Historical Housing Research Articles

Tourism-Led Housing Commodification: Transnational Real Estate Networks and State-Permeated Property Investment in Havana, Cuba

ABSTRACT In a context of ever-growing demand for tourism property, this paper scrutinizes emerging forms of tourism-led housing commodification in Havana, Cuba. In 2011, the Cuban property market reopened to investment when the socialist government allowed the sale of private property at prices set in a market environment. We pay attention to the critical role of Cuban migrants, remittance investors and lifestyle elites in commodifying Havana’s historic housing stock and transforming residential property into short-term rentals, hotels, private restaurants and tourist boutiques. We demonstrate how the Cuban government has become an active market facilitator, either by restraining private competition or by encapsulating tourism property investment within broader channels of the state. We conclude that the case of Havana is indicative of broader trends in tourism and hospitality, particularly in the Global South and East. We propose tourism-led housing commodification as a conceptual framework for understanding these broader commonalities.

Determinants of housing demands and residential rent costs in an emerging city in Southern Nigeria

Housing is vital to human experience. It is the basis and foci of daily activities. In Asaba, a strategically located, fast-growing metropolis, city officials are confronted by myriads of urban planning issues, one of which is provision of urban housing. This study attempted to identify the determinants of housing demands and costs of residential rents within the city (Asaba). In this study, the ex-post facto and survey designs were deployed. The data for the study comprised of the primary (questionnaire data) and secondary (historical housing data) types. For effective questionnaire administration, the study area was stratified into high, medium and low income areas. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were deployed for data analyses. The results indicated that the key determinants of residential housing demand and costs were ease of access to public transport (69 %), nearness to security formations (80 %) and higher demand for houses in supply (75.8 %); and the Spearman's rank correlation showed that these factors were significant at P < 0.05. Other factors such as availability of electricity and access to water supply were not significant determinants of choice of housing at P > 0.05. This is due to the fact that the whole region lacks adequate electricity supply and water is self-harnessed through boreholes. ANOVA showed that there was a significant temporal variation in the cost of residential housing rents at p<0.05 (F-69.03; sig 0.000). Consequently, this study recommends that there is need for the decentralisation of the city; which should be realised by an efficient development of the suburbs to high standards that would meet the requirements of prospective renters. Policy development and establishment of basic facilities in the suburbs, would help actualise this decentralization. Also, collaboration between government and private developers could yield more supply in the housing stuck, consequently reducing costs of housing.

Adding Balconies to Historical Tenements – Local Approaches to the Retention of Heritage Value in Poland, Germany, and Denmark

ABSTRACT Approximately 22% of the existing dwellings in the EU were built before 1946. In Wrocław, Poland ca. 21% of all dwellings in multifamily houses are protected for their heritage value. For such a significant share of the residential building stock pursuit of sustainability through amenity improvement is inevitable and will gain pace with the EU endorsed Renovation Wave. The discourse about the scope of renovations should be extended to consider an improvement of historical housing’s spatial quality without compromising its heritage value. Balconies are perceived as an indispensable part of new-built apartments; however, they are scarce in tenements built at the turn of 20th century. Adding balconies as a part of retrofitting is common in Germany or Denmark, but rare in Poland. By analysing heritage preservation practices in Chemnitz, Copenhagen and Wrocław, this paper aims to understand how retention of heritage value shapes local approach to adding balconies. Semi-structured interviews (18) were conducted with heritage conservation officers and other stakeholders. The results revealed a shared recognition of balcony’s role as an element contributing to heritage housing preservation through enhanced usability. Factors that impede balcony additions in historical tenements in Wrocław were identified for different tenure types, followed by recommendations.

The policy failures of rental housing: Plumbing poverty in Detroit, Michigan

ABSTRACT The lack of access to in-home running water from inadequate plumbing is a critical water insecurity challenge in the U.S. Using the concept of plumbing poverty, this paper investigates why housing policies in Detroit, Michigan, have failed to ensure adequate plumbing and water security for renters using interviews with city employees, community groups, renters, and property managers. We find that unresponsive landlords enabled by historical housing mismanagement and ineffective rental ordinance design and implementation perpetuate inadequate plumbing for Detroit renters. While we identify three tools to address inadequate plumbing, several barriers prevent their use. For renters, barriers include social power dynamics, structural inequalities in the legal system, and a lack of capacity. Meanwhile, the city faces financial, personnel, and knowledge constraints that prevent adequate enforcement. Our findings provide new insight into the connections between historical housing dynamics, policy implementation, and the precarity of landlord-tenant relations in perpetuating water insecurity.

Multilevel effects of urban form and urban functional zones on housing prices: evidence from open-source big data

While the relationship between local housing prices and the urban form and distribution of urban functional zones in a single city is well-discussed, the conclusion is usually sensitive to a particular city context, and cross-city comparative study is limited. This study attempts to examine the influences of urban form and urban functional zone distribution on housing prices within and between cities after controlling the city-wide socio-economic and demographic differences. Based on multiple open-source big data, such as points-of-interest (POI) and historical housing transaction data, the hierarchical linear model is utilized to compare the housing market of 10 extra-large cities in China. Results indicate that the urban form and the urban functional zone distribution significantly influence housing prices after the socio-economic and demographic differences are controlled. For inter-city comparison, an urban form with high compactness, low centrality, low polycentricity, high density, and low dissimilarity in housing development is related to lower city-level housing prices. For intra-city, proximity to work centers, high-quality hospitals, and schools shows positive associations to housing prices.

Association of Historical Housing Discrimination and Colon Cancer Treatment and Outcomes in the United States.

In the 1930s, the federally sponsored Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) used racial composition in its assessment of areas worthy of receiving loans. Neighborhoods with large proportions of Black residents were mapped in red (ie, redlining) and flagged as hazardous for mortgage financing. Redlining created a platform for systemic disinvestment in these neighborhoods, leading to barriers in access to resources that persist today. We investigated the association between residing in areas with different HOLC ratings and receipt of quality cancer care and outcomes among individuals diagnosed with colon cancer-a leading cause of cancer deaths amenable to early detection and treatment. Individuals who resided in zip code tabulation areas in 196 cities with HOLC rating and were diagnosed with colon cancer from 2007 to 2017 were identified from the National Cancer Database and assigned a HOLC grade (A, best; B, still desirable; C, definitely declining; and D, hazardous and mapped in red). Multivariable logistic regression models investigated association of area-level HOLC grade and late stage at diagnosis and receipt of guideline-concordant care. The product-limit method evaluated differences in time to adjuvant chemotherapy. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models investigated differences in overall survival (OS). There were 149,917 patients newly diagnosed with colon cancer with a median age of 68 years. Compared with people living in HOLC A areas, people living in HOLC D areas were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease (adjusted odds ratio, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.00 to 1.12]). In addition, people living in HOLC B, C, and D areas had 8%, 16%, and 24% higher odds of not receiving guideline-concordant care, including lower receipt of surgery, evaluation of ≥12 lymph nodes, and chemotherapy. People residing in HOLC B, C, or D areas also experienced delays in initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. People residing in HOLC C (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.09 [95% CI, 1.05 to 1.13]) and D (aHR, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.09 to 1.18]) areas had worse OS, including 13% and 20% excess risk of death for individuals diagnosed with early- and 6% and 8% for late-stage disease for HOLC C and D, respectively. Historical housing discrimination is associated with worse contemporary access to colon cancer care and outcomes.

Typification of Facades in Historical Housing in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

Typification of Facades in Historical Housing in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

Urban, Environmental and Habitability Parameters for Social Housing

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose a set of parameters for urban, environmental, and habitability impacts for the feasibility analysis of social housing projects. Theoretical framework: Given the historical housing deficit, the large scale of social housing segment has been challenging managers in terms of environmental (volume of inputs, energy, waste), economic (high investment), and social (urban relations) impacts. Thus, efficiency in the performance of Social Housing Projects is a relevant aspect, regarding the importance that housing represents in users’ lives. Method/design/approach: The research strategy used was case studies, using 12 social housing projects built in Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre. The parameters analyzed refer to urban, environmental and habitability impact, based on data collected in loco, seeking to identify the main variables that influence each one, categorized as greater, medium or smaller influence. Results and conclusion: The variables with the most significant impact were: (i) mobility, access to opportunities, degree of localism, and social networks (urban parameters); (ii) index of compactness of the buildings and place of manufacture of the materials (environmental parameters); (iii) bioclimatic zone, facade color, window size, architectural type, and (iv) construction system (living parameters). Research implications: The proposed parameters may be helpful to public authorities (funders/inspectors), designers/builders (executors), and academics (theoretical/technical support) as a guide to more efficient social housing solutions involving the construction of programs, guidelines for public notices, parameters assessment, among others. Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing literature by encompassing a systemic approach to EHIS, being propositional through parameters that integrate issues related to construction and urban performance.

Are housing circumstances associated with faster epigenetic ageing?

BackgroundNumerous aspects of housing are associated with health. However, the pathways between housing and health, particularly the psychosocial elements of housing, are less well understood. Epigenetic information alongside social survey...

Co-Living, Gentlemen’s Clubs, and Residential Hotels: A Long View of Shared Housing Infrastructures for Single Young Professionals

ABSTRACT Shared housing is an important infrastructure for young single professionals living and working in the city. Co-living is a contemporary shared housing infrastructure. But it certainly is not the first. We advocate for what Flanagan and Jacobs (2019) call taking a “long view” by drawing connections between early 19th-century gentlemen’s clubs, mid-19th-century residential hotels and contemporary co-living. We argue each have been dynamic infrastructures of mobility, work, and sociality that make certain practices more or less possible and reflect on how the socio-material form of these infrastructures connects with the infrastructural work it does. We draw on our own research study into co-living, connecting our findings with research on the historical housing types. Our findings show that shrinking private spaces, maximizing productive spaces, and integrating services are strategies that animate the infrastructural work of these housing types. By linking co-living with historical housing types, we demonstrate the importance of taking a “long view” when thinking infrastructurally about novel housing practices.

The Werkbund estates in Wrocław and Stuttgart as examples of the tourism use of modernist urban complexes

ABSTRACT The turn of the twentieth century brought many progressive ideas in the field of architecture and urban planning that are also reflected in modernist urban residential estates. These modern structures and spatial compositions reflected the need for good quality of living in healthy urban, natural and social environment. The paper focuses on two estates of the German Werkbund located in Wrocław (WUWA, Poland) and Stuttgart (Weissenhof, Germany), which due to their uniqueness constitute tourist attractions of both cities. The main objective of the comparative analysis was to identify model solutions for making historic housing estates available to visitors, shaping an attractive tourist product from entire urban complexes based on architecture and open spaces, simultaneously maintaining the balance of their basic social and tourist functions and the principles of sustainable development.

Comparison of Real Estate Price Prediction Based on LSTM and LGBM

Housing price prediction is one of the widely discussed topics, and the application of machine learning and deep learning models to housing price prediction is a research hotspot. Exploring which models are suitable for predicting real housing price datasets has significant implications for guiding government and homebuyers' decision-making. In this study, the LSTM and LightGBM models were selected as research objects, and the suitability of the models was explored and compared using the second-hand housing price dataset in Beijing. Based on the analysis, in the task of pure time series prediction based on historical housing prices, the LSTM model had a better fit (R2=0.91), while in the task of housing price prediction based on multiple influencing factors, the LightGBM model had better comprehensive evaluation index results (R2=0.53). Both models can be used to predict pure time series, but the LSTM model is not suitable for predicting multi-factor input models that are not time series.

Dream House Price Predictor

Abstract: The dream house price predictor project aims to build a machine learning model that can predict the selling price of a house based on various features such as location, number of bedrooms, square footage, and other relevant factors. The model will be trained on a dataset of historical housing prices and features, and will use regression techniques to make predictions on new, unseen data. The project will also explore the impact of different features on house prices and provide insights into which factors are the most important in determining the value of a property. The goal of the project is to provide a tool for homebuyers, sellers, and real estate professionals to better understand the market and make informed decisions. The Dream House Price Predictor project is aimed at predicting the prices of residential properties based on various features such as location, size, number of bedrooms, and other amenities. The project uses a dataset of real estate transactions and employs machine learning algorithms to build a predictive model. The model is trained on the historical data and tested on a validation set to ensure its accuracy. The results of the project can be used by real estate agents, property buyers, and sellers to make informed decisions about pricing and investment opportunities. This project demonstrates the potential of machine learning to assist in the real estate market and provides a valuable tool for predicting property prices.

LEARNING FROM HISTORICAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TO ADAPT FOR GREEN 3D PRINTING OF HOUSES

ABSTRACT 3D printing technology is currently one of the fast-emerging technologies in the infrastructure construction field. Ancient Sub-Saharan African building construction made extensive use of a wide range of earthen materials and vernacular structures. The main goal of the research discussed in this paper is to learn from historical building construction in Africa and adapt the methodology, material use, and geometry or form to 3D print sustainable and green residential houses in tropical and arid regions. The study addresses the current 3D printing technology for construction of houses using Sub-Saharan African historical sustainable and green materials such as cob, bamboo, and hemp-material based structures. Earthen materials are cost-effective, naturally insulated, and environmentally friendly, which makes them stand out from other sustainable construction materials. Two main geometry models are designed in this study for a 3D printing construction method based on the Sub-Saharan African historical housing forms. Moreover, the study contributes to achieving a green building that satisfies the UN sustainable development goals.

Rethinking tourism-driven urban transformation and social tourism impact: A scenario from a CEE city

Even though research on tourism-oriented urban change is growing in number, little attention is paid to urban policy drivers of this transformation, especially in the context of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). There is also a lack of knowledge about how such changes are perceived by long-term residents who live in ‘tourist neighborhoods’. For tourism-oriented urban change, urban regeneration and urban entrepreneurial policies have been of key importance. Furthermore, in CEE cities, tourism-driven urban change was strongly influenced by the character of the transformation of this region after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. In-depth interviews with long-term residents of the ‘tourist neighborhood’ (historic city center) of Kraków (Poland) have allowed to distinguish various types of tourism-related displacement in the context of a CEE tourism city. Their connections to depopulation, social changes to the neighborhood and tourism-driven financialization of historical housing have been subject to investigation. The analysis of displacement has been supplemented with the category of solastalgia, previously unused in urban studies.

Inheriting the Grade: HOLC “Redlining” Maps and Contemporary Neighborhood Crime

Communities and crime research often invokes historical housing policies to explain vast disparities in crime. However, these assertions are rarely tested. Using lending security maps from the government-sponsored Home Owner’s Loan Corporation (HOLC), we examine the consequences for neighborhood crime of a notorious policy intervention in the housing market: the practice of “redlining” that discouraged investment in Black, non-White, and poor areas. The HOLC maps represent class and race biases embedded in the housing market and may have institutionalized the practice of redlining. Pairing data from the National Neighborhood Crime Study (Wave 2) with HOLC maps, we find neighborhoods with relatively poor HOLC grades inherited more violence and burglary some 70 years later. Furthermore, greater concentrations of contemporary neighborhood disadvantage, racial segregation, and housing instability largely explain these associations. Findings underscore the long shadow of historical interventions in the housing market for inequalities in the spatial distribution of crime today.

Elements of the spatial scenario of historic housing as an invariant code of innovative typology “house-yard”

The morphological, structural and content elements that form an invariant model of innovative multifunctional typology “house-yard” are considered. The continuity of this model in relation to the historical urban neighborhood development as a prototype is established. The possibility of creating a new typology, focused on modern methods of construction and actualization of the characteristics of a sustainable urban environment is substantiated

The commodification of a rent-regulated housing market. Actors and strategies in Viennese neighbourhoods

Against the background of price increases on the one hand and strong tenement regulations in Vienna’s historic housing stock on the other, this article analyses the actors and strategies of commodification. Following a mixed-methods approach, this case study analyses 90 historic tenement buildings in nine neighbourhoods. Our analysis reveals the increasing relevance of institutional actors as (co-)owners, which goes hand in hand with declining holding periods. As local actors are highly diverse, we have identified five types of actors and four commodification strategies, pointing towards a spatially differentiated division of labour. This actor constellation, dominated by micro actors, suggests that the specific situation and regulation of a market brings different types of actors to the fore. Most of the identified actors, and particularly the funding of their projects, have no relation to financial markets and sources; from this perspective, the concept of commodification provides greater insight into the dynamic of this specific housing market segment than the lens of financialisation does.

Emergency department visits for mental disorders and the built environment: Residential greenspace and historical redlining

The built environment has been increasingly shown to impact mental health. However, little is known about how and the extent to which exposure to greenspace in the residential environment is associated with emergency department visits for mental disorders. In addition, despite recent findings highlighting the links between historical discriminatory housing policies and health outcomes, no evidence is available regarding historical redlining and mental health. We aimed to investigate the extent to which the availability of greenspace in residential surroundings and historical redlining was associated with risks of mental disorder-related emergency department visits. In this ecological study, we analyzed state-wide data on emergency room visits for mental health in all metropolitan areas in Texas between 2016 and 2019. Greenspace coverage was determined using the National Land Cover Database. Historical redlining was defined as the type C (definitely declining) or D (hazardous) designations according to the 1930 s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) Security Maps. We fitted a conditional autoregressive spatial model with zero truncated negative binomial distribution to assess associations among emergency department visits, greenspace availability, and redlining, adjusted for risk and protective urban and social-demographic factors. We found that, with a 1% increase in greenspace coverage in a zip code area, the risk of emergency department visits due to mental health disorders was expected to decrease by 0.16% (IRR = 0.9984, 95% CI: 0.9971–0.9997). Meanwhile, a 1% increase of historically redlining zones was associated with a 0.88% increase (IRR = 1.0088, 95% CI: 1.0056-1.0120) in the risk of emergency department visits for mental health disorders. Our findings support the notion that exposure to natural environments is linked to lower risks of emergency department visits for mental disorders. They also indicate that systematic segregation institutionalized by historical housing policies might be related to present-day mental health-related emergency department visits. This study offers novel insights into the built environmental correlates of mental health and provides planning and policy implications related to mental health and health equity promotion.

Association of historical housing discrimination and colon cancer treatment and outcomes in the United States.

69 Background: In the 1930s, the federally-sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) created maps that directed mortgage financing based largely on a neighborhood’s racial composition. American neighborhoods were subdivided into four risk-based rankings (A – best neighborhood, B – still desirable, C – in decline, and D – hazardous and mapped in red) for mortgage approvals and denials. “Redlining” resulted in racial segregation and systemic disinvestment in communities targeted for marginalization. We investigated the association between historical housing discrimination and contemporary diagnosis, treatment, and survival outcomes in colon cancer – a leading cause of cancer deaths amenable to early detection and treatment. Methods: Individuals diagnosed with colon cancer from 2007-2017 were identified from the National Cancer Database. Individuals residing within known zip code tabulation areas (ZCTA) in 196 cities with ≥10% HOLC coverage were included. Residences were assigned a HOLC grade (A, B, C, or D) based on the majority HOLC area represented. Multivariable logistic regression models (adjusted for age and sex) were used to investigate the association of housing discrimination and late stage (stages III/IV) diagnosis, time to chemotherapy initiation, and non-guideline-concordant care (no chemotherapy, surgery, or &lt; 12 lymph node dissection). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models with age as time scale were used to investigate the association of housing discrimination and overall survival. Results: There were 98,335 patients with new diagnoses of colon cancer with median age 68 years. Individuals residing in HOLC D were more likely to be non-Hispanic White (59%), have public insurance (46%), and income &lt; $40,000/year. Compared to people living in majority HOLC A ZCTAs, living in majority HOLC D had higher odds of a late-stage diagnosis, and living in majority HOLC B, C, or D had higher odds of non-guideline concordant colon cancer care with longer time to chemotherapy initiation. For people living in majority HOLC C and D, overall survival for all stages and late stage was worse when compared to HOLC A ZCTAs. Findings were consistent in sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: Historical housing discrimination is adversely associated with contemporary colon cancer care and outcomes. Findings underscore the importance of state-and federal-level practices on mortgage lending regulation and fair housing practices in determining equitable cancer risk, access to care, and outcomes.[Table: see text]