Economic Housing Research Articles

History lessons. Search for forms of rental housing – experience of the USSR in the era of constructivism

In development of the topic raised in IP magazine No. 14 / 2023, the main attention is paid to mass and experimental rental housing designed and/or built in the USSR in the 1920s - early 1930s, as well as its architectural and typological features. The object of the study is the residential environment of the rental (municipal) type, the subject of the study is the factors influencing the typological evolution of housing. The purpose of the study is to systematize, generalize and critically retrospective analyze the domestic experience of economical housing, identifying its forms characteristic of the Soviet era. Based on a content analysis of data published in open sources, it was concluded that mass housing, which had pronounced socially oriented properties and minimal parameters, became one of the key tools for ensuring the stability of society. Despite this, today the architectural and planning structure of this housing does not meet the needs of the population. It is necessary to search for new design principles.

How to deploy the PSS towards a circular economy in housing? A multiple-case study

Transitioning to a circular housing economy necessitates innovative business models informed by Circular Economy (CE) principles. Yet, a business viewpoint is almost absent from the current circular housing discourse. Of various applicable business approaches, the Product-Service System (PSS) has frequently been put forward due to its resource reduction capacity. Nonetheless, its practical application within the realm of circular housing remains an uncharted territory. To address this knowledge gap, this study employed a multiple-case study, investigating the practices of five frontrunners in the field through interviews and document analysis. The findings informed an empirically grounded framework of 14 guiding principles that provide actionable knowledge for deploying the PSS for a CE in housing across the value proposition, value creation and delivery, and value capture components of the business model concept. Additionally, the findings highlighted the role of intermediary-led collaborative value networks as catalysts for PSS and CE implementation in housing. Beyond these theoretical contributions, the findings and framework presented herein can serve as a dependable point of reference for practitioners in their quest to explore and capture the potential of the PSS towards a CE in housing.

Guideline towards sustainable infrastructure in new urban communities – Egypt

The challenges related to sanitation and water management in new urban communities have contributed to the emergence of visions of Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) and Water Sensitive Urban Design in cities worldwide to keep pace with these subtle changes in the shape of the urban environment. This research paper aims to monitor the main obstacles and challenges facing residents of new cities in Egypt and the environmental impacts resulting from those challenges in the urban context. A questionnaire was conducted among a group of the population. This study took the economic housing model for low-income people in the 6th of October City in Egypt as a case study. As a result, the study found that the main challenges facing the residents of these areas and their impacts are:1) Lack of regular maintenance. 2) Health risks to the population. 3) Damaging of public parks and gardens. 4) Pollution of the surrounding environment, including soil and water. 5) Lack of state funding for maintenance and Limited financial resources available for projects in this type of housing. 6) Lack of government engagement in preparing programs to raise population awareness and clarity in environmental goals and quality of life policies. 7) Lack of community initiatives to participate in decision-making. 8) Lack of political guidance on planning processes for sustainable infrastructure.

Tenants of the World, Unite! From Atomisation to Structural Power in Financialised Tenancy

AbstractRecent transformations in the political economy of housing—particularly the corporatisation, concentration, and financialisation of landlording—paradoxically intensify both the atomisation of the tenant experience and the potential for organised tenants to exercise structural power. This potential collective power, however, is not self‐actualising. Building on two years of participatory action research and one year of operational data from the California‐based Tenant Power Toolkit (TPT), we attempt to address this conjunctural possibility. We conceptualise tenants as debtors and identify new solidarities emerging from a pandemic era landscape which has left many tenants, particularly Black tenants, deeply indebted to national corporate landlords. We discuss the TPT as a piece of legal mutual aid which both responds to the immediate imperatives of combatting eviction within the existing landscape, and we argue, helps provide the basis for advancing the work of tenant organising across scales and geographies.

RENT POLICY DILEMMAS. REVIEW AND ATTEMPTED EVALUATION

This article aims to present (1) the mechanism of the establishment and consequences of maintaining a policy of low rents in the housing sector, (2) the complex process of transition to market rents, and (3) the risks associated with maintaining these market rents. Two main research hypotheses are proposed: (1) that government intervention in setting low rents leads to a so-called 'rent stabilization trap', with detrimental long-term effects on the housing economy, and (2) that the adoption of market rents in areas with unmet housing demand – which is politically and socially sensitive, especially in the context of high inflation - leads to a 'high rent trap', exacerbating housing availability problems. As the experience of several countries shows, such dynamics often force further legislative action on rent regulation. The study uses three research methods: document review, literature analysis and critique, and a case study approach.

Maps, Apps and Race: The Market as a Theoretical Machine

AbstractMy commentary situates Desiree Fields' lecture within a long‐standing movement that, paying attention to real estate data and techniques of property, turned the housing market into a theoretical machine. I understand her intervention as a fourth and pivotal conceptual moment in the study of housing markets and inequalities for the discipline of geography, for it brings racial capitalism and settler colonialism as theoretical starting points to analyse the political economy of housing in the era of digital property technologies. As such, her lecture opens up a welcome, ambitious, yet also uncertain terrain to advance global urban theory under platform capitalism and stimulate relational approaches in housing studies. Discussing the regularities through which race, technology and property shape housing and wealth inequalities across variegated sites of market‐making provides a conceptual horizontality that acknowledges the United States as a testing ground, rather than a ground truth, for the production of geographical knowledge.

The environmental impact of the zero energy ready home program on manufactured housing

Manufactured homes, which are built in the factory and shipped to the site, provide economical housing for more than 20 million Americans. To improve energy measures and facilitate deployment of renewable energy systems to achieve net zero energy in manufactured homes, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) made public the Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) National Program Requirements for manufactured housing in 2022. To understand how these changes will impact the environment and the building’s durability, life cycle assessment and hygrothermal simulations were carried out for a standard manufactured home design and two ZERH designs in Knoxville, Tennessee. The embodied carbon and operational emissions were compared for the standard design and two ZERH designs for a service life of 60 years. Operational emissions were determined using the Building Energy Optimization tool, BEopt, and durability assessment was carried out using WUFI Pro. Life cycle assessment was performed in accordance with ISO 14040 using Athena’s Impact Estimator for buildings. Results indicate that the investment in embodied carbon of the zero energy ready homes is small relative to the savings in operational emissions. The increase in embodied carbon in the zero energy ready homes is offset by the reduction in operational emissions compared to the standard home for the first year of operation. With an investment of 59 kg CO2 eq in embodied carbon, the reduction in operational emissions is approximately 680 kg CO2 eq after one year compared to a construction that meets the prescriptive performance of the building code for manufactured housing.

Seven propositions about ‘generation rent’

ABSTRACT Intergenerational disparities in housing have emerged across countries, giving rise to narratives of “generation rent”. Despite popularization of the term across academia and public discourse, it remains nebulous, divisive, and lacking nuance. Through seven propositions, this paper synthesizes recent evidence to more accurately capture the breadth of young adults’ housing inequalities and advance debates surrounding “generation rent”. It begins by addressing its drivers, describing shifts in the political economy of (rental) housing which disproportionately disadvantage young adults. It then identifies features of “generation rent”, illuminating heterogeneity between socio-economic groups, housing situations, and rental types. Finally, it charts outcomes of housing market pressures which reshape lives and livelihoods across generations, albeit in different ways. To this end, this paper puts forward a new classification of four sub-categories conspicuous in the historically homogenized notion of “generation rent”, namely “second generation owner”, “delayed buyer”, “tenant” and “precariat”. It argues that, harnessed correctly, “generation rent” can be a useful lens to illustrate wider housing sector transformations and their effects for class-stratification and the reproduction of socio-economic inequalities.

The Right to Occupy: Moral Economies of Occupation and Social Housing in Urban Brazil

Abstract Current research on Brazilian vacant buildings where squatters live tends to paint a familiar picture: the occupants are united in struggle, resolute in their understanding that squatting is within their constitutional, legal, and natural rights. However, drawing on new data from Rio de Janeiro, we argue that researchers have an incomplete understanding of this process. Our findings reveal considerable ideological variation among occupants regarding their rights to occupy abandoned property, including their understandings of private ownership versus the social function of property. In our analysis, we explain this ideological variation through what we call “moral economies of occupation.” Specifically, we focus on lived experiences of losing or being excluded from secure housing and the remembered role that the state played in that lived experience. This, we argue, is crucial for understanding why some occupants believe in their rights to squat while others doubt it.

Assessment of training needs and institutional potential of the potable water supply and disposal sector in the Kyrgyz Republic

This article explores the issue of training needs and the institutional potential of potable water supply and disposal sector in the Kyrgyz Republic. Reforming the sector would entail transformational changes in the activity of the regulatory agency – State Agency of Architecture, Construction and Municipal Housing Economy under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as in the work of the agent performing the function of enhancement and development of the institutional potential in the potable water supply and disposal sector – Department for development of potable water supply and disposal. The introduction of new functions is conditioned by the use of new technologies in the area of water supply and disposal and by the new requirements for specialists operating the new equipment. The acute shortage of qualified specialists has drawn attention of all stakeholders engaged in drinking water supply to the population. The following methods were used in the study: desk review of documents, focus group discussion, in-depth interviewing, comparative analysis, system analysis, structural analysis – which allowed for a comprehensive analysis.

Measuring Housing Affordability in the Philippines

This study evaluates housing affordability using other methods beyond the standard 30 percent income benchmark. By employing the Housing Affordability Index, which considers median family income and average housing prices, the authors find that most Filipino households are income-constrained in purchasing homes. Using the residual income method alongside the 30 percent income standard reveals that the latter overestimates affordability for poorer households, with housing stress particularly evident among low-income groups. The study highlights that socialized and economic housing projects are increasingly situated on the urban fringes, limiting housing options for low- and middle-income households in cities. With residential prices outpacing income growth, the government faces two key objectives: improving housing conditions for poor and vulnerable households and curbing speculative increases in property prices. Proposed solutions include innovative housing interventions and regulatory measures to control property market speculation and ensure affordability.

Lost in the cityscape: Exploring urban homelessness, its societal imprints and policy suggestions

This concise exposition illuminates the societal ramifications of urban homelessness by delving into the subjective experiences of homeless individuals as elucidated through an all-encompassing investigation carried out in Siliguri, India. Employing the qualitative approach based on Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT), we tried to capture the lived experiences of people experiencing homelessness. The findings divulge a multifaceted tapestry of socio-psychological factors situated at the core of the homelessness predicament, encompassing marginalization, maladaptive behaviors, vulnerability within specific demographics, and the unfulfilled entitlement to urban living. The study underscores the pressing necessity for social reappraisal, specialized support services, and policy interventions to address the extreme marginalization and isolation experienced by this vulnerable cohort. It accentuates the significance of economical housing alternatives, community-oriented shelters, accessible programs for addressing drug abuse and mental health disorders, measures promoting economic empowerment, and provision of identification cards enabling democratic rights and governmental program access. The study advocates for a comprehensive approach driven by communal collaboration to combat homelessness while ensuring inclusive and sustainable urban environments wherein every individual is entitled to their "right to the city."

The rise and rise of real estate neoliberalism

Noting the recent ascent of the housing emergency back up the political agenda, this essay takes a materialist view on the genesis of the current crisis. Since the 1970s, the state has shifted away from its role as manager of a mixed housing economy to take on the role of engineer, particularly on behalf of financial actors. This is leading to a tendency toward the financialisation of all housing, with social housing now arguably at the forefront of this trend. A crucial symptom of the trend toward financialisation is the UK's unequal outcomes in the housing system: key outcomes in housing - such as security of tenure, quality and affordability - are all deeply unequal (although the UK is not a complete outlier when judged against comparable economies). The essay ends by making the case for analysing the current housing regime under the lens of 'real estate neoliberalism', and for the transformation of this system into one founded on 'public housing luxury'

Жилищно-бытовые условия населения Кабардино-Балкарии в годы Великой Отечественной войны

The article investigates the living circumstances of Kabardino-Balkaria's inhabitants during the Great Patriotic War. A comparison of the situation of the number of communal living spaces before and after the republic's temporary possession of its territory by Nazi invaders was carried out. The following factors were highlighted as contributing to the worsening of the housing crisis: the instal-lation of evacuation hospitals in the region, the evacuated population, and considerable demolition of properties by occupants. The experience of state officials and the public in arranging the rehabili-tation and building of homes for the region's urban and rural people has been explored. The chal-lenges of delivering water and energy to city dwellers are examined. The characteristics of treatment facilities, bath-laundry facilities, and hairdressing services for the general public are revealed. The status of transportation and communications to suit the population's daily demands is assessed. It is decided that by the end of 1945, it was essentially able to reestablish the republic's housing econo-my, which supplied inhabitants with a minimum of living space and utilities and allowed them to live in the severe conditions of the war. Thousands of residents continued to live in non-residential facilities such as barracks and other structures. Nonetheless, folks worked diligently, bore pains and tribulations, and linked the betterment of life to the impending Victory.

Towards a Sustainable Economical Housing Model in the Hot and Dry Region of Egypt "A Case Study of National Housing in New Minya City"

Towards a Sustainable Economical Housing Model in the Hot and Dry Region of Egypt "A Case Study of National Housing in New Minya City"

Performance of light weight ferrocement composite walls

The aim of this research is to examine the performance of reinforced lightweight ferrocement walls under vertical and horizontal loading. The walls were made up of two thin layers of ferrocement reinforced with one, two, three, or four layers of welded wire mesh or expanded steel mesh. The panels’ core was constructed of lightweight extruded foam. An experimental program of thirteen lightweight walls with total dimensions of 100x650x1250 mm was casted to achieve this goal and tested until failure. ABAQUS finite-element package was conducted. The parameters in this study were the kind of reinforcement; welded and expanded wire meshes, the steel bars, and. the number of layers of steel mesh. Ultimate load, mode of failure, initial cracking load, service load, energy absorption, and ductility ratio were calculated and observation to evaluate the findings. The findings displayed that the performance of the ferrocement walls reinforced with expanded wire meshes is better than that of the walls reinforced with welded wire meshes. The energy absorbed increased by 40 % for specimens reinforced with expanded wire meshes is more than that of the walls reinforced with welded wire a good agreement was observed among the theoretical and experimental observations. This paper highlights uses of employing light weight ferrocement units in building of economic housing, which is particularly valuable for both developed and developing nations, with significant frugal benefits.

A House Price Prediction Model Based on K-means Clustering and Random Forest in Guangzhou

This paper addresses the key issues in house price forecasting from multiple perspectives by establishing a house price forecasting model for Guangzhou city, providing valuable information and decision support for home buyers, developers, and the government. First, this paper employs the Person coefficient, stepwise regression model and t-test to address the problem of quantifying data and exploring house price factors. By analyzing the correlation between the relevant variables and house prices, the key characteristics that have significant and strong correlation effects on house prices are obtained. Second, the K-means clustering model was used to classify houses into three categories: economic houses, comfortable houses and high-end houses. This classification result provides a more detailed data base for the subsequent construction of the house price prediction model. Finally, the random forest house price prediction model was established in this paper, and the model was validated by error analysis and stability analysis. The average absolute value error and goodness-of-fit obtained were 0.08 and 0.92, respectively, indicating that the model has high accuracy and reliability. The research in this paper has important implications for all parties, including home buyers, developers, and the government. For home buyers, the model can help them better understand the market situation; for developers, the model can guide their reasonable pricing and development strategies; for the government, the model can provide a scientific basis for real estate market regulation and policy control to promote market stability and sustainable development.

Moral economies of housing in post-boom Croatia: Swiss franc loans crisis and politics of housing financialization

This paper traces the Croatian Swiss franc loans crisis and debtors’ movement in the context of the wider politics of housing finance after the 2000s credit and housing boom. The movement mainly contested Swiss franc loans through litigation and demands for regulation of predatory lending practices. This selective and institutional articulation of the issue reflected the urban middle-class background of the movement’s constituency and its ambivalent position of having stakes in the financialized housing regime while resisting some of its consequences. Political and financial elites supported a relaunch of a more regulated version of finance-led, state-subsidized housing provision. The structural conditions resulting from the postsocialist housing privatization and the hegemonic ideology of homeownership have been instrumental in preserving the established model. Even then, the CHF loans experience contributed to a slow and gentle shift in the politics of housing towards a possibility of, and calls for, a less ownership-dominated and financialized model.

Consumer Preferences for Residential Real Estate Properties among Interested Buyers in Laguna Province, Philippines, before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose – This study assessed the consumer preferences for residential real estate properties among interested buyers in Laguna, Philippines, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/Methodology/Approach – Interested property buyers in Laguna were randomly selected and characterized based on their socio-demographic and economic characteristics, and their COVID-19 experiences were described. Consumer preferences for different aspects of housing units were examined descriptively and using McNemar’s test, changes in preferred attributes of residential units before and during the pandemic were compared. Findings – Single-detached economic housing with three bedrooms was the most preferred type of unit of interested buyers. It was found that the higher the monthly income of respondents, the higher the property value they preferred to purchase. Los Baños is the preferred municipality to live in because of its proximity to the metropolitan capital. The preferred mechanism of ownership is either rent-to-own or via a loan. Those earning a monthly income of PhP 131,484 (USD 2,708.77) to PhP 219,140 (USD 4,514.63) preferred to purchase residential property in cash. As for attributes, proximity to highways, proximity to community services, proximity to houses of family and friends, presence of swimming pool, presence of sense of community, secured and guarded community, quiet surroundings, presence of panoramic views, and pet-friendly home and community are statistically significantly different. Research Implications – Residential real estate developers should respond to various differences in consumer preferences. To continue satisfying prospective buyer demand and successfully close sales, it is vital to consider these consumer preference changes relative to residential projects.

The genesis of the legal regulation of the activities of housing and communal services of Ukraine in the sphere of providing services to the population

The article states that housing and communal management is one of the important social sectors, which is connected with ensuring decent living conditions for a person, creating normal, healthy, safe conditions for his life. This is a system of enterprises, institutions and organizations that perform production and non-production functions to provide the population with the necessary resources and provide services for the proper maintenance of housing, the improvement of settlements and the development of the relevant infrastructure.History shows that the genesis of the housing economy is closely related to the emergence and development of the housing and communal economy itself, the determinants of which development were: the separation of handicrafts from agriculture (as a result, cities began to appear); emergence of private housing ownership; industrialization (factories and factories began to be built, which required significant human resources); war; political system. At each of the periods of the development of society, the authorities tried in a certain way to establish legal regulation of relations in the field of housing and communal services, but it was not immediately successful, tangible results began to be obtained only from about the middle of the 50s of the XX century.History shows that the genesis of the housing economy is closely related to the emergence and development of the housing and communal economy itself, the determinants of which development were: the separation of handicrafts from agriculture (as a result, cities began to appear); emergence of private housing ownership; industrialization (factories and factories began to be built, which required significant human resources); war; political system. At each of the periods of the development of society, the authorities tried in a certain way to establish legal regulation of relations in the field of housing and communal services, but it was not immediately successful, tangible results began to be obtained only from about the middle of the 50s of the XX century.The historical and legal regulation of the activities of the housing and communal services of Ukraine in the sphere of providing services to the population was studied, as a result of which four periods (pre-Soviet, Soviet, transitional, modern) of its genesis in the territory of modern Ukraine were distinguished and the patterns of criminalization of appropriation, waste of property or possession of it were revealed by abuse of official position.The introduction of criminal liability for misappropriation and waste of property has gone through a long historical path and legal genesis from the recognition of public danger to specific legal norms. Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is the product of long and persistent research, conditioned by the demands of social development and the need to protect against criminal threats of the appropriate form and focus.