Search Results (9)

Energy poverty, resulting from poor energy efficiency and economic and social barriers to accessing appropriate, modern, and sustainable energy services, remains a critical issue in Jordan, a country facing growing climate pressures, particularly given its history of rapid urbanization. This study examines energy poverty through a multidimensional lens, considering its spatial and socio-demographic variations across Jordan. Drawing on data from 19,475 households, we apply a novel energy poverty index and binary logistic regression to analyze key determinants of energy poverty and discuss their intersection with climate vulnerability. The energy poverty index (EPI) is structured around four pillars: housing, fuel, cooling, and wealth. The results show that 51% of households in Jordan are affected by energy poverty. Contributing factors include geographic location, gender, age, education level, dwelling type, ownership of cooling appliances, and financial stability. The results indicate that energy poverty is both a socio-economic and infrastructural issue, with the highest concentrations in the northern and southern regions of the country, areas also vulnerable to climate risks such as drought and extreme heat. Our findings emphasize the need for integrated policy approaches that simultaneously address income inequality, infrastructure deficits, and environmental stressors. Targeted strategies are needed to align social and climate policies for effective energy poverty mitigation and climate resilience planning in Jordan. Full article

This study examines the transformative impact of the Special Zones of Social Interest (AEIS-1) implemented in Diadema, São Paulo, in 1994, as an innovative urban policy tool in Brazil. Rooted in the principle of the social function of property established in the 1988 Federal Constitution, the research analyzes the development of social interest housing projects (HISs) led by housing movement associations. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining primary data from local housing associations and the municipal government with geospatial analysis. The results reveal that between 1996 and 2013, over 20 LHISs were successfully established, directly benefiting approximately 2000 low-income families. These projects utilized a self-construction model financed entirely by families, overcoming the lack of public investment. The findings highlight the critical role of housing associations in organizing, planning, and implementing urban housing initiatives. This model not only addressed housing deficits but also fostered community resilience and inclusivity. By demonstrating how grassroots organizations can drive urban transformation, this research underscores the potential of participatory practices in advancing spatial justice and the right to the city. The Diadema case offers valuable insights for cities facing similar challenges, advocating for equitable and democratic urban development strategies. Full article

In the last 50 years, the metropolitan area of the capital city of San Luis Potosí has experienced, like other cities in the world, a rapid growth in urban settlements due to various causes. In this context, vertical housing developments, both residential and for living purposes, have been emerging successively in different parts of the metropolis, while at the same time a water deficit is increasing, from which it becomes insufficient to meet the demands for the coming years. Using several case studies with such characteristics, as well as other aspects like gentrification traits, and through a comparative qualitative analysis that incorporates empirical socioeconomic observations, along with processes in geospatial analysis, this article investigates the impact these types of urban developments have on the distribution of drinking water among the different sectors served by the municipal water utility in order to gain a clear understanding of water volumes accessible to the population of San Luis Potosí City, considering the looming impact of increasing traces of the gentrification phenomenon. Full article

Current approaches to the provision of shelter, largely driven by national governments and/or the commercial private sector, continue to fall short of what is needed to reduce housing deficits. The number of people without access to adequate housing continues to grow, especially in cities of the Global South. Increasing attention is being paid to alternative models for organizing land and housing delivery, such as those led by, or at least including, civil society. In this paper, we consider two national land and housing programs—the 20,000 Plots Project in Tanzania, and Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) in India—alongside community-led housing initiatives from each country. We explore the extent to which community participation in housing delivery can have social and environmental advantages when compared to ‘business as usual’ methods and find that, given appropriate state support, community-based, and civil society actors (including organizations of the urban poor) have significant potential to contribute to acquiring land, building homes and improving the quality of life of vulnerable segments of the population. This paper echoes calls for community-led housing to become a recognized part of formal housing policy whilst emphasizing the need for theoretical refinement of the process so as to prevent it from being captured by prevailing market-led narratives. Full article

With the expanding rental sector and rising housing expenses, this research aims to compare the socio-demographic, economic, and housing statuses of renters burdened by housing costs in four regions, and also to explore predictors affecting their residential assessment. Using data from the 2020 Korean Housing Survey, this cross-sectional study identified 245 cost-burdened households whose housing expenses accounted for more than 25% of their total gross income and living expenses. The results revealed that the majority of renters were single-person households residing in single-room occupancy units of multifamily housing, primarily comprising unemployed older adults aged 50 and over. While earning less than half of the minimum wage, the renters’ living expenses fell well below the minimum cost of living, and more than 40% of the expenditure was spent on housing costs, resulting in cost-overburdened households. With the correlation between income, deposit, and rent, the burden of housing costs and the quality of the residential environment varied among regions. Indeed, the residential assessment of the renters was significantly influenced by urban amenities, and both income deficits and excessive housing cost burdens required inclusive and prompt housing interventions including housing assistance, provision of affordable public housing, income transfer, and transitions from renting to Chonsei arrangements. Full article

There is increasing use of digital technologies in urban planning, including in the generation of designs and the participative side of planning. We examine this digital planning by reporting on the application of an experimental online participatory platform in the regeneration of a London housing estate, enabling reflection on participation processes and outcomes. Drawing on lessons learned, the paper synthesises a conceptual representation of online participation and a relational framework for understanding the participatory platform and its context. We subsequently develop a ‘matrix of participative space’, building on Arnstein’s ‘ladder of participation’, to present a two-dimensional framework of online participation, identifying cases of ‘participative deficit’ and ‘democratic deficit’. We conclude with implications for future digital participation in urban planning and design. Full article

The Brazilian housing program, Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV) (My House, My Life), was launched in 2009 to address the housing deficit issue, with the goal of distributing contracted housing units throughout the Brazilian territory. However, the program faces criticisms regarding the distribution of these units. Thus, this paper aims to analyze the distribution heterogeneity of these contracted housing units (CHUs). Two analytical approaches were employed: temporal and spatial (states). To achieve this objective, inferential methods such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR), and panel data regressions were employed. The findings indicate that, from a temporal perspective, there is a positive relationship between the urban housing deficit (UHD) and CHUs. However, the relationship is negative from a spatial perspective, characterizing such heterogeneity among the states. In addition, bordering regions are subject to mutual spatial influences in terms of contracted units, thereby reinforcing this heterogeneity over time. Full article

The existence of barriers to accessing essential urban opportunities leads to differentiated use of the territory, which can generate social fragmentation. Several authors highlight the role of public transportation services for reducing inequality gaps by providing connections between origins and destinations. The COVID-19 health emergency in 2020 highlighted the complex situation faced by disadvantaged populations in coping with crises in the absence of transportation services. Considering four popular neighborhoods in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, as a case study, patterns of public transport provision, the potential for access to opportunities, and joint accessibility patterns for 2015 and 2021 were evaluated through methods based on spatial analysis. A decrease in public transport provision of approximately 25% and an increase in travel times close to 23 min were detected by 2021. The results show deficits in the provision of transportation services and low accessibility in the study area and reinforce the hypothesis raised about the existence of housing segregation and spatial inequality located on the city’s urban edge, which are marked in both scenarios. Full article

The study of the relationship between the provision of local public services and residential segregation is critical when it might be the social manifestation of spatial income inequality. This paper analyzes how the spatial accessibility to local public services is distributed equitably among different social and economic groups in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago (MR), Chile. To accomplish this objective, I use accessibility measures to local public services such as transportation, public education, healthcare, kindergartens, parks, fire and police stations, cultural infrastructure, and information about housing prices and exempted housing units from local taxes by block, as well as quantile regressions and bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA). The main results confirm the accessibility to local public services is unequally distributed among residents. However, it affects more low-income groups who are suffering from significant deficits in the provision of local public services. In this scenario, poor residents face a double disadvantage due to their social exclusion from urban systems and their limited access to essential services such as education, healthcare, or transportation. In particular, I found that social residential segregation might be reinforced by insufficient access to local infrastructure that the most impoverished population should assume. Full article