Social Housing Development Research Articles

Climate Crisis

The concept of sustainable development implies seeking a balance between exploitation and protection of the Earth's resources in an attempt to preserve our basis for living. Sustainable development must satisfy people’s present needs without jeopardizing future generations’ chances of satisfying theirs. Among architects, the concept of sustainable architecture emerged from various social interests based on various interpretations of the problem and characterized by quite a number of different pathways, each pointing to sustainable solutions as responses to the climate crisis. Architects' diverse views on sustainable architecture have become a battleground for ‘the right attitudes’ - artistic schools of thought and cultural movements with competing logics of sustainability. In this respect, the role of the architect and the choice of sustainable logic become central to the design process of sustainable architecture - and also to the development of Danish social housing. Various incentives have helped influence sustainability in a Danish context, for instance in site conditions, sustainable technologies, infrastructure, facilities, financing and social ideals. Since the energy crisis of the 1970s, the development of sustainable social housing in Denmark has also been influenced by various pathways in this fluid system of changing logics, values and beliefs as social responses to the climate crisis.

The remarkable stability of social housing in Vienna and Helsinki: a multi-dimensional analysis

The supply of social housing has been marked by erosion and decline in most Western Europe countries since the 1990s, albeit with considerable variation in timing, speed and degree. Recently, it has been suggested that the sector has kept a more prominent position at the local level, at least in some cities. This paper scrutinizes this claim by comparing the development of social housing in two cities in two distinct national housing systems that have traditionally had a strong commitment to social housing: Vienna and Helsinki. To do so, we build a multi-dimensional framework that encompasses sector size, stock privatization, new housing production, and residualization. We empirically demonstrate a remarkable stability along these dimensions in both cases, albeit with some differences in degree. A number of factors need to be considered to explain this stability. They relate to aspects of institutional design of the social housing systems, as well as to continuity in policies at national and local levels.

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING USING CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT TEMPLATES

Introduction. As a result of the military aggression of Russian Federation, an unprecedented amount of housing stock was damaged in various cities of Ukraine. Accordingly, the issue of restoring damaged and rebuilding new housing for socially unprotected population arises. In addition to a wide range of issues related to architecture, energy efficiency and structures of these buildings, there is a need to create a reliable management tool that will allow a large amount of construction and restoration work to be carried out economically and in a short period of time. Problems. Restoring damaged and rebuilding new housing includes solving the following tasks: reduction of construction cost and life cycle cost of buildings; shortening the terms of construction and restoration works; taking into account world experience in the design and construction of high-quality socially accessible housing; flexible management of the intensity of state financing of portfolios and programs of investment and construction projects. The information and communication concept “construction management template” can be a tool for solving these tasks. Purpose. The article is intended to justify the expediency of using a new multidimensional business-model of construction enterprise based on the concept “construction management template” for the development of social housing in post-war period of Ukraine recovery. Materials and methods. The new information and communication concept provides the implementation of the most effective innovative and traditional management methods. The corresponding multidimensional business-model of construction enterprise provides taking into account the principles of sustainable development. It is proposed to use this concept within the framework of a multidimensional business-model that will ensure high standards of management of the construction of socially affordable housing during the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Results. The information and communication concept “construction management template” is proposed. The concept served as a basis for the development of a new multidimensional business-model of construction enterprise. The principle of operation of this model consists in comparing the factors of sustainable development of the enterprise with its organizational divisions and determining the relevant performance indicators. The multidimensional business-model of construction enterprise, proposed for the first time, allows balanced distribution of business processes and responsibilities between the structural divisions of the enterprise. This is achieved due to: the use of one unifying information and communication tool that allows to automate a number of business processes; structuring information about the project in such a way that top management can receive it without the need to use intermediate hierarchical links of management; identification of discrepancies between the activities of different divisions when creating and editing the information and communication model. Conclusions. The multidimensional business-model of construction enterprise makes it possible to raise the standards of construction management. The corresponding technical and economic effect consists in shortening the terms of construction and restoration works; reduction of the construction cost and cost of the life cycle of buildings; taking into account world experience in the design and construction of high-quality socially accessible housing.

Drivers and Challenges for Implementing Sustainability-oriented Upgrading in Social Housing in Brazil

Social housing (SH) development is, in general, triggered by policies and regulations, which stimulate interventions, create financing mechanisms, and designate agents conducive to retrofit processes. European directives for energy efficiency and the recent call for a ‘retrofit wave’ have an evident influence. In Brazil, delivery and management of SH are based on the public offer of housing units and their immediate ownership transfer. National or state housing agencies are responsible for basic maintenance for five years, but other post-delivery interventions depend exclusively on the effort and expenses of the occupant. SH budgets leave little or no margin for extra spending and bringing SH to international sustainability standards is yet not mandatory. The issues that arise to implement upgrading in this context are therefore related to the following questions: What are the priority actions in upgrading processes? What type of financing would be required or is available? What is the project execution model and who are the stakeholders involved? This article focuses on the issue of prioritization of actions for upgrading SH. A systematic literature review examined reported sustainability-related housing improvements. A critical review of a Brazilian building label and two international sustainability assessment methods then supported ranking the upgrading actions according to the relevance assigned in their respective contexts. Finally, a panel of construction professionals provided insights regarding the technical feasibility and intrusiveness of their implementation in both single- and multi-family SH projects. Findings show that minor upgrading actions, such as changing hydraulic or electrical fixtures or landscaping, usually do not cost more than implementing them from the outcome and are equally applicable to single- and multi-family SH projects. But, when high-level (deep upgrading) interventions are on the table, costs rapidly increase due to the need to substantially change existing systems or supporting structures, which makes them often financially and/or technically unfeasible.

An experimental method for building energy need evaluation at real operative conditions. A case study validation

Building energy consumption reduction is fundamental to achieve sustainable green design and environmental impact lowering. Thermo-physics, different uses over time, heating/cooling plant and controlled mechanical ventilation system operation and users’ behaviour in the building affects energy saving conditions, indoor environmental quality and people wellbeing. In our research an experimental method for building energy performance evaluation under transient conditions was proposed. Monitoring experimental data of the external and internal microclimate, and of heat flux through each wall, under real dynamic conditions, were used for a real-time post-processing. The proposed method was based on the “modified” degree days calculated by the measured climatic data, taking into account the thermal phase shift and thermal capacity of the various construction materials. An experimental monitoring campaign was carried out for three years on a social housing development in Florence, as the case study. Results assessment provided a linear correlation function between the above mentioned parameters, with a coefficient of determination higher than 80%. The proposed method can be used for building energy consumption prediction that is fundamental for guaranteeing wellbeing, health and energy sustainability with the “green” transition from energy consuming community and buildings to energy producing community and buildings.

User Involvement: Effective Performance in Sustainable Social Housing

Abstract In the development of sustainable social housing, the residents, operating staff, and administrative staff - as users - face challenges in relation to a lack of involvement. The aim of this research is to contribute with results regarding these challenges. These contributions to the discussion are based on the results of a qualitative evaluation of sustainable social housing. The results suggest that it can be an advantage to utilise user experiences in the development of future sustainable social housing with a view to strengthening the user involvement process. The argument is that a greater degree of user involvement respects people’s experiences as being a contribution to the development of new projects. In addition, the research suggests that the early involvement of residents, operating staff, and administrative staff can strengthen the sense of project ownership and community, as well as the project’s social sustainability. It is claimed that user involvement can promote social sustainability, which is a significant factor, since the intention behind a project’s sustainability is that the residents will later have ownership and an interest in ensuring that it works in accordance with its intentions.

The Perforated Welfare Space: Negotiating Ghetto-Stigma in Media, Architecture and Everyday Life

The Danish postwar social housing developments originally epitomized the dawning welfare state, promoting ideals of equity and community. Today, a number of these neighborhoods have come to occupy the reverse role and are publicly represented as “parallel societies,” “ghettos” or even “holes in the map of Denmark,” thus perforating the welfare state as a socially coherent space. Based on a media analysis and field studies in the so-called “hard ghettos,” this paper relates current media representations of disadvantaged Danish neighborhoods to architectural and residential ways of coping with territorial stigma. We argue that media representations of these housing developments contribute to rendering them spatially and socially detached from the surrounding society and that the architectural attempts to open up these housing developments may, in some cases, reinforce the stigma, further perforating the neighborhoods. Residents contest the stigma, yet those who can do so tend to detach themselves from the stigmatized neighborhoods.

A Study on Risk management for social housing development by phases in First-tier cities in China

본 연구는 높은주택가격과 초과공급을 경험하고 있는 베이징과 상하이 등 중국 1선도시의 아파트 개발사업의 리스크 요인을 도출하고 그 해결방안들을 제시하고자 하였다. 분석결과, 개발단계 중 개발기획단계가 가장 높은 중요도 순위로 나타났으며, 세부항목 중에서는 교통인프라 및 접근성이 가장 중요한 요인으로 나타났다. 다음으로 개발전 금융회사 및 시공사 등 사업 파트너 미확보 가능성 순으로 나타났으며, 세제 및 금리정책 변경에 따른 불안정성에 대한 중요도는 가장 낮게 나타났다. 즉 전문가들은 교통의 편리성과 학교, 의료시설 등 각종 사회 편의시설 등을 편리하게 이용할 수 있는 것을 제일 중요하게 인식하는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 개발사업을 구상하면서부터 경제환경 변화와 금리의 변화추이를 모니터링 할 수 있는 시스템을 구축하고 경제환경에 따른 통계자료까지 데이터베이스화하고 관리해야 한다. 마지막으로 아파트 개발사업을 효율적으로 운영하기 위해 분양 홍보 및 마케팅의 적절성, 분양률 저조 및 분양공기 지연, 지역경비, 교통인프라, 정비의 지연 및 변경 리스크관리가 중요한 것으로 나타났다.

Cost-benefit analysis of conventional and modern building materials for sustainable development of social housing

More than a quarter of the global energy goes into buildings. Future projections estimate a considerable growth in energy utilisation (from fossil fuels) for residential and commercial buildings. With the growing population and subsequent rise in the number of people with less-than-ideal housing conditions, it is imperative to have affordable and sustainable residences. Even with the sincere efforts to provide community or social housing to people in India using government-aided schemes, it does not offer an economically viable solution to the people on the lower rungs of the society. Hence, it is crucial to reduce energy consumption wherever possible, starting from the production and construction stages. The energy used can be minimised by selecting materials with lesser embodied energy. A comparative study between Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) and red fired bricks are presented in this research. The paper discusses the advantage of using sustainable building materials highlighted by the comprehensive analysis of the cost and impact on sustainability between these two materials.

Add, Transform, and Utilize. Possibilities of Applying Druot, Lacaton, and Vassal’s Modernization Strategies and Solutions in Polish Large-Panel Housing Estates

In 2004, in response to France’s 1960s and 1970s urban regeneration program proposing the demolition and redevelopment of large scale social housing developments, Frédérik Druot, Anne Lacaton, and Jean-Philippe Vassal created their PLUS theory (PLUS—Les grands ensembles de logements–Territoires d’exception). Its main aim was to modernize the existing buildings, and to add extra living space, functional freedom, and comfort. This essay examines the PLUS strategy and two of the architects’ projects: the Bois le Prêtre Tower in Paris and the Grand Parc housing estate in Bordeaux. Its aim is to examine the tools used by the architects and investigate the purposefulness and potential of using their solutions in Polish large-scale prefabricated housing estates. Combining the categories of luxury and saving in redevelopment of housing estates paves the way for a new outlook. Maximizing living space, quality, and freedom of living in housing facilities that are not part of the commercial luxury segment of the housing market may prevent potential gentrification and homogenization of the social structure in individual city districts.

The place of care in social housing in a neoliberal era

The lack of affordable housing in Canada affects a growing number of female heads of single-parent families, and the current political economy presents significant obstacles to develop more social housing in response. This paper seeks to understand the extent to which new housing programmes led by community providers comply with or resist neoliberalisation. We draw on feminist ethics of care to explore and deepen the ideas, interests, institutions, and networks involved in creating social housing for female heads of single-parent families in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, Canada. The cases reveal that neoliberalisation is not eliminating care in the social housing sector. On the one hand, communities that embrace and engage with the principles of care comply with state rollback by stepping up to meet pressing needs despite the inadequacies or unavailability of public programmes. On the other hand, care ethics lead them to design programmes and spaces centred on family needs, which resist the climate that hampers social housing development and orients it toward market-driven solutions and neoliberal expectations. We conclude with a critical reflection on the inequalities in communities’ capacity to create housing with care to meet the identified needs and thereby resist the neoliberalisation of social housing.

On Transforming Unused Urban Spaces to Social Housing for Self-Employed People in Ho Chi Minh City: An Architectural Space Design Proposal

As with many metropolitan areas, social housing (SH) provision, which can improve living standards and social welfare, is crucial for urban socio-economic development strategies in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). However, there have been issues relating to promoting social housing in the Vietnamese context resulting from the property market and the design. The former is a failure to attract investors. The latter relates to lacking housing models for the mid- and low-income communities. Currently, many low-income families who have low access to the general job market in HCMC have to make a living by running their own business at home. This situation leads to low-income housing establishments in some residential areas. Thus, the planning approach in social housing needs to solve both the demand for low-cost housing and promoting self-employed activities. In this paper, mixed methods, including observation, questionnaires, interviews, data aggregation, and comparison, were conducted with supporting legal conditions and corresponding operating conditions to propose appropriate designs for the SH for self-employed people in HCMC. First, observing and analyzing urban spaces helped identify the unused urban areas that solve the investment issue. Then, after studying the development of social housing in different contexts via the questionnaire and in-depth interviews, self-employed households’ basic information and their business needs in using SH spaces were identified in some districts. Then, based on the legal framework and practical projects, optimal space designs were formed.

АДМІНІСТРАТИВНО-ПРАВОВІ ЗАСАДИ РЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ ПРАВА НА ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ СОЦІАЛЬНИМ ЖИТЛОМ

After gaining independence, Ukraine has set out to update the legal framework in all areas of law, streamlining all spheres of society in accordance with international and European standards. At the same time, globalization processes, which have led to rapid changes in the protection of legal rights, freedoms and interests of citizens, have influenced the formation of a mechanism for the realization of the right to social housing in Ukraine. Because, in any period of humanity, housing in the life of every person has always been and remains the most basic need, which provides protection from all dangerous environmental factors and normal living conditions in general. In turn, the system of providing social housing in Ukraine has come a long and dynamic way and continues to take shape. Therefore, in order to properly understand the concept of "social housing" should consider the theoretical and practical aspects of the development of social housing in Ukraine. Despite many in-depth studies on this topic, the question of defining the concept of social housing and the procedure for providing social housing still remains quite controversial, and therefore requires more in-depth analysis, study of certain features and improvement not only theoretical basis but also consolidation of research data. at the legislative level. The purpose of the study is a general analysis of the content of the administrative and legal understanding of social housing, as well as the study of international standards for improving the institution of social housing in Ukraine in order to develop proposals for improving the latter. In accordance with the set goal, the following tasks were identified: to explore the historical aspects of the establishment and development of social housing in Ukraine and European countries; to establish a common legal understanding of social housing in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine; to analyze the legal framework for regulating the provision and use of social housing in Ukraine; to analyze the main ways to protect the right of citizens to social housing, etc.

An Inquiry into Intentional Values: The Arenawijk in Antwerp – Renaat Braem’s Modernist Social Housing Ensemble as a Case Study

Renaat Braem’s Arenawijk in Antwerp is a key example of Belgian post-war modernism, representing the development of social housing as a state-building enterprise. Considering the building’s continuous use and current redevelopment, this paper explores the expansion of Belgium’s current legal heritage protection, which is based on heritage values. Additional ‘intentional values’ would focus on the […]

The effects of social housing regeneration schemes on employment: The case of the Glasgow Stock Transfer

Regeneration is an internationally popular policy for improving distressed neighbourhoods dominated by large social housing developments. Stimulating employment is often touted as a secondary benefit, but this claim has rarely been evaluated convincingly. In 2003, Glasgow City Council transferred ownership of its entire social housing stock to the Glasgow Housing Association and over £4 billion was invested in physical repairs, social services and other regeneration activities. Using a linked census database of individuals (Scottish Longitudinal Study), we evaluate the causal effect of the Stock Transfer on employment in Glasgow through a quasi-experimental design that exploits idiosyncrasies and changes in Glasgow’s administrative boundaries. We find that the Stock Transfer had a positive effect on employment for Glasgow residents who were not living in transferred social housing stock. We establish that this effect was mainly accomplished through the local employment multiplier effect of capital spending rather than through any other programmatic elements of the Stock Transfer. Exploratory analysis shows heterogeneous effects: individuals who were over 21, female, living with dependent children and with less education were less likely to benefit from the intervention. We did not find significant subgroup effects by neighbourhood deprivation.

Density in the Suburbs: Families with Children Adapting to Living in a Medium Density Social Housing Development

ABSTRACT Medium-density housing (MDH) is posited as a solution to providing greater housing affordability. Yet, higher-density housing is often considered unsuitable for children. Our study investigates the experiences of families living in a new MDH development designed for affordability and sited in a suburban location. Findings highlight trade-offs made by families moving into higher density residential environments and the positive effects of a supportive social environment and flexible dwelling designs integrated with communal spaces. Also evident is the enduring challenge of car dependence and the need to address the interface between developments and surrounding amenity and public transit environments. The research provides an example of positive experiences of families living in MDH that runs counter to conventional expectations.

Parametric analysis of an air-based radiative cooling system coupled to a thermal storage wall for a low-income household

Research on natural cooling of buildings has produced an extensive scientific bibliography since 1980s. Nevertheless, few examples of complete experimental systems are registered, and rigorous procedures for their dimensioning are currently not available. This work analyses the performance of an air-based low energy radiative cooling system in Chile. The system is composed of a series of specialized radiative air collectors, a mechanical ventilation system, and a thermal storage wall, which is part of the indoor environment. The design has been tested in an experimental prototype where external and internal environmental conditions have been monitored during a full week in midsummer conditions. The data obtained is used to validate an analytical model designed to study the behavior of each component and the system’s performance. This work studies the relationship between the radiator surface, the air volume flow rate, and the thermal storage wall volume that serves to neutralize the thermal loads, maintaining comfortable temperature conditions throughout the day. Comparison of the simulations with and without thermal conditioning has been conducted. In term of the system sizing, a thermal wall of 2.55 m3 and a total air flow rate of 48 m3/h is required to reach the optimal operating point of the first floor of the house. A sensibility analysis indicated that increasing the number of collectors slightly reduces the wall’s size. Based on these conditions, the work concludes with the proposal of a simple procedure for the sizing of passive cooling systems installed in social housing developments.

A novel methodological framework for the optimisation of post-war social housing developments in the South-eastern Mediterranean climate: Policy design and life-cycle cost impact analysis of retrofitting strategies

This study analyses the development of modular building design elements to improve the thermal performance of base case post-war social housing development estates in the southeastern Mediterranean climate, which is subtropical (Csa) and partly semi-arid (Bsh), before different retrofits are undertaken to optimise each building’s energy performance. This study’s objective is to develop evidence-based passive cooling retrofit design strategies to improve occupants’ thermal comfort and reduce the overheating risk. This empirical study employs the socio-technical systems approach to develop a bottom-up energy policy framework for the residential sector. Its mixed-methods design comprises a questionnaire survey, use of thermal imaging, environment monitoring and determining building optimisation. Furthermore, this study discusses the uncertain input parameters for the building energy simulations that quantitative modelling has adopted to calibrate dynamic thermal simulation findings in conjunction with occupants’ socio-demographic characteristics, occupancy patterns, household size and recorded environmental conditions. The results reveal that in the non-retrofitted building, cooling and heating comprised the greatest proportion (73%) of total energy consumption. Applications for six passive cooling design strategies were analysed, and after the life-cycle cost assessment of each was considered, off-site modular building applications were developed. After building optimisation, approximately 81% of savings related to cooling consumption were achieved, which suggests that design, ventilation and servicing strategies combined with passive shading systems can improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality of residential buildings, as recommended by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directives.

Social Housing for Workers in Industrial Zones in Vietnam - Concepts and Practical Solutions towards Sustainable Development. The Case Studies of Hanoi City

Economic growth associated with the rapid industrialization and urbanization over the past 30 years since Doi Moi (Reform) has facilitated the establishment and development of many industrial zones (IZs) in major cities of Vietnam. The high concentration of IZs in the largest cities has attracted millions of industrial laborers and created large migration waves from rural to urban areas. Establishing and improving the living environment of workers have become a huge pressure for the Government and local authorities across the country to deal with. Although the Government has issued numerous policies and incentives to encourage and support housing development for factory workers, there are still many conflicts and challenges in policy implementation. Through observational and questionnaire surveys supported with in-depth interviews of experts in urban planning and management, the research aims to understand clearly the context of social housing development for IZ workers in Vietnam recently, to demonstrate outstanding characters of different types of housing for factory workers as well as crucial issues related to social housing and informal housing for factory workers. Furthermore, the research proposes solutions including legal institutions, management mechanisms, industrial worker housing database establishment, and basic technical solutions (planning and spatial organization) in order to find out some appropriate concepts for social housing targeted at industrial workers and then to achieve social sustainable development.

Dynamic evaluation of thermal comfort scenarios in a Colombian large-scale social housing project

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the technical, environmental, economic and thermal comfort impacts of implementing passive measures and heating systems in Ciudad Verde, a large-scale social housing project located at the periphery of Bogota, Colombia.Design/methodology/approachA system dynamics (SD) model is proposed to evaluate scenarios through counterfactual experiments, including technical, environmental and economic components. Model inputs are obtained from building energy simulation models and data collected from official reports, public policy documents and construction records.FindingsResults suggest that the use of heating systems is the best choice to achieve thermal comfort conditions throughout the day. However, both the capital expenditures and CO2 emissions associated with such system make their adoption very difficult. In line with that, the use of heating systems in combination with passive measures stands out as a viable solution since their costs are affordable and their use contributes to reducing CO2 emissions.Originality/valueThe proposed model recreates the dynamics underlying social housing construction processes, the adoption of heating systems and passive measures in low-income dwellings and their corresponding impact on CO2 emissions and indoor thermal comfort conditions. The model can be employed as a support tool in the formulation of social housing policies associated with thermal comfort specifications. In this way, the model represents a first step toward incorporating thermal-related variables into the decision-making processes related to social housing planning and development.