House Owners Research Articles

Appropriate Technology and Design: A Solution for Sustainable and Affordable Housing Delivery in Major Cities of Ghana

Appropriate technology and design for housing delivery undoubtedly has abundant cost benefit and other advantages. However, the acceptance of its usage and application for sustainable and affordable housing delivery is rare. Appropriate technology supports and enhances good life without compromising the earth’s ecosystem and the prospects of later generations. It is energy efficient, environmentally sound, and it is been controlled by the local community with local available materials. Appropriate housing design on other hand, focuses on the engineering and architectural perspective of a structure that supports sustainable construction and development. The paper aimed at determining the extent to which appropriate technologies and designs are currently employed in addressing housing sustainability and affordability in Ghana. Questionnaire survey was used for the data collection. The study was conducted in Accra, Takoradi and Cape Coast of Ghana within the period of 5 Months. In total, 110 questionnaires were distributed among Building and Construction Professionals and Self- Built House Owners. Out of the number distributed, 56 were retrieved for analysis. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study established that, hydrafoam, adobe bricks technology, timber homes technology, and wattle and daub technology were considered the most used and acceptable appropriate technologies for sustainable and affordable housing delivering. The findings of the study also revealed that, the extent to which appropriate technologies and designs have been adopted in major cities in Ghana is low. This implies that less emphasis is placed on the use of appropriate technology and design in resolving sustainable and affordable housing issues in major cities. It is therefore, suggested that, government and stakeholders mainstream the use of appropriate designs and technologies for sustainable and affordable delivery. Consequently, stakeholders should help change the perception of Ghanaians towards the adoption of appropriate technologies and designs for sustainable and affordable housing delivery.

Low-Cost Home Security Notification System Using IoT and Telegram Bot: A Design and Implementation

Home security is a critical issue, especially for the civilians to protect their property from harm. Currently, the increase in home breaking usually occurs during school holidays and public holiday seasons. Therefore, to overcome the problem and the main objective is to design and develop a low-cost home security notification system using PIR sensor to detect movement of intruders, Raspberry Pi Camera, GPS module integrated with Raspberry Pi Zero WH to send an alert notification message with image, date, location, and time via Telegram Bot to the house owner’s and people nearby through a smart phone. The system utilizes the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) by implementing the waterfall model as the methodology. Three experiments were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the system which is sensor detection range, response time and user acceptance test (UAT). The finding indicates that the home security notification system was efficient, effective, low-cost, and easy to use. Besides, the system can detect the presence of the intruder and send the notification message in a reasonable time. Meanwhile, the result from the UAT indicates that the proposed system has a positive impact and to be well accepted by the majority of the users. Hence, the system can help the house owners to take immediate action such as calling the neighbourhood association or police department authority when the system detects an intruder in the house.

STO를 활용한 고령자 소유 주택자산과 노인복지주택의 연계방안 연구

This study intends to propose a new model linking the asset securitization of housing owned by the elderly and securing funds for the construction of welfare housing for the elderly by using STO. This study proposes a five-relationship model consisting of five protocols, centered on the STO trading platform. As a result of simulations for multi-family houses owned by the elderly, the elderly who own a house can secure the occupancy fee and monthly payment of the elderly welfare housing without debt, and the STO investor has a stable investment return regardless of fluctuations in housing price. The model using the STO can be expected to provide liquidity to the elderly who have a high housing ownership rate and should burden high housing maintenance costs and to expand the supply of welfare housing for the elderly. In order to revitalize STO, it is necessary to revise the Capital Market Act to enable the issuance of STO, and to improve the guarantee system and system that allows for sale of housing for the elderly.

Digitalisation for whom: the determinants of residents' use of the digital property address system in Accra, Ghana

PurposeThere is an emerging digital turn in urban management in Africa, undergirded by efforts to address the challenges of rapid urbanisation. To ensure that this digitalisation agenda contributes to smart and sustainable communities, there is a need to trace residents' use of emerging digital technologies and address any impediments to broader utilisation. To this end, this paper aims to examine the determinants of residents' use of Ghana's digital property address system (DPAS) in suburban communities in Accra.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a detailed literature review of digital technologies and the factors that affect their use, this paper uses data from a cross-sectional survey of three suburban communities in Accra. A binary logistic regression model was then utilised to identify the significant factors that affect residents' use of the DPAS.FindingsThe findings showed that socioeconomic, housing, and psychosocial factors were the main determinants of residents' use of the DPAS. Specifically, house ownership, education and expected benefits had a positive relationship with residents' use of the DPAS. Findings highlight the need for urban policymakers to pay attention to systemic issues in Ghana's digital culture to ensure that digitalisation initiatives do not widen the digital divide and thus impede progress towards smart and sustainable urban development goals.Originality/valueThe growing scholarship on digitalisation in Africa has emphasised conditions, potentials and challenges in deploying digital technologies with little attention to the determinants of residents' use of these technologies. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap by bringing foundational issues critical to engendering equitable digitalisation agenda in Ghanaian cities and beyond.

Student housing design implications for single-room occupancy during COVID-19 in Ghana

PurposeThe adaptation of emerging building designs for single room occupancy in off-campus university student housing during the COVID-19 pandemic is evolving. However, assessing its effects on student satisfaction to compensate for COVID-19-associated impacts is missing. As a result, the study examines the satisfaction of students with emerging building designs in single-room off-campus student housing in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study is quantitatively based on positivist philosophical thinking. A purposive sample of 202 purpose-built student housing facilities was selected across public and private universities in Ghana. Using systematic stratified sampling, the study sampled 1,212 student residents through a survey. A principal component method (PCM) was used to assess the availability of 10 emerging building design and basic building services variables across the study location. Multiple regression was employed to determine the satisfaction and predict potential variables for policy formulation.FindingsThe analysis revealed that private space for social distancing, the availability of hands-free fittings in the toilet and bathroom, and the availability of hands-free fixtures in the kitchen unit was common single-room self-occupancy support systems. However, there is a huge gap in the availability of key emerging building designs and basic building services and their associated effects on students' satisfaction across the study locations. Therefore, relevant proposals to serve as fundamental requirements for developing an off-campus student housing model during pandemics were indicated.Research limitations/implicationsIt is seen that emerging building designs across the housing sector are equally evolving among off-campus student housing. The study helped to understand that student satisfaction with emerging building designs and basic services is a motivational need for students. However, the preparedness of student housing owners to adopt and satisfy the requirements of these design require further studies.Originality/valueWhile COVID-19 and its associated effect keep evolving in building design requirements, it is equally relevant to assess the students' satisfaction with these designs and services among single room occupancy-made off-campus student housing. This research is limited to Africa.

The Legal Consequences of Debtor Transfer Carried out under the Agreement, House Ownership Loans

Mortgage agreements often find cases, including the transfer of rights to the mortgage object, namely the house, which is carried out under the hands of the debtor to another party before the mortgage is paid off without the knowledge of the bank. This research aims to examine the validity of the house sale and purchase agreement on house ownership loans (KPR), through the debtor transfer process and to examine the legal consequences of the transfer of debtors carried out under the hands of a mortgage agreement, and also to examine the efforts have been taken by the bank to overcome it. This research used normative legal research. The results of this research showed that the transfer of debtors in general can occur with the knowledge of the bank and without the knowledge of the bank (under the hands). It can be concluded that the debtor transfer process is a form of sale and purchase agreement made between the old debtor, who is still bound by the bank credit agreement, and the new debtor. The process of transferring debtors legally must be carried out between three parties, namely the bank, the old debtor and the new debtor. The debtor transfer process must meet the requirements for a valid credit agreement, which is based on Article 1320 of the Civil Code. If there is a transfer of the debtor without the knowledge of the bank, legal remedies must be taken by the new debtor by filing a lawsuit against the old debtor and the bank to the District Court. This decision from the District Court which has permanent legal force (inkracht) is evidence of the existence of an agreement between the old debtor and the new debtor, and can be the basis for the bank to submit certificates and other documents to the new debtor. In order to avoid problems in the future, people who want to transfer debtors to mortgages can do so after obtaining approval from the bank as creditor.

Review of Casey J. Dawkins 2021: Just Housing: The Moral Foundations of American Housing Policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

In this ambitious book, Casey Dawkins examines housing provision in the United States through a discussion of its moral basis, intellectual history, existing programs for affordability and policy recommendations. He begins by presenting two theoretical bases for housing ownership: (1) the natural right of individuals to own property, traceable back to Locke and his […]

Soil Organic Carbon Storage in Urban Green Space and Its Influencing Factors: A Case Study of the 0–20 cm Soil Layer in Guangzhou City

Urban soils can contribute to organic carbon sequestration. The socioeconomic drivers of soil organic carbon (SOC) in urban areas may differ between regions due to the different land tenure and its derived green space management regimes. Currently, few studies focus on regions where public ownership of land was implemented. We examined the SOC storage and driving factors of urban green spaces in Guangzhou, China at 0–20 cm depth by variance and regression analysis. Our results showed that the total SOC storage did not vary significantly among green space types, with an average value of 2.59 ± 1.31 kg/m2. SOC increased with plot age (2–87 years) by 0.025 kg/m2/year (p = 0.026) and plot size (63–2058 m2) by 0.001 kg/m2/m2 (p = 0.026). Disturbance intensity was negatively correlated to SOC storage. Green space maintenance practices could promote SOC sequestration, but this benefit may be offset by high-intensity disturbances such as trampling, litter and debris removal and fragmentation of green spaces. To increase urban residential SOC storage, except for remediation of compacted soils, it is essential to promote house owners’ initiative in green space management and conservation by improving the current residential green space management regimes.

Lifestyle factors as mediators of area-level socio-economic differentials in cardiovascular disease risk factors. The Tromsø Study

IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death and disability and living in areas with low socio-economic status (SES) is associated with increased risk of CVD. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet and harmful alcohol use are main risk factors that contribute to other modifiable risk factors, such as hypertension, raised blood cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes. The potential impact of area-level socio-economic status (ASES) on metabolic CVD risk factors via lifestyle behaviors independent of individual SES has not been investigated previously. AimsTo estimate associations of ASES with CVD risk factors and the mediating role of lifestyle behaviors independent of individual-level SES. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we included 19,415 participants (52% women) from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (2015–2016) (Tromsø7). The exposure variable ASES was created by aggregating individual-level SES variables (education, income, housing ownership) at the geographical subdivision level. Individual-level SES data and geographical subdivision of Tromsø municipality (36 areas) were obtained from Statistics Norway. Variables from questionnaires and clinical examinations obtained from Tromsø7 were used as mediators (smoking, snuff, alcohol, and physical activity), while the outcome variables were body mass index (BMI), total/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio, waist circumference, hypertension, diabetes. Mediation and mediated moderation analysis were performed with age as a moderator, stratified by sex. ResultsASES was significantly associated with all outcome variables. CVD risk factor level declined with an increase in ASES. These associations were mediated by differences in smoking habits, alcohol use and physical activity. The associations of ASES with total/HDL cholesterol ratio and waist circumference (women) were moderated by age, and the moderating effects were mediated by smoking and physical activity in both sexes. The largest mediated effects were seen in the associations of ASES with total/HDL cholesterol ratio, with the mediators accounting for 43% of the observed effects. ConclusionsLiving in lower SES areas is associated with increased CVD risk due to unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol use and physical inactivity. These associations were stronger in women and among older participants.

People’s Preference for Rusunawa Jogoyudan as a Residential Option

The high backlog of houses in Yogyakarta City illustrates the high demand for housing. Limited land stock causes the appearance of slums and vertically directed housing, for example, the construction of Rusunawa Jogoyudan. This study aims to analyze the assessment of housing quality, perceptions, and the population’s preferences. This quantitative study uses data sources obtained from literature, questionnaire, and observation, then analyzed with diagrams and cross-tabulations descriptively. This study finds that there is a compatibility between the population’s perception and the housing quality assessment. Between owning and needing a house, some populations answered owning a house for housing priority and plans. The choice of housing in the future was dominated by those who plan to live in non-flat housing rather than Rusunawa Jogoyudan. There is no correlation between the preferences in housing options with the income, housing quality, housing ownership status, also perception about Rusunawa Jogoyudan. Convenience is the population’s motivation not to choose Rusunawa Jogoyudan. The comfort in question is a better environment, calmer atmosphere, no rental thoughts, already own a house, easier to interact with, more flexible, wider space, no need to go up and down with stairs, and more privacy than living. at Rusunawa Jogoyudan.

Spatial configuration between zoning area in simple residential houses at limited space post pandemic situation

The prolonged COVID19 pandemic situation that began in 2019 has become a phenomenon that affects many aspects of life, including habits, behavior, and space requirements in residential facilities. A form of change that can feel is increasing or decreasing space based on its zoning. Both public and private areas have their roles in building function. Even the spatial preferences are transformed spatially. This need is undoubtedly a particular concern that needs to be considered in its approach to a dwelling with limited land. This study analyzes the forms of changes in space requirements in public, semi-public, semi-private, service, and private areas in a residential facility on limited land to produce recommendations for processing spatial configurations between areas. The research was conducted through an exploratory, descriptive approach by identifying user needs before and after the pandemic and then reviewing the relevance of the theory of spatial relations. In addition, experimental methods are used to find and respond to the utilization and division of space in dwellings on limited land. The need for housing, especially on limited land, remains a top priority for people with middle to lower economic levels. Efforts to fulfill this can only be achieved by housing ownership with limited land. However, this is contrary to the availability of land whose space capacity is not sufficient to meet the needs. The architectural solution is : vertical development strategy, create public awareness to have a healthy dwelling becomes an obligation, adjusting economic value preferences or expenses need to be invested wisely by considering appropriate building development strategies while maintaining health, function, and aesthetics, and Spatial configuration in responding to a pandemic is essential, namely through an organization or spatial arrangement. With the processing that is carried out, it can create a more effective and efficient spatial organization and provide a better quality of life, health, and psychology. Keywords: Limited space area, post pandemic architecture, public-private area, residential houses, spatial configuration.

Stochastic modelling of the home equity access scheme

The housing wealth of elderly homeowners is emerging as a key asset to support Australians in retirement. The Australian government's Home Equity Access Scheme allows elderly Australians to access the equity in their home and utilise this illiquid wealth. Through stochastic modelling of the scheme, this paper compares two strategies of drawing down housing wealth and provides a framework for comparing strategies that balances income, flexibility and longevity protection. The first strategy supplements other sources of retirement income, whereas the second strategy is similar to a contingent deferred annuity, with non-housing assets drawn down first. Although results vary by cohort and objective, the role of the scheme as a vehicle to protect against poverty in old age is emphasised. This reinforces the potential of home ownership as a financial asset in retirement, in addition to benefits conferred through housing ownership over the entire life cycle. JEL Classification: G22,G51

Analysis and Rental of Boarding House Information System In Tangerang City

For remote workers, overseas students, who have business outside the city, the need for a boarding house is very important to stay for a long time at an affordable cost. Looking for a boarding house can be done by asking friends, owners of nearby boarding houses or visiting adjacent areas from the area visited, so that the information obtained by kostan seekers is less efficient and effective, this results in a lack of information obtained and not fitting according to the ability of the pocket. The purpose of this system can provide data containing kostan information, which is packaged in detail, complete with the location of the boarding house and available facilities. In building this system using PHP and MySQL. Here using the waterfall methodology, this method of logging runs gradually through having to wait for the completion of the previous stage and walks down from the beginning of the development of the system starting from the planning to the final part of the system development is the maintenance stage. The result is a website that contains available boarding house information to make it easier for customers to choose the boarding house they want, and this website can make customers as boarding house owners can promote or add their boarding houses on this website, on this website can also make rental transactions which makes it easier for customers from outside the city to make transactions anywhere and anytime.

Competent, trustworthy, and likeable? Exploring which peers influence photovoltaic adoption in Germany

Little is known about the role of active peer effects (interpersonal contact) compared to passive peer effects (noticing or seeing) regarding residential photovoltaic (PV) diffusion. Recent literature suggests that peer effects are determined by the perceived credibility of one’s active peer connections regarding PV and passive peer effects. Utilising data from a survey of German house owners who either own a PV or indicate purchase intention (N = 1,165), this paper explores the underlying mechanisms of active peer effects during different stages of PV adoption decision-making. Our findings suggest that the perceived credibility of peers on PV related issues is positively associated with the reported number of adopters in the decision-maker’s peer group (passive peer effect) and also with the progress in the PV adoption decision process. Furthermore, we find a relationship between the perceived credibility of peers regarding PV and the reported influence strength of peer interactions throughout the decision-making processes of German householders, suggesting that subjective evaluations of peers play a role in active peer effects. Finally, we observe an association between the rate of self-initiated peer interactions about PV for respondents with a higher reported number of peers that have adopted PV, suggesting that passive effects (knowing peer PV adopters) play a role in initiating active peer interactions. These results are significant for all sub-groups, regardless of the decision progress. From a policy-making perspective, “bottom-up” efforts such as peer consultation and community-led outreach should be promoted in Germany to empower potential adopters.

Cheap Old Houses, Critical Content and Roberts Media

<i>Cheap Old Houses</i>, Critical Content and Roberts Media

Negative externalities of long-term vacant homes: Evidence from Japan

Employing parcel-level data on vacant houses in a depopulating city in the Tokyo metropolitan area, we provide the evidence of negative externalities of long-term vacant houses that persist for several years. Ownership of a vacant house continues, whereas the level of maintenance declines; thus, the Japanese context enables us to simply capture the long-run impact of neglect, separate from the foreclosure stigma in the US context. We find that the externality spills over to approximately 50 m and that one additional long-term vacant house within 50 m pushes property transaction prices down by approximately 3%. We argue that the externalities come at least partly from the disamenity channel, since they are not observed for vacancies that disappear within one or two years. Externalities are observed from three years after the houses become vacant, which are, often not put on the housing market, and the externalities diminish around the time the vacancies finally disappear. We also show that externalities exist only in areas where nearby long-term vacant houses are not yet common, as their existence stands out in those areas. These results imply that reducing the number of long-term vacant houses will help mitigate disamenities in areas that have not yet experienced severe declines.

Behaviors of Flippers, Rental Housing Investors and Owner-Occupiers in the Singapore Private Housing Market

We classify housing investors into flippers, rental housing investors and owner occupiers. We adopt the Singapore private housing transaction database between 2006 and 2010 to analyze their trading behaviors. The investigation period witnessed a full housing price cycle and had limited policy interventions. By comparing the trading behaviors of the three types of housing investors, we find that flippers can always buy at the highest price discounts and sell at the highest price premiums in housing transactions. Flippers show the highest propensity for trend chasing and act as momentum traders. When the housing market moves from its upward trend to a downward trend, flippers’ price discounts at buying increases, but their likelihood of buying decreases, while flippers’ price premiums at selling decrease, and their likelihood of selling increases. Rental housing investors show slightly higher price discounts at buying or price premiums at selling when trading with owner occupiers. However, they show a lower propensity for trend chasing than owner-occupiers. The findings have policy implications for anti-speculation policy designs.

TINGKAT KEPUASAN KONSUMEN TERHADAP PELAYANAN DI RUMAH KOPI BILLY JALAN 17 AGUSTUS KOTA MANADO

This study aims to determine the level of consumer satisfaction with services at Rumah Kopi Billy Jalan 17 Agustus Manado City. The research lasted for 2 months and was carried out from September to October 2021. The data collected, namely primary data, was obtained from direct interviews with consumers as visitors by using a questionnaire. Secondary data were obtained from coffee house owners as well as data related to research taken from the internet. Sampling was doneby accidental sampling as many as 5 respondents every day from Monday to Saturday which could be found so that the number of respondents was 30 people. The results showed that the level of consumer satisfaction with services at the Rumah Kopi Billy Jln 17 Agustus, Manado was included in the satisfied category with a satisfaction index of 77.68% based on product, price, place, promotion and service quality.

Socio-Spatial ‘Tabula Rasa’ and Punctual Preservation: The Case Study of Measurable Compensation in Lijiao Village

Villages in the cities (VICs) exhibit all the contradictions of contemporary Chinese urbanisation. These historic settlements attracted large floating populations during the booming urban economy, which redefined their morphological assets. Moreover, their urban persistence reflects the social and cultural modifications occurring within metropolises. Municipal governments’ attention was drawn to the extraordinary densification process, triggering negotiation regarding urban upgrades and social engagement alongside the overall transformation of VICs. Despite the broad scientific literature on VIC redevelopment, especially from urban and social studies perspectives, little attention has been paid to the spatial and monetary compensation awarded for forced or planned demolitions. The transition from informal agglomerations to residential compounds implies the action of local authorities cooperating with real estate developers to make existing house ownership the basis of compensation for measurable spaces in new typological configurations defined by radical social shifts. Lijiao village in Guangzhou was selected as a case study to observe how its urban renewal programme affected the evaluation of historic building preservation versus large selective demolition. Cultural heritage and spatial compensation have become the cornerstones for reconfiguring the village’s morphology and the everyday life experiences framed by interested local groups’ mediation.

Модель інтелектуальної підтримки прийняття рішень з пошуку оптимальних напрямів модернізації та відновлення житлового фонду

The question of taking into account the totality of quantitative and qualitative factors influencing the choice of the optimal investment solution for the search for optimal ways of modernization and restoration of the housing stock requires detailed research.&#x0D; The work developed a model of intellectual decision-making support for finding optimal ways to modernize and restore the housing fund.&#x0D; The housing market of Ukraine needs restoration and modernization. Even the houses that were not damaged as a result of hostilities, the overwhelming majority still need certain modernization measures, this is, first of all, thermal modernization of buildings, replacement of heating and heat supply systems, modernization of electrical systems and elevators, replacement of water supply and sewage systems, etc. All activities require very significant funds, which residents usually do not have. Physical wear and tear, damage as a result of military operations, moral aging of the housing stock require reasonable actions from the owners of housing in choosing ways to solve the problems of their housing. The selection of a priority set of measures for the restoration and modernization of the housing stock must be done comprehensively, taking into account qualitative and quantitative factors, which can be divided into three groups - economic, technical, and operational.&#x0D; Factors influencing the value of the indicator of investment attractiveness of the measure for the restoration and modernization of the housing stock are determined. According to the values ​​of the proposed indicator, it is possible to rank the proposed measures in the order of their comprehensive investment attractiveness and choose only that measure or set of measures that have the highest values ​​of the indicator and their total need for investment does not exceed the available financial resources.