Search Results (555)

The recovery and reuse of construction materials following disasters has emerged as an important strategy for reducing construction waste, improving resource efficiency, and enhancing the resilience of post-disaster housing reconstruction. However, existing studies remain fragmented across different disaster contexts and material categories, limiting a comprehensive understanding of the engineering, environmental, and institutional factors influencing material recovery decisions. This systematic literature review synthesises current evidence on the recovery and reuse of construction materials in post-disaster housing reconstruction. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic search of the Scopus and EBSCO databases identified 303 records published between 2015 and 2026, of which 69 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria. Of these, 20 studies directly examined post-disaster contexts, while the remaining 49 addressed broader construction material recovery and reuse and were included as transferable engineering evidence relevant to post-disaster reconstruction. The review synthesised evidence from both disaster-specific studies and broader research on construction material reuse to provide a comprehensive understanding of material recovery practices applicable to post-disaster housing reconstruction. The review demonstrates that both structural and non-structural construction materials have varying potential for recovery and reuse following disasters. The findings further indicate that reuse suitability is governed not only by material type but also by the interactions among disaster characteristics, residual material condition, structural integrity, contamination, durability, regulatory compliance, and intended reuse applications. Recovery pathways were found to depend on condition-based engineering assessment, while successful implementation is further influenced by economic feasibility, institutional capacity, stakeholder coordination, and recovery infrastructure. This review advances existing knowledge by synthesising disaster characteristics, engineering assessment requirements, recovery pathways, and implementation considerations into an evidence-derived condition-based perspective for construction material recovery. The proposed conceptual framework provides an evidence-informed reference for engineers, emergency management agencies, policymakers, local authorities, and construction practitioners seeking to integrate reusable construction materials into resilient and resource-efficient post-disaster housing reconstruction. Full article

Community-scale sustainable built-environment practices are increasingly important for linking urban sustainability policy with everyday spatial transformation, yet the evidence base remains fragmented across nature-based solutions, housing retrofit, settlement upgrading, public-space transformation, digital mapping, circular infrastructure, and governance-oriented planning. This scoping review, reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), maps and synthesizes peer-reviewed evidence on community-scale sustainable built-environment practices, with publication years from 2015 to 2026 and indexed by the final search date of 13 June 2026. Searches were conducted in Scopus and the Web of Science Core Collection, yielding 3506 records. After duplicate removal, title-and-abstract screening, and full-text eligibility assessment, 130 studies were included for Spatial–Social–Governance (SSG) coding and thematic synthesis. This review identified eight thematic clusters, led by nature-based and green–blue infrastructure practices, followed by housing, retrofit, and settlement upgrading; neighborhood sustainability assessment and planning; public-space transformation and placemaking; digital tools and mapping; circular neighborhood infrastructures; mobility-related practices; and heritage-led regeneration. The largest concentration of evidence was found in nature-based and green–blue infrastructure practices, followed by housing, retrofit, and settlement upgrading; smaller clusters extended the field towards neighborhood assessment, public-space transformation, digital evidence systems, circular infrastructures, mobility, and heritage-led regeneration. As a review-derived synthesis output, the Spatial–Social–Governance Mechanism Framework does not introduce spatial, social, and governance as new analytical dimensions. Instead, it operationalizes these established concerns as a common comparison structure for heterogeneous community-scale built-environment practices, linking spatial intervention, social embedding, and governance enablement. The framework is neither a general theory nor an effectiveness model; its contribution is an integrative and review-specific analytical instrument. Full article

Hair-based biomarkers offer a non-invasive window into chronic stress physiology, yet the influence of sampling body site on hair cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and their molar ratio has not been systematically characterized in domestic dogs. This study compared these three biomarkers across three anatomical sites—shoulder (mid-scapula), neck (dorsal midline), and rump (sacroiliac region)—in 30 neutered Anatolian shelter dogs (2–3 years; 15 males, 15 females; 30 dogs total, with each dog sampled at all three body sites) housed in individual kennels over eight weeks. Hair samples were collected at week 0 and week 8, extracted by methanol pulverization, and quantified by validated ELISA protocols. Hair cortisol differed significantly by site (p < 0.001), as did DHEA (p < 0.01) and cortisol-to-DHEA ratios (p < 0.001). Cortisol decreased modestly over eight weeks (p < 0.05). DHEA was inversely correlated with cortisol (r = −0.62, p < 0.01). The shoulder site yielded the highest absolute concentrations and the greatest cortisol-to-DHEA ratio, combined with the lowest within-site coefficient of variation (CV = 11.2% vs. 13.8% at neck and 15.6% at rump), jointly supporting its designation as the preferred anatomical sampling location. The cortisol-to-DHEA ratio is identified as a nuanced welfare indicator that integrates both allostatic load and adaptive resilience capacity, with implications for standardized non-invasive stress assessment protocols in shelter medicine. Full article

The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage buildings is an important approach that ensures the sustainable preservation of these structures; however, determining appropriate functions requires a systematic evaluation of user preferences. The aim of this study is to identify user preferences regarding the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage buildings and to develop an artificial intelligence-based decision-support model. The evaluation criteria identified through a literature review were validated through a two-round Delphi process involving 30 experts. The final framework consisted of six criteria: social and cultural value, historical value, authenticity value, construction technique, environmental value, and architectural and aesthetic value. Based on these criteria, a survey was conducted on the case of the Salih Sefa Yazar Mansion in Osmaniye, in which 886 participants were reached, and after data cleaning, 844 valid responses were retained to develop a model based on the Random Forest algorithm. The findings indicate that users prioritize social and cultural values and prefer functions that support public use. The model successfully predicted adaptive reuse alternatives such as museums, Art Gallery and cultural house, libraries, cafe-restaurants, and accommodation by evaluating demographic characteristics together with criterion priorities. In addition, scenario-based predictions were conducted using sample user profiles. In conclusion, the study proposes a decision-support approach that integrates expert opinion, user preferences, and artificial intelligence. Full article

Conventional typodonts for preclinical operative dentistry are idealised and lack the variability and tactile feedback of natural teeth; virtual-reality and haptic simulators remain costly for large cohorts. This study developed a reproducible, low-cost digital workflow for patient-specific, multi-material 3D-printed dental simulators and evaluated the models from a learner’s perspective. Intraoral and CBCT data from a single de-identified case were co-registered to a Virtual Patient. A modular tooth-socket architecture with trans-apical screw retention allowed repeatable individual tooth replacement; each tooth combined a variable-thickness enamel shell over a dentin core with multi-material carious lesions. Two fabrication routes (MSLA and PolyJet) and an adopted hybrid route (MSLA base, PolyJet teeth) were compared for cost, time and fidelity. The hybrid produced complete bimaxillary models at low consumable cost while preserving the source occlusion and contacts. Fifty dental students evaluated a PolyJet specimen hands-on: didactic utility scored highest (4.32 ± 0.65 on 1–5) and visual realism exceeded tactile realism (p < 0.001); 94% rated it at least comparable to a natural extracted tooth and 62% preferred it, while perceived hardness remained the main limitation. The workflow enables scalable in-house production of patient-specific simulators, with tactile realism the priority for material development. Full article

This study examines correlates of preferred future work arrangements among adult residents of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, Virginia, a mid-sized U.S. metropolitan region. It focuses on whether remote-work preference varies by sociodemographic characteristics, pandemic-era work-from-home experience, occupational perceptions, and attitudes toward physical interaction. Data were collected through a cross-sectional online survey administered in 2023, during the post-acute pandemic period. After excluding incomplete responses, duplicates, respondents younger than 18 years, cases without verifiable adult eligibility, and cases without verified residence in the study area, the final analytical sample included 636 respondents. Analyses included chi-square tests, Spearman rank correlations, a Stuart–Maxwell test of marginal homogeneity, and an adjusted multinomial logistic regression model. Among respondents with valid preference data in this nonprobability analytical sample, 63.8% preferred fully remote work. Among paired current–preferred cases, preferred arrangements differed significantly from current arrangements, with 87.0% of respondents reporting a directional change preferring movement toward a more remote arrangement. Preferred future work arrangement was significantly associated with age, education, earnings, marital status, housing tenure, perceived work-from-home efficiency, occupational remote-work perceptions, and physical-interaction importance; gender was not significant. Findings indicate substantial but socially differentiated remote-work preference, with implications for workforce planning in mid-sized metropolitan regions. Full article

Social and economic satisfaction gaps are theoretical differences between a resident’s socially or monetarily most preferred affordable home attributes and the actual attributes of their current home. In this study, the satisfaction gaps of two samples of respondents are predicted with their social utility data for preferred attributes in 1987 and 2020, in conjunction with the asking or sale prices and comparable attributes of single detached or similar homes merged with small-area census data for periods up to those dates. Average social and economic gaps of less than 20% affirm respondents’ overall satisfaction with their current homes, most of whom were recent movers. However, wider social satisfaction gaps among the minority of residents may reflect dissatisfaction with new suburban locations in one sample and older inner city housing in the other. Four practical and theoretical contributions of the utility modelling of residential satisfaction gaps in objective and subjective home attributes, as opposed to direct surveying of residential satisfaction, are concluded. Full article

Current approaches to urban greenery often led to a certain uniformity of vegetation. The desire of residents to be able to grow plants according to their own preferences and to co-create the appearance of the surroundings of their houses therefore leads to the emergence of spontaneous initiatives. One of these phenomena is the narrow strips at the interface between the foundations of houses and the sidewalks of streets in continuous urban development, which are used for growing plants and are referred to as “Jardin de la Rue”. The assessment of street vegetation with “Jardin de la Rue” elements took place in the urban district of Saint-Genès, which is part of the city of Bordeaux in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. The description of the street vegetation with the “Jardin de la Rue” represents an important first step towards understanding the causes of their creation and the subsequent ecological and social interactions. The creation of these small green spaces is the result of the initiative of residents, and these areas are not part of the planned urban green space. Field surveys in selected streets took place in August–September in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Based on the analysis of the species composition, a total of 107 plant taxa were recorded in the streets. The most frequently recorded ornamental taxa include Lonicera japonica Thunb., Alcea rosea L. and Passiflora caerulea L. The most popular group of cultivated plants consists mainly of lianas, e.g., Akebia quinata (Thunb. ex Houtt.) Decne., Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth, Lonicera japonica Thunb., Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch., Passiflora amethystina J.C.Mikan, Solanum laxum Spreng., Trachelospermum asiaticum (Siebold & Zucc.) Nakai, Trachelospermum jasminoides (Lindl.) Lem. and Wisteria sinensis (Sims) Sweet. The most frequently represented taxa belong mainly to the weed group, e.g., Amaranthus deflexus L., Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum F.H.Wigg., Paspalum dilatatum Poir. The vegetation of the “Jardin de la Rue” elements is a manifestation of the cultural function of plants. The free choice of cultivated taxa allows residents to express their preferences and relationship to the place. Respect for these spontaneous green spaces and their vegetation composition by the city administration is a manifestation of mutual cooperation and at the same time a means of strengthening the ties of residents to their place of residence. These elements may deserve greater consideration within contemporary approaches to construction, architecture and urban planning. Full article

This study evaluated the effects of a Bacillus-based direct-fed microbial on broiler performance, excreta properties, and the impact on the survival of house fly larvae. A completely randomized design was used comprising two dietary treatments: (1) basal standard broiler diet (CON) and (2) CON + Amnil^® at 500 PPM (AMN). Each treatment consisted of 48 replicate cage pens, each containing six male chicks, and were raised until 23 d of age. The average body weight (BW), feed consumption (FC), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured weekly. On d21, blood was collected via the brachial vein for the measurement of corticosterone (CORT) concentrations and heterophil/lymphocyte ratio (H/L). Poultry excreta was collected three times on d14, d18, and d23. Excreta properties were evaluated using proximate analysis. For fly assessment, two assays were conducted: (1) oviposition and (2) fly larval development. For oviposition, adult house flies were provided with a choice between excreta from chicks fed with and without Amnil. For fly larval development, 100 fly larvae (<12 h old) were fed either control excreta or excreta from birds fed Amnil. The data were subjected to ANOVA to determine the treatment differences. BW was higher (p = 0.05) in the AMN group on d 14, but no other differences were found at any other time points. Additionally, BW-adjusted feed conversion ratio was improved (p = 0.046) in the AMN group. Excreta from the AMN group had lower (p < 0.05) moisture, pH, Zinc, Neutral Detergent Fiber, and Acid Detergent Fiber on d18 and lower (p < 0.05) pH and Zn on d 23. No statistical differences (p > 0.05) were observed in the CORT and H/L ratios. There were no differences (p > 0.05) between treatments for preference in oviposition. However, flies showed a significant preference for colonizing bird excreta at d23 than at d14 or d18, regardless of Amnil use. For the development experiment, a reduction (p < 0.001) of 32.2% in resulting pupal survival was observed when excreta from birds fed AMN compared to the control. In conclusion, AMN supplementation improved cumulative FCR and modified the properties of excreta, resulting in the disturbance of normal oviposition and reduction in the survival of fly larvae compared to the CON group. Full article

Population aging has made aging in place (AIP) a central goal of sustainable welfare and urban governance, yet older adults’ perceived feasibility of remaining in their current home under conditions of vulnerability remains unevenly distributed. This study conceptualizes AIP intention under anticipated mobility limitation as a stratified condition of social sustainability, asking who expects to remain in the community as a supported and recognized member when mobility declines. Using the 2023 National Survey of Older Koreans (N = 9951), it examines older adults’ stated intention to remain in their current residence under mobility limitation through weighted logistic regression. The results show that this intention is structured most strongly by housing inequality: non-owner tenure reduces the likelihood of intending to remain in place, whereas housing satisfaction increases it. Co-residence with adult children is positively associated with this intention, while activities of daily living limitations are negatively associated with it. Beyond material and health conditions, social participation intention and digital adaptability increase the likelihood of intending to remain in place, whereas age discrimination in public institutions reduces it. Government trust is negatively associated with the intention to remain in place. Because the survey does not directly measure older adults’ awareness, availability, evaluation, or use of alternative residential or care facilities, this association is treated only as a discussion point rather than as an empirically tested mechanism: higher institutional trust may be linked to greater openness to publicly supported alternatives. The findings demonstrate that the perceived feasibility of AIP is not merely an individual preference, but an unevenly distributed possibility shaped by housing security, institutional inclusion, and civic capacity. Sustainable aging policy should integrate housing support, anti-discrimination measures, digital inclusion, and community participation. Full article

Fuel poverty is shaped by interacting social, environmental and housing conditions, yet these links remain underexplored at city scale. The analysis is framed as an ecological, cross-sectional assessment of spatial associations rather than as a causal proof of a closed feedback mechanism. This study examines the relationship between fuel poverty, deprivation, particulate air pollution and housing typology across 54 wards in Liverpool, UK. Ward-level fuel poverty and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data were integrated with 2023–2024 annual mean particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) from 58 low-cost air-quality sensors and classified housing types. Regression models were used to compare individual, additive and interaction effects. Fuel poverty ranged from 12.4% to 25.29%, while PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ frequently exceeded World Health Organization guideline values. IMD was the strongest individual predictor of fuel poverty (R² = 0.281, $p<0.001$). The preferred additive model including IMD, PM_2.5, PM₁₀ and housing type explained 43.5% of the variance, with Victorian Terraces emerging as a significant risk factor. Although interaction models suggested pollution-deprivation coupling, model selection and uncertainty diagnostics favoured the simpler additive specification. The findings support targeted retrofit, fuel-poverty and emissions-control policies in deprived urban neighbourhoods where inefficient housing and environmental stressors compound energy insecurity and where local action can contribute to more equitable urban sustainability. Full article

Micro-structured SAE H13 tool steel inserts for polymer injection molding require accurate replication of sub-millimeter features while retaining adequate densification and heat-treatment response. This study compared two powder-based routes on the same hemispherical insert containing pyramidal features of approximately 0.145 mm base width: hot embossing (HE) of water-atomized SAE H13 powder (supplier d50 = 5.7 µm, irregular morphology) compounded with a commercial M1 binder, and material extrusion (MEX) of a commercial gas-atomized SAE H13 filament processed on a Markforged Metal X. Rheological screening selected a 57:43 vol% powder-to-binder ratio for the in-house HE feedstock, and DSC/TGA measurements defined two-step debinding windows. The best HE conditions were 220 °C, 8 MPa, and 45 min for the in-house mixture, and 210 °C, 8 MPa, and 30 min for the granulated commercial filament; the latter showed a 0.15% linear deviation from the silicone replica diameter among the best-rated samples. Under the tested commercial MEX configuration, the pyramidal features were not resolved because the 0.40 mm deposition line width exceeded the target feature base width, causing the slicer to omit the sub-line-width geometry. The defect populations differed qualitatively: HE specimens showed porosity and local cracking associated with powder morphology and pressureless sintering, whereas MEX specimens showed build-direction-aligned inter-raster voids associated with the toolpath. Microhardness and tensile data are therefore interpreted as process-history-specific results rather than as a direct route ranking, because sintering conditions were not uniform across all specimens. The study defines an experimentally bound process-selection limit for SAE H13 micro-tooling: HE remains preferable for sub-nozzle surface features, whereas MEX remains attractive for macro-scale geometric freedom, if resolution, densification, and post-sintering consolidation are addressed. Full article

Intensive duck production is shifting from greenhouse/curtain-sided houses toward closed, mechanically ventilated systems, yet low-carbon environmental control for moisture-dominated houses remains insufficiently synthesized. Using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) framework, this review aimed to identify low-carbon environmental-control pathways by integrating evidence on envelope design, ventilation, heat pump, and moisture management. Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed were searched for English-language articles published during 2018–2025. Direct duck house evidence was separated from transferable poultry, livestock-building, and building-energy evidence. Synthesis shows that water access, wet litter, stocking density, and climate make houses latent-load-dominated systems, affecting relative humidity (RH), ammonia (NH₃), particulates, heat stress, welfare, and energy demand. Greenhouse-type houses have low energy use but weak environmental stability, whereas closed/windowless houses improve control and biosecurity but increase dependence on electricity, dehumidification, and backup systems. Low-carbon housing requires staged integration of moisture-source control, drainage, litter management, roof solar-load reduction, controlled ventilation, heat recovery, climate-suitable heat pumps, renewable electricity, sensor-based control, and resilience planning. Low-carbon environmental-control packages should be selected according to house type, climate, and management conditions. Future validation should report standardized energy, carbon, air quality, litter condition, welfare, productivity, cost, and outage-resilience metrics. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study examines the relationship between user preferences, spatial accessibility, and the financial sustainability of long-term care (LTC) systems, with a focus on Slovenia and the Posavje region. The analysis compares different care models, including long-term home care (LTHC), institutional care, and community-based housing solutions such as sheltered housing and “silver villages”. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was applied, combining qualitative interviews, survey data, spatial analysis, mobility-related operational assessment, and cost estimation. The survey included 1005 individuals, of whom 475 provided valid responses. Statistical analysis was conducted using chi-square tests and the Agresti–Caffo method to examine differences in care preferences and selected proportions across respondent groups. Results: Statistically significant differences in LTC preferences across age groups were identified. Most respondents preferred care options located close to their homes, with the majority unwilling to relocate more than 10 km and a substantial share preferring distances below 5 km. The findings further indicate that travel-related costs for care providers in rural areas are considerable and, in the Municipality of Krško, comparable to the estimated monthly housing costs in specialized community-based units. Cost comparisons suggest that reductions in travel-related operational costs could offset a substantial share of the estimated housing-related costs. Conclusions: The results indicate that sustainable LTC systems require not only adequate service capacity and funding but also spatially coordinated care models aligned with user preferences and long-term sustainability. The findings contribute to strategic LTC planning and support the development of integrated, community-based care systems in geographically dispersed regions. Full article

Why are essential workers (also known as key workers) priced out of the urban areas where essential services are concentrated? This paper addresses that question by linking residential sorting to the governance of land and housing markets in Auckland, New Zealand. Drawing on bid rent theory and motivated by Crane’s theoretical framework, this study examines how households trade off urban accessibility against housing costs with varying degrees of job location uncertainties and time pressure. The analysis uses the micro-level household data from Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ)’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) to examine how key-worker households position themselves within the city’s rental market relative to other working households. The results show a clear urban land rent gradient: rents fall with distance from the city centre. However, access to the central location is not evenly distributed across workers. Key workers, whose jobs are typically tied to more fixed workplaces, are more inclined to live farther from the city centre to lower housing costs. By contrast, workers facing tighter time constraints, especially those working longer hours, show a stronger preference for living near the CBD to improve work proximity and reduce commuting burdens. This pattern remains evident among private vehicle commuters, suggesting that time pressure, rather than transport mode alone, is an important factor shaping residential location choice. The paper argues that this is not simply a housing market outcome but also a land-governance problem. When central land values rise without corresponding housing options for key workers, cities risk pushing socially necessary labour towards peripheral areas. The findings highlight the need for land-use and housing interventions that improve the spatial match between where key workers live and where urban services are most needed. Full article