Home Construction Research Articles

Recent evolution of housing finance policy and development agendas in Mexico

ABSTRACT Political and economic reforms to open and liberalize Mexico’s economy drove federal administrations to promote mortgage expansion and mass housing production at an unprecedented pace since around the turn of the millennium. This allowed a select group of housing development companies to grow considerably through the construction and sale of homes for lower-middle income households. The country’s housing finance and development model was eventually rendered unsustainable given onerous mortgage terms for households, substandard housing production in remote locations, leverage issues and speculative practices on the part of developers. Subsequent administrations modified their approach to managing, promoting, and restricting housing finance and production, highlighting the influence of political actors and regimes in addressing the tensions between economic pressures and social concerns. Shifting sociopolitical dynamics have continued to transform housing finance policy agendas. While the reach and implications of recent changes have not fully materialized, this paper highlights the fluctuating and unstable nature of housing finance and its contingency on the different political and ideological inclinations of national (and subnational) governments – and the push of their constituents.

Preparation, Characterization, and Life Cycle Assessment of Aerated Concrete Blocks: A Case Study in Guayaquil City, Ecuador

In the current manuscript, we aimed to evaluate the application of aerated concrete blocks for the construction of single-family homes in Guayaquil, Ecuador, through a comparison with conventional materials. The design of the structural elements was carried out according to the NEC-2015 and ACI 318-14 standards, in which a 36% reduction in the dead load of the structure was achieved by using aerated concrete blocks in the masonry of the house. With a life cycle analysis, a quantification of the most relevant impacts generated during the production and construction phases was obtained. In this way, the most contributing process was found to be the clinker production, generating 7998 kgCO2-Eq. for traditional housing, and 5113 kgCO2-Eq. for non-traditional housing, thus reaching a difference of 36%. Therefore, it was shown that the use of lower-density materials is viable and, due to their easy and fast application, allows for a reduction of up to 10% in the project execution time; a savings of 10% in the total cost, in addition, evidences its potential to access sustainable construction in Ecuador.

Greenhouse gas emission forecasts for electrification of space heating in residential homes in the US

This study aims to inform policymakers about the greenhouse gas emission impacts of heat pump deployment in residential homes. Electric heat pumps eliminate direct burning of fossil fuels in homes but result in indirect emissions due to fossil fuels burned for electricity production. This paper presents the first detailed emission forecasts for operating either a heat pump or gas furnace for residential heating over a 15-year period, starting in year 2022 through 2036, in six regions across the US. The study accounted for long-run marginal emissions from electricity generation, emissions from natural gas combustion in homes, and fugitive methane and refrigerant emissions from leaks. The population weighted US average results show emission reductions for a heat pump over furnace to be 38–53% for carbon dioxide, 53–67% for 20-Year global warming potential (GWP), and 44–60% for 100-Year GWP, with reductions increasing over time. The impact of fugitive emissions from the furnace is significantly higher than that of the heat pump. While more energy efficient construction reduces overall emissions for both heating types, the forecasted percent emission reduction for replacement of a gas furnace with heat pump was not impacted by changes in home construction parameters.

Strength Properties of Full-Size Oriented Strand Board Panels Following Submergence in Potable and Salt Water

Abstract One of the largest contributors to the economic loss from floods is the complete or partial destruction of residential buildings, and finding ways to eliminate or minimize this loss is important. Oriented strand board (OSB) is a wood product commonly used in home construction, so a better understanding of how flood water affects its mechanical properties is warranted. In this study, the moduli of elasticity and rupture (MOE and MOR, respectively) of representative samples removed from full-size (4 by 8-ft [1.2 by 2.4 m]) OSB panels were examined following the submergence of the panels in potable and salt water (surrogates for flood water) for increasing periods of time (i.e., 8, 24, 48, 72, 168, and 336 h). The results of our study show that after 8 hours of panel submersion in potable water, MOR and MOE is reduced by 15 percent and 16 percent, respectively; no significant change was observed in MOR and MOE for panels soaked in salt water. After 168 hours, the MOR loss was 43 percent for panels soaked in potable water and 38 percent for panels soaked in salt water. For MOE, there was a 35 percent loss regardless of water type. Submersion of panels in either water type for an additional 168 hours resulted in no significant change in MOR or MOE. The MOR and MOE of samples removed from the edges of the submerged panels, for both water types, were lower than those of the interior samples. Finally, the decreases in average MOR and MOE following submergence in either water type were approximately independent of brand.

An optimal construction of smart aged homes based on SDLC using smart sensors and agent networks

With the increased growth of the added population group and advancements in health informatics, the smart aged home needs to be equipped with intelligent systems and various electronic devices. Industry 5.0 is yet another revolution that bought about the transformation in the practices concerning the use of intelligent technology with smart sensors and agent networks. Smart sensors enabled industry 5.0 is equipped with automation and self-monitoring ability that assists with analyzing the issues without the intervention of human beings. We, in this paper, proposed an iterative development process based on the smart sensor and agent networks of the SDLC software development models. The proposed model is developed by synchronizing the smart aged home with the cyber-physical system of industry 5.0. The quality value matrix is introduced as a tool to identify the requirements of the residents and the stakeholders. The feasibility of the proposed work is assessed with the help of an agent-based simulation system.

СОВРЕМЕННЫЕ ТЕНДЕНЦИИ В СФЕРЕ МАЛОЭТАЖНОГО ЭНЕРГОЭФФЕКТИВНОГО СТРОИТЕЛЬСТВА

The article deals with the advantages of energy-efficient construction of low-rise buildings. Such buildings with the use of energy- saving materials and technologies, characterized by low waste and non-aggressive attitude to the environment, are oriented towards comfortable, reliable, safe living, and the harmony between man and dwelling and the environment. The attention on the necessity to form environmental thinking in order to implement the concept of environmental friendliness low-rise buildings and, as a consequence, to meet the growing needs of people to live in an individual eco-house is emphasized. Outlines current trends in the construction of energy-efficient homes in Russia.

Creating a tiny home building code to positively affect long-term sustainability

There is an ongoing effort in the tiny home construction industry in the United States to create a tiny home specific building code. To date, there has been little data collected to reflect how the creation of a building code could affect the tiny home industry. Mixed methods research was conducted, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data. Interviews were conducted with tiny home experts, builders, owners, advocates, insurers, financers, and building officials. The results of the research indicated that creating a tiny home building code would positively affect the sustainability of the tiny home movement. Of the different types of tiny homes identified in the research, those associated with tiny homes on wheels (THOW) would likely benefit the most from a creation of a tiny home specific building code. The majority of those surveyed (76%) were in support of creating a THOW specific building code. Five main categories were identified as necessary for inclusion in a THOW specific building code including trailer foundations, trailer to structure connections, framing, electrical, and sanitation. Eleven subcategories, or specific items, were identified as essential for inclusion in a THOW specific building code. Future research should validate the data collected and ensure all pertinent code items are addressed.

New Pension Institution under the Background of Moderately Aging Population: Exploring the Model of Community Nursing Home

China's elderly population has been growing rapidly and will enter a moderately aging society in the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The demand for senior care industry will continue to increase in the moderately aging society, but the supply of senior care services in China is obviously insufficient, so we will develop the community nursing home model and create a more suitable service model for senior care by closely focusing on the aging population and senior care. This paper points out the value of community nursing home construction, analyzes the advantages and problems of two traditional aging models: home care and institutional care, and proposes a plan for community nursing home model: optimize the spatial layout of community nursing home, standardize community medical service institutions, adopt "government-enterprise cooperation" operation method, promote the industrialization of community nursing home, and improve the service system of community nursing home.

The Popular Phenomenon Of Abandoned Street Children In Big Cities In Indonesia

Children as social beings who have the right to grow and develop and live freely and play according to their age without feeling uncomfortable. In big cities there are still many children who are forced to take to the streets and help their parents earn a living, regardless of their needs, healt, rights and risks. The purpose of this study is to find and explain the factors for the emergence of street children, the risks that can be obtained when children take to the streets, obstacles and efforts to handle the rise of street children. The method used in this research is the library research method which collects data or information through reviewing and exploring several printed and online references. The result is that the government had made efforts in handling and eradicating case of street children, Such as the construction of foster homes, community empowerment and other handling.

Distribution patterns and population structure of salagundi (Rhodoleia teysmanii) From North Tapanuli-North Sumatra

North Sumatra known as bigger island with abundant of tropical tree species. Some of those were lesser known species. One of lesser-known and potential species from North Sumatera is Salagundi (Rhodoleia teysmanii). Despite being widely utilized by locals peoples, information on Salagundi’s population and other characteristics is very limited. The community in the surrounding area frequently uses wood for a variety of functions, such home construction. Excessive consumption potentially threatent the species’ existence in the habitat. Therefore, this study aims to determine the distribution pattern and population structure of Salagundi in Simorangkir Julu Village, Siatas Barita District, North Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra Province. For those purpose, vegetation analysis techniques using a combination of plotted lines and lines were adopted. Result of this research showed that, distribution pattern of Salagundi at the seedling to tree level was clumped with the Morisita (Ip) index value of 0.51 -0.53. The population structure curve was the J-shaped reversed. This shows that the condition of the population is sustainable.

Analysis of energy saving in a single-family home project

Electric energy is one of the types of energy that is most present in the activities that human beings carry out daily, hence the importance of making efficient consumption of this resource, especially that which is done in homes, since energy savings represent a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Given that the construction sector can represent up to 39% of the carbon dioxide emissions emitted into the atmosphere, this research analyzes the impact generated by the construction and use of a single-family home, with the use of DesignBuilder software. Initially, a model was made under traditional conditions, thus determining where the greatest heat gains were concentrated, followed by a second model under adjusted conditions. A life cycle analysis was made under conditions adjusted to a period of 100 years and the submission of the two conditions to the choosing by advantages method. The results showed that the changes can reduce annual energy consumption by up to 66% and recover the investment in 10 years. Finally, the analysis of the life cycle determined that for a period of 100 years the emissions are 18679.67 equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide.

‘Here’ and ‘There’: Constructing the Idea of Home in (Lithuanian) Migration

The article analyses the concepts of home. The analysis is based on field research data obtained from two Norwegian municipalities, one in the northern and one in the south-western part of Norway. Based on interviews, the article reveals the migrants’ own concepts of home. The results of the survey reveal three main concepts of home construction by migrants: home in Lithuania, home in Norway, and home as ‘here’ and ‘there’. The idea of home in Lithuania while permanently living in Norway is partly related to the migrants’ age and their social status, also on the degree of integration into the new society (older immigrants to Norway often work in low-skilled jobs and do not speak Norwegian or speak it poorly); they see their presence in Norway as temporary and based on economic criteria. The idea of Norway as home correlates with the (high) degree of integration of migrants into Norwegian society. Migrants who feel well received by the new society, regardless of age, call Norway their home. The idea of home as ‘here’ and ‘there’ is closely linked to the time dimension. Migrants often emphasize that after arriving in Norway, they seldom see themselves as having left Lithuania, until they gradually integrate into the new society and begin considering Norway as their home. Lithuania is often referred to as second home (more often associated with holidays, entertainment, etc.). The kin (mostly parents) are named as a bridge between Norway and Lithuania, which disappears when parents pass away. Various intermediate ideas of home construction are also possible. For example, identifying the place of residence of family members at the time as home or not being able to pinpoint where you feel at home. The discussed dimension of emotions in the construction of the idea of home also provides inspirations for further reflection on the construction of home as a constant process, which is dependent not only on rationally chosen factors but also on the socio-cultural environment and intercultural communication.

Task-Level Authoring for Remote Robot Teleoperation.

Remote teleoperation of robots can broaden the reach of domain specialists across a wide range of industries such as home maintenance, health care, light manufacturing, and construction. However, current direct control methods are impractical, and existing tools for programming robot remotely have focused on users with significant robotic experience. Extending robot remote programming to end users, i.e., users who are experts in a domain but novices in robotics, requires tools that balance the rich features necessary for complex teleoperation tasks with ease of use. The primary challenge to usability is that novice users are unable to specify complete and robust task plans to allow a robot to perform duties autonomously, particularly in highly variable environments. Our solution is to allow operators to specify shorter sequences of high-level commands, which we call task-level authoring, to create periods of variable robot autonomy. This approach allows inexperienced users to create robot behaviors in uncertain environments by interleaving exploration, specification of behaviors, and execution as separate steps. End users are able to break down the specification of tasks and adapt to the current needs of the interaction and environments, combining the reactivity of direct control to asynchronous operation. In this paper, we describe a prototype system contextualized in light manufacturing and its empirical validation in a user study where 18 participants with some programming experience were able to perform a variety of complex telemanipulation tasks with little training. Our results show that our approach allowed users to create flexible periods of autonomy and solve rich manipulation tasks. Furthermore, participants significantly preferred our system over comparative more direct interfaces, demonstrating the potential of our approach for enabling end users to effectively perform remote robot programming.

TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL COB CONSTRUCTION TO 3D PRINTING OF CLAY HOMES

ABSTRACT 3D printing of cementitious material can provide an affordable, sustainable, and optimized approach for the construction of homes, without compromising quality or craftsmanship. While most of the current research and development efforts in this field are focused on cement-based concrete printing, this paper focuses on the current state-of-the-art literature review of designing and developing a sustainable clay-based mixture design that mainly includes clay, sand, straw, lime, and water. The goal of this paper is to bridge the gap between typical traditional earth construction, specifically cob construction, and emerging 3D printing of cementitious materials. The specific objective of this paper is to offer some possible changes in the typical cob mixture so that it can be used for 3D printing of clay-based mixtures with sufficient flowability, buildability, strength, and open time (i.e., the time period between printing of one layer and printing of another layer deposited on a layer below). The paper describes typical clay-based mixtures and their traditional process and then specifies the challenges in going from traditional cob construction to advanced computer-controlled robotic 3D printing.

Beyond building: how social norms and networks shape mason construction practices in incremental homebuilding

How do low-income households and masons make house construction decisions? A three-country study examined social norms, networks, and information flows that influence construction practices in Kenya, India, and Peru. The study used a suite of qualitative research strategies, including desk research, site observation, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, to examine households and informal construction service providers, and the interactions between them. The research sought to answer the following questions: 1) How do households and individuals make housing decisions? 2) What are the information flows, key influences, and social norms that steer these decisions? and 3) How can programmes leverage knowledge about norms to improve the quality of home construction? Findings covered areas of gender, disaster resilience, and construction labour – this article focuses on the latter. Ultimately the paper argues that designing impactful programmes for low-income housing markets requires understanding and incorporating these social norms, networks, and information flows.

Urban home: young male migrants constructing home in the city

ABSTRACT This paper offers an exploration of the concept of ‘urban home’ (or, constructing home in city space) by focusing on two groups of young male migrants: refugees and international students in Cork, Ireland. Walking methods and photography were used to record migrants’ geographies of urban home through the lens of everyday inhabitance of the city. We propose four dimensions to the construction of urban home in post-migration lives – instrumentality, memory, spaces of care, and future home. Our analysis shows that migrants connect to and disconnect from the city of Cork in different ways. Young male migrants in this study feel largely disconnected from hegemonic Irish society and, as such, much of their meaning-making of home is shaped in relation to an unknown postponed and undefined future time. Urban home here is not an attachment to Cork city as home, but, rather to a familiar idea of home that may take place in Cork.

All Is Not LOST in Texas? An Outcome-Oriented Analysis of Local Option Sales Tax Choices on Measures of Economic Growth

Are municipal-level local option sales taxes (LOST) in Texas associated with long-term economic development outcomes? The Texas 4a and 4b LOST options fund economic development projects managed by a dedicated municipal-level economic development corporation (EDC). Instead of short-term outputs, we consider associations with three primary long-range outcomes: property value growth, population growth, and new home construction. Three regression analyses examine economic growth between 2011 and 2015 for Texas municipalities while controlling for county-level nesting effect, local capacity, and other contextual factors. The implementation of the 4a industrial development LOST shows a small significant positive association with population growth, albeit at the .10 level. The 4a LOST is also selected as part of the optimal model for property value growth despite not being significant. Implementation of the broader 4b community development LOST is not found significant nor included in any of the three outcome-based models. In each case, the county-level nesting effect is highly associated with economic development outcomes, while municipal-level capacity measures, such as property tax collected per capita, household median income, and the percentage of 4-year college graduates also show strong associations. Municipalities more dependent on the manufacturing sector show a significant negative association with all three economic development outcomes.

Collision avoidance method for robotic modular home prefabrication

As the cost to use industrial robots decrease, their application in modular construction has garnered attention in recent years. Studies have been conducted to implement the robot arm in modular home construction. However, a collision avoidance method for the prefabrication process has rarely been discussed. Therefore, this research proposes a collision avoidance method with a sampling-based motion planning algorithm. A collision-check method with multiple level-of-detail colliders is also developed to increase the efficiency of the calculation process. The method is validated as having more than an 80% success rate in finding collision-free paths for 94% of the collided components of five different wall panels in a simulated environment. An in-lab experiment was also conducted to validate the workability of the developed method on a real robot arm. The results confirm that applying the developed method can help the engineer find collision-free paths for the modular home prefabrication process.

“The Band of Brothers”: The Mobilization of English Welsh Dual Identities in Second World War Britain

AbstractIn the run-up to the Second World War, the War Office agreed to organize territorial units that recruited specifically on the grounds of English Welsh dual identities. These formations, which comprised the 99th London Welsh Heavy Anti-Aircraft regiment and the 46th Liverpool Welsh Royal Tank Regiment, began recruiting in 1939 from English cities with significant Welsh populations. This article explores the mobilization and performance of English Welsh identities during the Second World War and reflects upon why, at a time of global conflict, some English men opted to enlist on the basis of Welsh antecedents. Relatively little attention has been paid to the plurality of British identity in wartime or to how the existence of what historian Thomas Hajkowski has called “hybrid ‘dual identities’” within the constituent countries of the United Kingdom informed the functioning of Britishness during the Second World War. Making use of previously unpublished and original life-writing sources, this article illuminates the significance of dual identifications across two nations at once—in this case, Wales and England—within the multinational state of Britain at war. Overall, by examining the intersectionality between subjective wartime constructions of kin, home, and nation(s), it points to how a sense of dual identifications could feed into recruitment patterns and potentially bolster combat motivation and morale. By highlighting the interconnectedness between constituent nations of Britain, and the complexities of identity formation within Britishness, this article adds to the literature that complicates the notion of fixed singular national identities and underscores the importance of dual identifications within and across the borders of the constituent nations in advancing our understanding of twentieth-century Britain.

Innovations in Housing and Communal Services to Increase Real Incomes of the Russian Population

The article analyzes innovative technologies for heating residential buildings as an opportunity to solve the problems of housing and communal services in the country and a way to increase the real income of the population. The methods of statistical data analysis, the logical method, and the method of mathematical modeling are used. The problem under study is that the Russian economy has been experiencing a decline in real incomes for a long period of time. Coronavirus restrictions have exacerbated the existing trends. At the same time, a significant share of the expenses of Russians is the payment for utilities. Over the past 10 years, the cost of heating has risen by 80%. The lag of the Russian energy sector from the world indicators is due to several reasons: the low energy efficiency class of houses, significant wear and tear of heating networks, functional shortcomings of centralized heating, the lack of necessary federal and regional legislative acts, and the lack of private investment. At the same time, the centralized heating system has a number of unresolved problems related to the monopoly position of the industry: significant wear of pipelines of heat networks and heat generating equipment; limitations of the maximum temperature in the cold period; systematic exceeding of the value according to the temperature schedule in the warm period; poor quality of hot water supply in the winter period; late start of heating in the early cold; obsolete and extremely dangerous method of testing heat networks. It becomes obvious that there is a need for a radical modernization of the housing and communal sector with the introduction of fundamentally new heating systems and the development of energysaving technologies in the design, construction, and major repairs of residential buildings. The economic calculation of the use of an “Electro-converter heating system” on the example of a panel house of the 507 series showed that the annual savings in heating costs will be 79.5%. The payback period of the project is 11 years. The use of innovative systems of this type in the construction of new homes will pay off the investment much faster. The most acceptable mechanism for implementing such a project may be a public-private partnership. The use of public-private partnerships in the form of concession agreements in the construction of energy-efficient residential buildings and the introduction of innovative heating systems will create favorable conditions for the large-scale introduction of energy-saving technologies, which will have a positive impact on cost savings when paying for heating services and increase real incomes of the population.