Affordable Housing Projects Research Articles

Low value and hard to stack: Opportunity zones and the low-income housing tax credit

ABSTRACT Established in 2017, Opportunity Zones (OZs) promised to spur investment in undercapitalized communities. Early evaluations find that OZs have had nominal effects on employment and real estate outcomes. Distressed community development, however, has historically been driven by affordable housing production. Conceptually, developers can stack OZs with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the nation’s largest program for affordable housing. Therefore, this study seeks to estimate whether OZs have increased affordable housing production. First, we scan press announcements and OZ-tracking websites through July 2022 to document evidence of OZ-financed affordable housing. Second, we use a difference-in-differences approach to compare LIHTC outcomes through 2018 in OZs with areas that were OZ-eligible but not designated. We find only 60 examples of OZs supporting affordable housing projects across the country. We also find that OZs do not have statistically significant effects on LIHTC outcomes. We document findings from 16 interviews conducted in 2019 and 2020 to contextualize why OZs are failing to stimulate affordable housing production. In conclusion, we discuss how OZs could be modified to better encourage affordable housing, but we also reflect on whether such modifications would be desirable for goals of efficiency and distressed community development.

Towards a net-zero carbon economy: A sustainability performance assessment of innovative prefabricated construction methods for affordable housing in Southern Africa

Recently, efforts to mainstream sustainability principles into affordable housing projects through the adoption of modern methods of construction, like innovative prefabricated construction methods (IPCMs), have been observed. However, limited studies have evaluated the sustainability performance of IPCMs deployed to affordable housing projects in Southern Africa, where the delivery of sustainable affordable housing remains a regional imperative. This study bridges this gap by assessing the sustainability performance and index scores of six IPCM variants implemented on affordable housing projects. The study adopted a two-phased quasi-experimental research design. In the first phase, the technical specification, lifecycle energy and cost and actual performance of these variants under varying conditions pertaining to sustainability were assessed and compared. The Sustainable, Innovative, Affordable Housing (SIAH) framework was adjusted to enhance its utility for computing sustainability index scores using expert opinions. Afterwards, the experts computed the sustainability index score for each case using the adjusted SIAH framework. Subsequently, the Edge App and SimaPro were used to simulate the sustainability performance of these variants under varying conditions. The study's results indicate higher overall sustainability performance of IPCMs compared to conventional methods. Moreover, the research results proved that the monolithic IPCMs were more suitable for net-zero carbon buildings. The study highlights the SIAH framework's usefulness as an assessment tool for determining the sustainability performance of affordable housing projects and for successfully selecting optimum IPCMs to implement towards eliciting such performance. It is expected that this study's results will contribute towards advancing the SIAH agenda in Southern Africa.

Contractor Perspective on Overcoming Cost Consideration as a Barrier to Using Sustainable Building Materials in Affordable Housing: A Systematic Review

The construction industry greatly contributes to environmental degradation, and sustainable building materials are becoming more important in minimizing this impact. However, the construction industry, especially affordable housing projects, confronts several obstacles that make it difficult to employ sustainable building materials widely. Many studies have investigated and advocated various barriers to using sustainable building materials within the construction industry. However, no attention has been paid to the cost consideration barrier for using sustainable building materials in Malaysia's affordable housing. In light of these challenges, This paper presents a systematic literature review that takes a broad approach, includes stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria, a thorough search strategy that includes a variety of databases and additional sources, a strict study selection procedure with multiple reviewers, quality assessment of included studies, and a narrative synthesis of findings focusing on several strategies for overcoming the cost consideration issues in using sustainable building materials in Malaysia's affordable housing from a contractor perspective. This study is important to improve affordable houses’ costs and ensure their residents’ comfort. By implying these strategies, Contractors may reduce costs and encourage sustainable construction materials in affordable housing projects.

Construction Planning and Management of Affordable Mass Housing Project by Using Primavera

Abstract: Affordable housing refers to housing that some people in the community can afford with a lower than averagee family income. Affordable Housing is an immediate way to achieve the goal of housing for all under the leadership of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Modern Mivan technology is used to construct buildings quickly, while project management software such as Pri mavera is used to create a plan of events during construction. Large estates have many buildings.Primavera is a tool for underst anding project planning and tracking construction progress. The study also pointed out that the cost of constructing a monolithi c building using the Mivan method is higher due to the higher cost of aluminum formwork; therefore using more than 150 form work systems will make construction faster and cheaper than traditional methods. Similarly, the traditional method requires 88% more workers than the Mivan method due to the long time taken.

Social Housing Assessment for Sustainable Model Development: Case Study Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Objective: This study discusses the requirements of social housing that are adaptable to the local culture, affordable, resilient, and inclusive by proposing a prototype of a social housing unit. Method: Through observation in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), evaluation of the social housing conditions, authors design criteria for culturally adaptive social housing that is affordable, resilient and inclusive and compare the existing social housing against the designed criteria. Results: As a result of the research, model of social housing that considers the environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainability is suggested to comply with Emirate’s strategy to enhance the sector of social housing. Conclusion: The study concludes with the following recommendations: Accessibility to information related to the study, evaluation of the existing housing conditions, governmental support to the private sector implementing affordable housing projects, and predictions for upcoming work in the field of affordable and sustainable housing are important for the transition to more sustainable housing programs. This study creates a database and forms a base for future research in the field of sustainable housing programs in the UAE.

The Brick Industry in Ghana: Historical Contexts, Advocacy and Way Forward

The paper looked at historical antecedents of bricks industry in Ghana, its challenges and how governments and individuals have supported bricks advocacy in Ghana. The properties of clay minerals for structural products are tolerable among Ghanaian clays and though composite formulations have improve the suitability of the clay material for bricks production, its advocacy for construction in Ghana has not been fully pushed for. Through historical and descriptive methods, the study revealed that the brick industry in Ghana have suffered challenges such as poor management, limited technical-know-how, weak infrastructure, quality control and socio-cultural issues. Governments over the years have tabled good policies but implementation have been poor. The paper recommended among others that cottages and other projects such as public buildings, government affordable housing projects be built with bricks to encourage individuals to patronize bricks.

Beneficiary Expectation from Low-Income Housing Projects: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation Study from Punjab, Pakistan

The Pakistani government has been promoting affordable housing projects for low-income households for the last thirty years. It is important to appraise the low-income housing projects from the perceptions of beneficiaries being the ultimate users of such facilities in urban settings. This paper presents an analytical study on the experiences of beneficiaries from the application process to possession of housing units in two different models of affordable housing in the Punjab region, Pakistan. It is challenging to link their experiences as post occupancy evaluation (POE) regarding the application process, living experience, and governance of such housing projects. Analysis was done using inductive reasoning by data collection through focus group discussions. The findings show and confirm that quality of life in a low-income housing environment is a combination of multiple factors which influence the mind of households from the inception of projects till the possession and continue in the post-occupancy phase as well. The funding and execution of projects need to consider the end user demand by the inclusion of targeted beneficiaries in the planning, design, and regulation of the housing projects to ensure the resident’s housing satisfaction in terms of provision of all allied facilities, infrastructure, experience, and quality of living.

Solving the House Deficit Problem in Kinshasa by Building Affordable Houses Through the PPP Project Delivery

Purpose: The introduction of the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) in the delivery of low-cost houses in Congo is a recent phenomenon. The article will investigate the factors behind this new strategy of building affordable houses and try to establish how PPP can contribute to better housing for the residents of the most populated city of Congo (Kinshasa). The study focuses on the factors contributing to the increasing demand for the Public-Private-Partnership in the construction of affordable housing projects introduced by the Government.
 Methodology: For us to obtain the perspectives of key participants in the public sector dealing with the delivery of affordable housing projects in Kinshasa, an in-depth semi-structured interview and survey were conducted. This method combines qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques
 Findings: The result of the analysis shows that there are four main reasons for this increment: The lack of public resources, the high demand for low-cost housing, the Lack of qualified construction workers, and the lack of the private sector's interest to invest in social housing.
 Unique Contributions to Theory, Policy and Practice: The challenges of delivering low-cost house projects are numerous. The challenges are divided into different categories: political and economic, Governance, international forces, administration, financial resources, material resources, management practices, technical, and local external pressures, and natural forces are some of the issues that need to be addressed. While politics and governance, administration, financial and material resources, local external pressures, and environmental forces are all important, the performing organization faces external problems, as well as management and technical challenges.

A SWOT Analysis of AWH Project Implementation in the Brazilian Amazon as Perceived by Affordable Housing Stakeholders

In Brazil, affordable housing programs aimed at low-income populations reach a limited number of people. In the northern region, conventional bricklaying is the preferred method of building affordable single-family houses, which are essentially sets of tiny houses on the outskirts of cities. Conventional bricklaying can damage the environment. This study, started in July 2019, aimed to understand the perception of using timber to build affordable houses by housing program stakeholders and determine why the beneficiaries of housing programs prefer brick houses to wooden houses in locations with building permits. We applied a SWOT analysis to a group of 60 individuals comprising government agents and wooden and brick house residents of cities located in the northern region of Brazil. Subsequently, we devised relevant strategies, validated by stakeholders involved in public policy, for the provision of wooden housing for low-income populations. We used R software to analyze the data, and the results showed that the beneficiaries of affordable housing programs were unaware of wooden architectural projects and their durability, despite the regional abundance of wood and its environmental benefits. We suggest using strategies based on the SWOT analysis and validated by a group of experts to include the Affordable Wooden Housing (AWH) Project in the National Rural Housing Program (PNHR) and Harvest Plan.

FACTORS AFFECTING RISE IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN DELHI NCR

Within the attractive real Estate industry, affordable housing seems to be a dazzling prospect in India. Affordable accommodation is an important concern in India where most of the population is not able to purchases own houses due to the high market price. Affordable housing projects required differently modified policy as land is the chief limitation in the metro cities. The prospective of affordable houses are high, by the very nature of its business model, which is attached with Indias main part of population, which in middle class citizens. However simultaneously, there are some issues came across by private players in affordable housing projects such as taxes, land, government sanctions, financial scheme, etc. This study examines the key factors affecting rise in affordable houses in Delhi region. The study also tried to identify the major problems encountered by private builders and the buyers of low income people. This research study aimed to assess the impact of the government initiatives on and the purchasers and tries to summarize their perception and attitudes towards government policies to enhance the affordable housing sector. KEYWORDS: Affordable housing, Government initiatives

Development of a Cellular Automata-based model approach for sustainable planning of affordable housing projects: an application case study in Algiers

Being considered as a basic necessity and a key element in the development of sustainable communities, housing is a major concern for the Algerian government. Algiers is facing for the last years a challenging housing shortage and as a way to overcome this problem, many housing projects have been launched. However, the pressing need to address this crisis has disregarded what the pattern of landscape will be, how the existing infrastructures will accommodate with such housing projects and how they will impact on human well-being. This research aims to advance the challenges of planning for sustainability by proposing a methodological approach in a context of high lack of data to support decision-makers in the elaboration of affordable housing projects. The main objective is to trade off urban growth with residential satisfaction and the preservation of natural resources. We developed two Cellular Automata (CA) based residential development scenarios to identify suitable locations for future affordable housing projects: Urban densification scenario (UD) and Constrained urban sprawl scenario (CUS). Both scenarios are based on indicators of residential preferences and measures taken in order to counter the negative effects of urbanization. Results reveal the low capacity of Algiers to meet the housing shortage according to the conditions set for each scenario. The scenarios were evaluated by quantifying their spatial patterns using a preselected set of six class-level landscape metrics. Results show a combination of aggregated and dispersed patterns growth for both scenarios meeting trade-offs among the advantages and the challenges of urban densification and urban sprawl. Then, Standard deviation and regression analysis were conducted to assess the accuracy of CA simulation and the evaluation of pattern changes in the simulated scenarios. The resulting values indicate the good performance of CA and confirm its effectiveness in predicting the future locations of housing projects.

Spatial Accessibility of Multiple Facilities for Affordable Housing Neighborhoods in Harbin, China

The spatial mismatch between affordable housing neighborhoods and public services/facilities significantly reduces the well-being of low-income dwellers, which has risen to a typical issue of spatial injustice. Previous studies on accessibility evaluation most focus on a single type of service, lacking empirical studies exploring the integrated spatial accessibility of multiple services for low-income residents. Taking Harbin City in northeast China as an example, this study assessed the spatial accessibility of transit, education, healthcare, shopping, and recreation facilities for affordable housing neighborhoods, using the Gaussian-based 2SFCA method. The pattern of accessibility for each type of facility in Harbin showed obvious spatial differentiation between the urban core and the city periphery, for both affordable housing neighborhoods and other neighborhoods. The sample household survey indicated that low-income households who were generally characterized as elderly, less-educated, under-employed or unemployed had extremely restricted and passive residence choices. In comparison to non-low-income households, the spatial accessibility of higher-level facilities for low-income households was relatively poorer. Particularly, affordable housing neighborhoods had much lower accessibility of subway stations, though more than 97% of low-income respondents living in affordable housing neighborhoods chose to solve the daily trip demand by taking a bus or the subway. With respect to equity-oriented urban planning, more importance should be attached to the spatial accessibility of public services and facilities when planning affordable housing projects for low-income households.

Adoption of Green Neighbourhood Development: A Case of Affordable Housing Projects

The Kenyan government identified low-cost housing as one of four top priorities and aimed to add 500 000 affordable homes. The ability of affordable housing projects to continue, remain sustainable, and be effective is one of the most crucial hurdles. Expanding the boundaries of assessment to the neighbourhood scale in Kenya means that not only the single buildings but also spaces between them, services that are provided, humans and other organisms that are living there, and the synergies between this broad range of elements and activities have to be considered in the assessment process. This study examined in detail the provision of low-cost housing within the LEED-ND rating system as a platform for having a rating system that focuses on sustainable low-cost housing. The study adopted a survey research design and made use of both qualitative and quantitative modes of investigation to examine the green building practice in Kenya. The proposed park road Ngara project entailed the construction of six blocks four of them housing one two and three-bedroom units, one block housing a parking silo, and another housing a kindergarten and other auxiliary facilities. The study’s target population comprises park road low-cost housing units of the big four agenda by the government. Analysis was undertaken to generate a descriptive picture of the data gathered. The study concludes that the process used to produce an implementation tool can be just as crucial to the success of the tool itself as the tool itself is to the success of the process. The high cost of certification and the labour-intensive complexity of certifying development projects which frequently encompassed a large number of buildings and were finished over several years had two primary issues established, the first being that green neighbourhood assessment systems that are utilised frequently were called LEED-ND. Secondly, the green neighbourhood assessment was another popular technique that was utilised to assist in the decision-making process. The results of the study indicate that LEED-ND is currently the standard that the industry has adopted as a benchmark for environmentally responsible neighbourhood development everywhere in the world. The study recommends that LEED-ND incorporate a post-occupancy evaluation to determine the level of satisfaction felt by residents and transition from a prescriptive-based system to a performance-based one.

Contribution of Project Management Knowledge Areas on the Performance of Affordable Housing Projects; a Case of Kigali City

The research aimed to scrutinize the contribution of project management knowledge areas on the performance of affordable housing projects in Rwanda, case of Kigali City. The specific objective of the study was to examine the contribution of project cost management, to find out the contribution of project risk management, and assess how project quality management contributes on the performance of affordable housing projects. Institutional theory, resource-based view and dynamic concept of formation of business knowledge were used in theoretical review. A sample of 93 respondents among 121 of total population was engaged. For data alysis, SPSS version 23 was used. The findings indicated that cost management, risk management and quality management can influence the performance of affordable housing projects. It was recommended that there should be housing for different categories of people and their status; if it is for single person, small family or large family. The City of Kigali should advocate for the benefit of beneficiaries to get access to finance from different financial institutions in order to facilitate them getting those affordable houses. The cost of housing should be considered but without forgetting their quality. Keywords: Project management knowledge area, performance, affordable housing projects

A year-assessment of the suitability of a green façade to improve thermal performance of an affordable housing

The urban green infrastructure has been increasingly used for sustainable design and resilient cities. Despite its many benefits, such as aesthetic enhancement, improvement of the physical and mental health of residents, especially for vulnerable youth and elderly people, or creating opportunities for social cohesion and climate regulation, green infrastructure has not been used in low-income housing in subtropical Brazil, where the temperature can reach over 40 °C along the summer. This study evaluated a full-scale, low-cost green façade over a year to assess its effect on the thermal performance of an eco-friendly affordable housing located in humid subtropical climate. Aiming to be eco-friendly and keep its cost low, the house was built with materials such as unplastered hollow soil-cement bricks, not having very good thermal performance. The Wisteria floribunda, a deciduous vine, was used in the green façade installed on a west-facing wall, adjacent to a bare wall, which was also evaluated enabling to establish the thermal difference between the shaded wall and the bare wall. In the winter, the shaded and bare walls' amplitudes were remarkably close, due to leaf shedding, a desirable feature to improve temperatures within the house. The benefits of the green façade were clearer during spring and summer when the external surface temperature of the shaded wall was reduced by up to 9 °C compared to the bare wall, and its thermal amplitude varied by 8.4 °C, while the amplitude of the bare wall was more than double this value. The plant layer diminished the heat flux through the external wall by up to 22.3 W/m2 during the summer, and 8 W/m2 during the winter. These results show the potential of a low-cost green façade to improve the thermal comfort of green affordable housing projects.

Demographics, dwelling type and residents’ satisfaction at Zabdah affordable housing project, Jordan

PurposeThis paper aims to study the Zabdah housing project residents’ satisfaction on both dwelling and neighborhood levels. In addition, the determinants of residents’ satisfaction are studied.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methodology approach was used, merging quantitative and qualitative methods. The questionnaire was developed and filled out through structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were used to understand the residents’ satisfaction levels. In addition, the chi-square test of independence was used to determine whether demographics and dwelling type were related to residents’ satisfaction.FindingsIt was found that the residents’ satisfaction level with Zabdah housing was moderate on both dwelling and neighborhood levels. On the dwelling level, the tiny dwelling areas were a fundamental problem. On the neighborhood level, good neighborhood services were crucial to the success of this project, while the lack of green spaces negatively affected the quality of life of its residents. In addition, the number of family members and dwelling types were critical determinants of residents’ satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe findings can be developed into guidelines to govern the creation of better affordable residential environments. Furthermore, the successful dwelling typologies in this project can be modified to be adopted in the future.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to explore the relationship of demographics and dwelling type with residents’ satisfaction in affordable housing in Jordan.

Walking the walk? Bank ESG disclosures and home mortgage lending

We show that banks with high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings issue fewer mortgages in poor localities—in number and dollar amount—than banks with low ESG ratings. This lending disparity happens at both the county and census tract level, worsens in disaster areas of severe hurricane strikes, is robust to alternative ESG ratings (including using only the social (S) component), and cannot be explained by banks’ differential deposit networks. We find no difference in mortgage default rates between high- and low-ESG banks, rejecting an alternative explanation based on differential credit screening quality. We report a complementary, not substitution, relation between high-ESG banks’ mortgage lending and their community development investments (like affordable housing projects) in poor localities. Loan-application-level analyses confirm that high-ESG banks are more likely than low-ESG banks to reject mortgage loans in poor neighborhoods. The evidence hints at social wash: banks deploy prosocial rhetoric and symbolic actions while not lending much in disadvantaged communities, the social function they arguably ought to perform. Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examinations partially undo the social wash effect.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING: EVIDENCE FROM LOWER-MIDDLE INCOME AND HIGH-INCOME ECONOMIES

The provision of affordable housing is a pressing challenge that exists around the globe. Successful completion of affordable housing projects is, therefore, of great significance in both developed and developing countries. The primary objective of this paper is to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for affordable housing projects. To achieve this a comprehensive review of international literature is conducted to identify relevant factors. Nine groups of CSFs were formed, namely: Policy and government support; Land and planning process; Role of Financial Institutions and funding aspects; Sustainability; Designing and materials selection; Approvals, procedures, and clearances; Project management and value engineering; Infrastructure development of Project; and Facility Management. Subsequently, a survey is conducted with experts in India in order to validate and rank the criticality of the identified success factors in the Indian context. Expert rankings are provided for a range of affordable housing products. The results indicate that ‘policy and government support’, ‘land and planning process’, ‘role of financial institutions and funding aspects’ and ‘approvals, procedures and clearances’ are generally the top four CSFs for affordable housing projects. However, the results also indicate that importance of the CSFs was found to vary across different housing products (social, public, and private housing and rental and ownership models). A secondary objective of this paper is to identify differences in approaches to the implementation of the established CSFs in practice. The paper presents a case study comparison between India (a lower-middle income country) and the UK (a high income developed country). Pune in India and London in the UK are compared to determine how well countries of different income levels are achieving the established CSFs. Results suggests a variation in the local contexts in the delivery of successful affordable housing and it is found that developed countries are better at government support and policies, land planning, and incentives to developers for affordable housing delivery.

Discrimination in the rental housing market in the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana

ABSTRACT Regardless of the anti-discrimination policies in place, discrimination is still prevalent within the rental housing market. This poses some considerable challenges to potential accommodation seekers. Due to discrimination, securing accommodation by minority groups has become a major challenge as they are most likely to be discriminated against. This study, therefore, sought to assess discrimination in the housing rental market in the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana. Spatially, four communities namely, Nkwabeng, Penkwase, New Town/Tonsuom Estate and Sunyani Area 4 were purposively selected within the Sunyani Municipality for the study. Data was gathered from 173 landlords and 242 tenants using questionnaires and analysed using probit. The probit model showed that household size, ethnicity, marital status, gender, nationality, disability and age of tenants were the main discriminatory factors. Due to the high demand for housing facilities, there is a likelihood for property owners to discriminate against minority groups. Therefore, it is recommended that the government explores avenues to expand public housing delivery through its affordable housing projects to help address the overt or covert practice of discrimination.

Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio

Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio