High Vacancy Rates Research Articles

Roanoke's Collective Public Health Activities.

Roanoke is addressing problems that confront many small and medium sized cities in the U.S., especially disparities in health and life expectancy between neighborhoods. These disparities are often legacies of decades of racial and economic segregation, resulting in low-income or disinvested communities. Typically, such neighborhoods have fewer parks, higher vacancy rates and less stable affordable housing stock, inadequate public transit systems, too few clinics, too many fast food restaurants and insufficient access to high quality schools. In Roanoke these are the northwest and southeast quadrants, both federally designated Medically Underserved Areas, and characterized by a large proportion of the city’s low-income individuals and families who may be uninsured, underinsured and/or Medicaid recipients.

Employee Wellness amongst Middle Managers in a South African Public Sector Organisation

At the heart of the public service sector within a developing country such as South Africa, is the contentious issue of good service delivery. However, numerous budget cuts, high vacancy rates and service delivery demands have an impact on the wellbeing of middle managers. This study investigates: 1) the relationship between sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout; and 2) whether there is a difference in socio-demographic variables. The study employed a quantitative research method, using primary data from a convenience sample (N = 172) of middle managers within a public service organisation. The correlational and inferential statistical analysis revealed a significant statistical relationship between the variables, namely sense of coherence, work engagement, and burnout. Significant differences were also found between respondents in terms of marital status and depersonalisation or cynicism. Overall, the results showed that the respondents experienced high levels of sense of coherence, work engagement and professional efficacy. This study has highlighted the wellbeing of employees within the public sector in a developing country.

An estimation of housing vacancy rate using NPP-VIIRS night-time light data and OpenStreetMap data

ABSTRACTAs an informative proxy measure for a range of socio-economic variables, satellite-derived night-time light (NTL) data have been widely used to investigate the diverse anthropogenic activities and reveal urbanization development. Due to the rapid increase of Chinese urbanization rate, from 25.3% in 1987 to 58.5% in 2017, and ‘crazy expansion’ of city space, the sick phenomenon – ‘Ghost Town’ – has been brought out, generally defined as places with high housing vacancy rate (HVR), which will cause the huge waste of the limited land source in China. To investigate the HVR of urban areas in China, this study attempts to establish a hybrid model combining data derived from National Polar-Orbiting Partnership–Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) NTL sensors with OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. By distinguishing non-residential areas and introducing detailed residential building information, we proposed a novel HVR estimation model, thus realizing the estimation of HVR in 31 Chinese provincial cities with different development levels (Tier 1–Tier 3). The results showed the average HVR of Tier 2 cities (0.204) was higher than that of Tier 1 cities (0.189) and Tier 3 cities (0.233). The model was proven more accurate (root mean square error of approximation (RMSE) = 0.022) when compared with previous models. To explore the reasons causing different HVRs in these provincial cities, the relationship between HVR and typical socio-economic factors – gross domestic product (GDP), population, and housing price – was also revealed. Through correlation verification and built of a regression model, HVR was found positively correlated with housing price (0.409), however, negatively correlated with population (−0.829) and GDP (−0.356). The research is an indication of the applicability of using data derived from NPP-VIIRS NTL sensors in reflecting HVR and an exploration to distinguish socio-economic factors influencing HVR in different cities. The model we proposed can potentially provide guidance for urban planners to formulate better land-use plan and rental measures.

Vacancy and property values in shrinking downtowns: a comparative study of three New England cities

When a city loses people and jobs, downtowns tend to face high vacancy rates and diminished tax collections due to property abandonment. With fewer resources and structures in poorer condition, these shrinking downtowns become less and less attractive for investors. This paper tackles this paradox by examining overall patterns of decline and downtown change in three New England (USA) cities. Specifically we ask, how does the process of urban decline impact occupancy, building conditions and property values in downtown districts? We found that statistically significant relationships emerge between property valuations and occupancy patterns, though these relationships vary among the three cities.

Credit Risk in Commercial Real Estate Bank Loans: The Role of Idiosyncratic Versus Macro-Economic Factors

The commercial real estate market is pro-cyclical. This feature, together with the relative size of the industry and the large capital inflows, has made this sector relevant for financial stability. Using a novel loan level data set covering the commercial real estate portfolios of Dutch banks we aim to uncover potential drivers of distress in commercial real estate loans. Furthermore, we estimate the relative importance of idiosyncratic and systematic factors and emphasize the importance of bank behavior for distinguishing between good and bad credit growth. We find that loans originated near the peak of the cycle are riskier, confirming the pro-cyclical nature of the market. As opposed to loans originated during busts, the risk of boom loans does not decrease when economic conditions improve. Idiosyncratic factors correlated with higher credit risk are loan-to-value ratios and interest rates, especially when coupled with variable rate contracts. Moreover, we find that collateral type plays a role, as loans for non-residential (office, retail, industrial) real estate with higher vacancy rates are riskier. These results have implications for both macroprudential and microprudential supervision, as they demonstrate the pro-cyclicality of the market and show that indicators like loan-to-value, interest rate structure and vacancy rates must be monitored more carefully in boom times.

Research on the Development of “Ghost City” Based on Night Light Data: Taking Sichuan Province as an Example

Due to the improvement of urbanization level and unreasonable development in China, many cities have begun to appear as “Ghost City”; that is, the phenomenon of high vacancy rate and low occupancy rate in urban areas. The emergence of this phenomenon will seriously affect the healthy development of cities. Therefore, the monitoring and analysis of the urban “Ghost City” index is of great significance to urban population and urban construction. This paper uses Landsat8 remote sensing image data, night light remote sensing image data, and resident population data of various cities and counties in Sichuan Province to calculate the “Ghost City” index, and obtains the “Ghost City” Index of prefecture-level cities and county-level cities in Sichuan Province. Based on the judgment criteria of the Ghost City, the calculation results show that three cities have become “Ghost City” within the research scope; eight cities have a tendency to develop into “Ghost City”; the rest of the cities have developed well and there has not been a “Ghost City” phenomenon. According to this conclusion, this paper studies the similarities and differences between the cities that are the ghost towns or the cities with the development trend of ghost towns, analyzes the reasons for the formation of ghost towns and makes suggestions for the urbanization of Sichuan Province, and provides reference for the direction of urban development and rational planning.

‘Take whatever you can get’: practicing Housing First in Alberta

Housing First (HF) is an increasingly widespread and influential response to chronic homelessness. Programs using an HF approach typically rely on market apartments to house homeless clients as rapidly as possible. This reliance means HF programs are dependent on the availability and affordability of market housing. Little attention has been given to how shortages of affordable rental housing influence the practice of HF. To address this gap, we undertook qualitative research in Alberta, Canada. Interviews with service providers revealed that high rents and low vacancy rates had profound impacts on program operations, and complicated efforts to follow HF principles. Clients often experienced delays in being housed and felt pressure to accept the first apartment they were offered. In response, HF programs devoted resources to improve relationships with landlords. Ultimately, however, reliance on market housing undermined programs’ ability to fulfil the potential of HF in the Alberta context.

International Real Estate Review

This paper discusses the contradicting phenomenon of housing demand in Taiwan. First, an introduction is given on the three primary characteristics of the housing market in Taiwan, which are a high housing vacancy rate, high housing prices and high home ownership. Secondly, we explore the motivation and preferences behind housing purchase. Since the housing price-income ratio continues to increase, unaffordable housing prices cause households to suffer from poor quality of life. The issues of housing justice are highlighted. Recently, the demographics and social values have rapidly changed. Therefore, even if homebuyers face unaffordable housing prices, they still prefer to buy housing instead of renting due to the traditional cultural belief that ¡§to have land is to have wealth¡¨. This has resulted in the phenomenon with high home ownership rate yet high housing prices. On the other hand, the low holding cost of housing and imbalance in urban and rural development perpetuate the high housing vacancy rate in the housing market. This results in an unhealthy housing market and misallocation of resources. Finally, recommendations for related government policy making are made based on the findings.

Empty houses across North America: Housing finance and Mexico’s vacancy crisis

In the wake of the housing market crash in the United States in the late 2000s, images of abandoned homes on the periphery of American cities dominated international media. Mexico continues to face a housing crisis that began at the same time, and the media similarly focus on the high rate of housing vacancy in the urban periphery. The vacancy rate is extreme in many newly built subdivisions in Mexico, yet it is also high in most central cities. In this article, I describe the role of government mortgage lending in housing vacancy rates, across and within cities in Mexico. I do this using data from the 2010 Census of Population and Housing for the 100 largest cities in the country. Cities with more housing built under the federal housing finance system have higher vacancy rates overall, and the relationship is strong in central areas of cities as well as the urban periphery. These findings imply that policymakers should not only be concerned with vacancy in newly built suburban developments, but they should also consider how the expansion of credit for new suburban housing has played a role in the hollowing out of central cities. The article has direct implications for Mexico and raises questions about the frame for debate about housing policy internationally. The structure of housing finance systems is often under-scrutinised. Scholars working in emerging markets should work to identify incentives in finance systems and how they shape urbanisation.

Inadequacies of heritage protection regulations in an era of shrinking communities: a case study of Valga, Estonia

ABSTRACTValga is a small shrinking town in Estonia where the heritage conservation area acts as the business, administrative and cultural centre of the town. Compared to the overall socio-economic situation of the town, the heritage conservation area suffers due to substantially faster depopulation and higher vacancy rates. Revitalization of the urban centre is a key part of the small town's strategy. This paper addresses the question: In an area of urban shrinkage, what role does heritage protection play in revitalization of a town centre? Drawing on a qualitative case study of the Valga heritage conservation area, the findings show that the current heritage protection system does not support revitalization efforts. There is a need to develop a new set of heritage conservation rules for shrinking cities and to adapt the current heritage conservation system to urban shrinkage. The paper further proposes some possible aspects of such system adaptation.

The study of activated re-utilization of Hakka-enclosed houses under the urbanization: XiPuXinJu as an example

ABSTRACTThis paper studies XiPuXinJu, a Hakka-enclosed house that is located in the Longgang District, Shenzhen, China. By analysing the building’s development history and transformation process, it is proven that XiPuXinJu has both the characteristics of traditional Hakka-enclosed houses and is obviously influenced by Guangfu architecture from the Han culture from ancient central China. XiPuXinJu is typical of western Canton with important historical value; its development is a microcosm of the destiny of numerous unlisted historical buildings that have survived the torrent of urbanization. The main problems faced by XiPuXinJu are (1) stripped environmental elements; (2) weakened traditional architectural style, with the need to improve quality and living comfort; and (3) high vacancy rate. This paper suggests solutions for the activated re-utilization of XiPuXinJu with regard to three aspects: environmental reconstruction, building renovation and the implementation of new functions.

The Circuit Managers as the weakest link in the school district leadership chain! Perspectives from a province in South Africa

The role of circuit managers is an essential component of school district leadership, which provides a necessary bridge between schools and government. School districts play a vital role in continuously collaborating, guiding and leading, and challenging schools to raise standards. In this paper, we draw on a subset of semi-structured interviews with education leaders in the Eastern Cape province, on their perspectives on the circuit management role. From these interviews, circuit managers were labelled as the ‘weakest link’ in the educational leadership chain. We explore the cause, nature and the extent to which circuit managers are perceived to be the weakest link and the implications thereof. Our discussion engages various factors that lead to Circuit Managers being considered the weakest link in the education leadership chain and these include: poor circuit office structure, the high vacancy rate of Circuit Managers, and external interference. We argue for the strengthening of the Circuit Offices and suggest ways in which they could be utilised to add more value in the efforts to improve the quality of basic education in the public schools. Keywords: circuit managers; district officials; educational leadership; school district; South Africa

THE PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATES OF STRESS AND BURNOUT IN STAFF CARING FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA IN LONG-TERM CARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

High vacancy and high turnover rates amongst care staff in care homes are associated with poorer quality of care and may be related to stress and burnout. We conducted a systematic review and the first meta-analysis to determine the level of stress and burnout and report its associated factors in staff caring for people living with dementia in 24-hour care settings. We electronically searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases from 2009 up to August 2017. Two raters independently graded the validity of studies using standardised criteria. We conducted a meta-analysis using a random effects model to determine the weighted mean burnout scores across comparable studies. We identified 2417 studies of which 17 met our inclusion criteria. Nine studies reported mean burnout scores in care staff working in either nursing or residential care home facilities in eight different countries. Meta-analysis of the four studies of 598 care staff that used the complete 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) found low mean emotional exhaustion levels; mean 15.0 (95% CI 14.5-15.5), moderate depersonalisation; mean 8.3 (95% CI 7.9-8.7) and low personal accomplishment; mean 22.0 (95% CI 21.6-22.4). Care worker factors reported to be associated with higher burnout and stress included: younger age, higher qualifications, not speaking English as a first language, feeling unsupported and rating leadership within the home as poor; there was also an association with caring for residents who exhibited aggressive behaviour. Current evidence suggests that most long-term care staff for people living with dementia do not experience high levels of burnout, but there is a lack of good quality longitudinal evidence with analysis of non-respondents. Further large prospective studies of burnout and stress levels in care staff are required to understand more about potentially modifiable institutional and staff risk factors for burnout and their correlation with staff turnover.

The allocation of rental assistance resources: the paradox of high housing costs and high vacancy rates

ABSTRACTThe United States follows a dual strategy to address housing affordability problems among low-income renter households. The dual strategy is premised on a demand-side programme for soft markets and a supply-side programme for tight markets. An examination of housing markets in the US shows that market conditions do not provide much justification for the supply-side approach. Most markets are simultaneously experiencing high rents with high vacancy rates suggesting that the demand-side, voucher approach is better suited to current needs in these markets. High rents drive affordability problems, but the high rent levels appear to be unrelated to market tightness. The implications are that, in most markets, supply-side programmes are not well suited to current market conditions, that expansion of the stock of housing through supply-side programmes will not bring down rents, and that ample units exist to facilitate the implementation of an expanded demand-side programme.

Houses without people and people without houses: a cultural and institutional exploration of an Italian paradox

According to basic economics, when vacancy rates rise, house prices should decrease and vice versa, responding to supply and demand mechanisms. However, previous studies have observed that, before the economic crisis, this was not the case in Spain and Malta. It has been questioned whether this paradox is a Mediterranean phenomenon or simply the result of isolated cases of malfunctioning housing market. This paper contributes to this discussion by reviewing the pre-crisis housing market of a third case study: Italy. A Mediterranean housing system perspective is used to analyse the paradox, and methodological issues regarding the definition and measurement of vacancy are addressed. Moreover, the paper explores the consequences of the high Italian vacancy rate within a context of housing shortages and affordability problems. We argue that a better understanding of the characteristics and implications of vacancy is necessary in order to be able to implement sustainable housing and planning policies.

Commons health committee cites workload and ‘not feeling valued’ for high vacancy rates in nursing

Commons health committee cites workload and ‘not feeling valued’ for high vacancy rates in nursing

Race, uneven recovery and persistent negative equity in the southeastern United States

ABSTRACTI analyze neighborhoods with persistent negative equity in the Southeast to understand whether persistent negative equity can be explained by the same factors that led to the crash or whether dynamics during the recovery period are more relevant. Negative equity is high in the Southeast and concentrated in urban areas. In a series of regressions, I evaluate the contribution of income, commute times, unemployment, housing stock quality, vacancy rates, mortgage market factors, and racial/ethnic composition to rates of negative equity. I also provide within-state and within-metropolitan estimates. I find that even after controlling for subprime lending, the severity of the housing market crash, and other factors, the places with persistent high negative equity are in predominantly Black ZIP codes. Other correlates with persistent negative equity are longer commute times, higher unemployment rates, and high rental vacancy rates. Even after controlling for factors relating to the housing market crash, race remains the strongest predictor of persistent negative equity. This finding indicates that though subprime lending and the foreclosure crisis exacerbated racial and spatial inequality, the recovery itself has also been uneven and has proceeded in a way that widens the racial gap in housing wealth. To further explore the dynamics of the recovery, I provide preliminary evidence that recovery efforts like refinances of Home Affordable Refinancing Program–eligible loans were less likely to be performed in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

A commentary on pop up shops in the UK

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the origins and nature of the pop up retail phenomenon, examine the development and characteristics of pop up shops within the UK and offer some reflections on the impact of pop up shops within the UK’s town and city centres and on the role of pop up shops within the wider retail economy.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with a brief review of the pop up retail phenomenon and this is followed by an examination of the development and characteristics of pop up shops in the UK. The information on which the paper is based is drawn from the corporate websites of pop up shop operators and property management companies and agencies.FindingsThe paper reveals that pop up shops have been developed in a variety of formats and locations within the UK and a number of factors driving pop up shop development are identified including high retail vacancy rates in shopping centres, relaxations in planning regulations, the opportunity for retailers and entrepreneurs to market test products and brands and changes in customer behaviour and consumer culture. Looking to the future pop up shops may make but a small physical contribution to increasing the number of retail units on the High Street but by enhancing the experiential environment for consumers, they may make an important contribution to the quality of shopping.Originality/valueThe paper provides an accessible review of the origins, development and possible impact of pop up shops within the UK and as such will interest property professionals, academics and students interested in changes in the retail environment.

Why are older inner-city buildings vacant? Implications for town centre regeneration

The historic precincts of suburban cities in New Zealand are characterised by partially occupied, vacant or abandoned buildings, which are located in key locations of the central business districts (CBDs). Increasing unoccupied spaces and low demand for older buildings are detrimental to the socio-economic growth of many provincial towns in New Zealand. The study discussed in this paper sought to: 1) investigate the proportion of totally/partially existing vacant older buildings within the town centre of suburb-#; 2) identify the underlying factors that contributed to emergence of the vacant buildings and the consequences of the prevalent vacancy rate on suburban town centres; and 3) recommend possible ways to increase the demand for these buildings. Using a mixed-methods approach for data collection, the research findings showed a vacancy rate of approximately 86 per cent (n = 47) of older heritage buildings located in the main high street of suburb-#. Additionally, several factors were identified to be responsible for the high vacancy rate of the older buildings: 1) building conditions; 2) social factors; 3) economic factors; and 4) building regulations. The research findings provided significant suggestions on how property redevelopment coupled with town centre regeneration can be used as a responsive strategy that can attend to the changing needs of owners, occupiers and visitors, as well as ensure compliance to commercial and regulatory demands of seismic strengthening of older heritage buildings.

The Living Lab methodology for complex environments: Insights from the thermal refurbishment of a historical district in the city of Cahors, France

The city centre of Cahors (southwest of France) is recognized as a historical heritage site and, like other city centres in Europe, it faces the complex challenge of the thermal retrofitting of old dwellings. This complexity is partly explained by the relative incompatibility of the French energy performance certificate with the retrofitting of old buildings, and by the frequent conflicts between heritage conservation policies and energy efficiency improvements. Today, the level of deterioration and the high vacancy rate of the dwellings, combined with the fuel poverty of their occupants has created an urgent need for an energy retrofit. In order to respond to this set of problems, the city council of Cahors has initiated the “Living Lab” approach, an original idea. The methodology, participants, objectives and obstacles of which are presented in this paper. Living Labs have emerged as a new research concept in which users, traditionally considered as observed subjects and end clients, become co-creators of the innovation process. As opposed to classical approaches, which may fail due to the contradictions among political, ecological, socioeconomic and technological interests, the user centred approach allows the emergence of a sustainable answer in a complex eco-system in a real life context. The first result of this study was the success associated with involving many participants – craftsmen, students, end-users, local authorities, material producers – which enabled an efficient and acceptable solution to be found for refurbishment. Another issue was the improvement of both energy efficiency and hydrothermal indoor comfort for the end-users. Longer term results will be the reduction of fuel poverty for occupants, and a city centre that is alive and enjoyable to live in again.