming than younger people. The respondents did not appreciate the social benefits of urban farming, which was inconsistent with the results from other regions worldwide; this may be because most participants were home gardeners, and only a few were allotment gardeners. Challenges in the development of urban farming include the unavailability of urban farming knowledge and of allotment gardens, and negative environmental influences on neighborhoods. This research is the first to report on the motivations of urban farmers in Japan. It fills a gap in the pertinent knowledge of highly urbanized and super-aging societies worldwide. Full article

Novel vehicle concepts are needed to meet the requirements of resource-conserving and efficient mobility in the future, especially in urban areas. In the automated, driverless electric vehicle concept U-Shift, a new form of mobility is created by separating a vehicle into a drive module and a transport capsule. The autonomous driving module, the so-called Driveboard, is able to change the transport capsules independently and is therefore used to transport both people and goods. The wide range of possible capsules poses major challenges for the development of the Driveboard and the chassis in particular. A lifting actuator integrated into the chassis concept enables levelling and, thus, the raising and lowering of the Driveboard and the capsules to ground level. This means that no additional lifting devices are required for changing the capsules or for lowering them to the ground, e.g., for loading and unloading the capsules. To realise this mechanism simply and efficiently, a fully electromechanical actuator is designed and constructed. The actuator consists primarily of a profile rail guide, a steel cable winch, an electric motor, a housing that connects the subsystems and a locking mechanism. The electric motor is used to lift the vehicle and regulate the weight force-driven lowering of the vehicle. This paper describes the design of the actuator and shows the dimensioning of all main components according to the boundary conditions. Finally, the prototype model of the realised concept is presented. Full article

The Saudi government has launched the Saudi Vision 2030 that aims to increase the home ownership rate to 70% by 2030 by taking the different sustainability goals into consideration. However, several challenges such as rapid urbanization and the gap between housing supply and demand are facing this goal. This study attributes the housing supply gap to KSA’s reductionist approach to the housing supply value chain (HSVC) and proposes adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. The study explores the challenges and prospects of integrating these technologies for sustainable housing delivery across the HSVC. Through action research, data were gathered via random sampling and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 24, incorporating a principal component analysis (PCA). The findings from the analysis identify key challenges such as data management infrastructure, construction industry regulations, uncertain housing delivery policies, and resistance to change. Despite these challenges, there is a strong potential for adopting Industry 4.0 technologies to achieve sustainable housing delivery. This study offers a blueprint for policymakers and housing industry leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy for adopting 4IR technologies in housing delivery, enhancing collaboration and driving progress towards Saudi Arabia’s sustainable housing goals. Full article

As China’s urbanization process continues to accelerate and the price of traditional commercial property continues to rise, a number of small property rights houses without construction permits and approvals have appeared on rural land. Although small property rights housing does not have the validity of property rights or the legal attributes of ordinary commercial housing, and the Chinese government has repeatedly introduced corresponding laws and regulations to regulate its purchase and sale, small property right housing is still purchased by many consumers because of its price advantage, and the number of disputes arising from its purchase and sale is on the rise every year. In addition, the phenomenon of developers building on rural land in violation of the law and real estate agents guaranteeing property without authorization has led to a waste of judicial resources and the infringement of property rights. This paper analyzes the actual situation and the main problems surrounding the governance of small property rights housing and constructs a quadrilateral evolutionary game model with the government, consumers, developers, and real estate agents as the main players. By analyzing various equilibrium points corresponding to different stages of small property rights housing governance, a simulation analysis is conducted using Matlab2016a software to examine the strategic choices of each stakeholder. By adjusting and simulating various parameters, this study investigates the key factors influencing the governance of small property rights housing. This study revealed the following points: (1) at different stages in the governance of small property rights housing, the choice of a strategy by each subject is affected by the expected benefits and costs; (2) the relevant government fines will regulate the strategic choices of developers and real estate agents; (3) consumers’ purchasing tendency is affected by the price of small property rights housing and the risk estimation; (4) the governance of small property rights housing needs a long-term standardization of practice, and the government not only needs to improve the reward and punishment mechanism but also needs to provide positive guidance to the consumers. Through numerical simulation, we explore the impact of the main parameters of the current small property rights housing governance process on the strategic selections made by the game players, which is of great significance for the current policy and future governance of small property rights housing. This paper contributes additional insights to the existing body of theoretical literature through quantitative analysis. Nonetheless, there is a need for the further refinement of the parameter settings used in the study. Additionally, while the simulation analysis provides valuable perspectives, it is somewhat subjective and possesses certain limitations. Full article

Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization, with the expansion of administrative boundaries, some former villages have been transformed from administrative to urban in the sense that they have become special “village-to-city areas”; in this context, the housing pattern, which was previously dominated by self-built houses, is facing many challenges. In particular, the frequent occurrence of safety accidents in self-built houses in the village conversion areas in recent years constitutes an important component of urban spatial vulnerability. However, the ensuing “one-size-fits-all” ban on self-built housing has also raised concerns among scholars. In order to better guide the planning and construction of self-built houses, official safety inspections, planning guidance, and institutional constraints are essential. However, the safety inspection of self-built houses across China is difficult. On the one hand, it is challenging to obtain data on individual buildings (e.g., age, use, building structure ratio, foundation, structural condition, illegal demolition and alteration, and illegal use), and the methods of obtaining such data rely mainly on the basic checking of the safety grids under the responsibility of grassroots safety officers. However, the current organizational system of safety officers is not perfect, and the relevant evaluation training also has limitations. On the other hand, due to the city’s finances, development stage, and other reasons, the agricultural-to-residential areas in the cities of poverty-stricken counties are not likely to be renewed as rapidly as the cities of developed regions but instead may face long-term renewal timelines. Therefore, for the agricultural resettlement areas in the cities of poverty-stricken counties, it is necessary to screen the current problems, systematically study the mechanism and strategy of their renewal based on the management framework of the whole process, and carry out the organic renewal of self-built houses, so as to gradually realize a safe and resilient development mode. This paper establishes a framework for the renewal of self-built houses oriented to security resilience based on the theory of fortress land under the urban form theory of Conzen. Taking Lianhua County as a case study, we analyze the problems and issues related to self-built housing areas through an investigation of the current situation. Then, in response to the existing problems, based on the comprehensive investigation of the safety of self-built houses, we clarify the planning objectives and value orientation and suggest (i) the adoption of hierarchical and classified planning and construction control for the self-built housing areas of villages converted to residences in accordance with the local conditions; (ii) the enhancement of government supervision in the use of self-built houses and the establishment of laws and regulations; and (iii) renewal planning in an orderly manner to enhance the safety resilience of the self-built housing areas. Based on the renewal study of self-built houses in Lianhua County, a systematic exploration of the planning, construction, and governance strategies of self-built houses in China is carried out, which can provide a reference for the decision making of relevant departments. Full article

Contemporary neighborhood livability differs across countries due to implementation of sustainable policies within the building sector. This paper aims to showcase these differences among Germany, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina through a comparative case study analysis of two contemporary housing developments from each country. Representative neighborhoods from the aforementioned countries that were selected for analysis were located in Munich, Rijeka, and Sarajevo. The residential environment livability analysis method was used in order to pinpoint and compare results of each of these cases, and to assess their livability. The highest number of livability criteria among analyzed cases were found in Munich, while the lowest were found in Sarajevo. The conclusion is that this is happening due to German authorities actually implementing sustainable building standards in housing development prescribed by sustainability policies, while the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina completely, and Croatian authorities partially, go around these policies and bend to the will of investors, regulating residential urban development to the detriment of end users. Full article

Build-to-rent (BTR) is an important pathway for rental housing supply across the cities of Australia. The discourse has become more prevalent as stakeholders seek government support to expand the sector to provide, amongst other reform measures, affordable rental accommodation. This paper examines the effectiveness of BTR as a pathway to affordable housing supply in Australia and identifies the additional reforms needed to increase that supply further. Interviews with key stakeholders were used to assess the success of the asset class to date and how it is likely to perform in increasing affordable rental housing supply, as well as what additional reforms may be required to expedite supply. The paper found that while BTR aims to scale up rental housing supply, its limitations in its present form demonstrate the need for additional reforms. At present, unfavorable taxes, inner-city locational attributes, and ultramodern services make the asset class a high-end housing model. Experts posit that BTR rental prices are justified given the quality amenities and the 24/7 onsite professional management. While it is a premium product, several BTR projects in Australia have included portions of those projects for affordable housing. The study concluded that BTR can generate affordable housing outcomes in Australia. As more developments take place across the private sector, several regulatory reforms in land release and taxes are needed to produce a sizable portfolio of affordable BTR. Without government support and regulation through additional supply-side incentives, development and recurrent holding costs will remain high, making BTR unaffordable to many urban residents. Full article

Social housing in Peru is a significant contemporary urban issue. This study aims to assess the current state of supply and demand for social housing. The methodology employed involved examining indicators, socioeconomic reports, existing regulations, and relevant literature on social housing. Through this approach, we were able to determine the demand profile, identify the characteristics of the available supply, comprehend the dynamics of social housing programs, and establish the correlation between supply and demand. The ultimate goal was to explore the options for acquiring this type of housing. In Peru, the acquisition of social housing is facilitated through the Fondo MIVIVIENDA program, which operates through two primary mechanisms: Techo Propio and Nuevo Crédito MIVIVIENDA. The findings of this study reveal that the social housing offered in the country falls short of meeting the current demand of various socioeconomic sectors. This discrepancy arises from several factors, indicating that family income alone is not the sole limiting factor. The absence of consistent and well-designed public policies further exacerbates the issue, hindering social development, impeding citizens’ access to a better quality of life, and undermining their social inclusion. Full article