Households In Urban Areas Research Articles

Tiny portable home: Measuring the rental preferences

An increasing number of people are experiencing difficulties obtaining housing, and it therefore seems necessary to create a varied range of affordability measures. Tiny portable houses constitute a temporary use of land that unlocks urban land supply, but the success of this novel dwelling type as an affordable measure will depend upon popular acceptance. Previous research has not empirically tested whether a tiny portable house can satisfy diverse housing preferences, nor has it explored how a temporary location influences residential choice. The current study accordingly uses an experimentally designed online survey including 280 respondents living in the Netherlands and presenting them with several realistic choice situations. The results indicate a favorable attitude toward tiny portable houses and highlight different attributes as the essential choice drivers, including unit type, renting period, and energy label. The results also underline that young, single-person households in urban areas are most likely to occupy these dwellings in the Netherlands.

Determinants of Household Consumption Allocation during the Covid 19 Outbreak in Riau, Indonesia

An pandemic will disrupt consumer income and expenditure and other effects in all expenditure categories. The purpose of the study this to analyze changes in household income and consumption changes during the Covid19 outbreak; analyzing the differences in household consumption in the formal and informal sectors and analyze the determinants of household consumption. This research was conducted in the urban area of Pekanbaru City, Riau Province, Indonesia. The type of data taken includes secondary data regarding the distribution of positive patients with Covid19. Primary data were taken from sample households in urban areas. Collecting data using an interview guide (questionnaire) which contains the identity of the respondent, economic activity, shopping or consumption during the outbreak and outside the epidemic, buying fast food, shopping related to health and the like. The sample was taken from 75 household respondents, including 35 formal sector household respondents and 40 informal worker household respondents in Pekanbaru City. One-way analysis of variance and t test to test differences in income and consumption between time and between groups of respondents. To analyze the determinants of household consumption using ordinary least squares. Result; The study found that after the outbreak through September 2020, the income group of less than 3 million increased in number. During this period, the respondents' average monthly consumption increased, but not significantly. There is a significant difference in monthly income between the period March - September 2019 and the period March - September 2020. The average monthly income of respondents from the informal workers group decreased compared to the previous year. On the consumption side, there was no change between the three periods. The individual variable test shows that only income is the significant independent variable. In the period March to September 2019, the respondent's MPC was 0.499, increasing in the Covid19 outbreak period to 0.525.

Human Behaviours on Domestic Waste Recycling Practice among Urban Households

The propagation of household recycling is undeniable and thorough. Recycling behaviour among households in urban areas and Malaysia has, however, received less attention. Therefore, the purpose of this preliminary study is to outline the influence that household behaviour is motivated through waste recycling. The survey carried out in six (6) suburbs of Shah Alam using a convenient sampling method to perform a site inventory and questionnaire survey. The findings are affected by the influences of recycling and individual activities representing their contribution to recycling domestic waste.

The dynamics of the Egyptian social contract: How the political changes affected the poor

Abstract How have the uprisings in 2011 and 2013 affected deprived communities in Egypt? Adopting a social contract approach, this longitudinal study tracks the same individuals in Manshiet Nasser and Menia over a ten-year period (2006–2015) articulating their wellbeing priorities, unfulfilled aspirations, problems and perceptions on the social contract over time. This grounded micro-level study argues that the uprisings; which were meant to end the old social contract that traded off political rights with socio-economic benefits; have in fact post-2013 led to a new bargain that forgoes both sets of rights in exchange for political stability. The analysis shows the persistence of the same wellbeing priorities, problems and unfulfilled aspirations, esp. in employment, income generation, housing and education. This indicates the repeated failure of the state to enact a new social contract that addresses these needs. The burden of the post-revolutionary economic crises fell mainly on the poor, especially female headed households in urban areas and young informal workers – both suffering from high inflation and unemployment. Paradoxically, whilst the January 2011 uprising called for a new social contract promoting ‘bread, freedom and social justice’, it led post-2013 to a more exclusionary one. Blaming the uprisings for the political turmoil and economic crises, deprived communities were therefore willing to accept a new social contract that not only denies their basic political rights but also undermines the socio-economic benefits - guaranteed under the old populist social contract. They thus tolerated the state’s failure to fulfil these socio-economic rights in exchange for political stability. The sustainability of the current social contract however remains questionable. Politically, the uprisings had a contradictory effect as they raised political awareness; but undermined feelings of citizenship and led to radicalisation when the democratic transition failed. The new social contract thus not only failed to address the ‘revolution of rising expectations’ after the uprisings, but also jeopardizes long-term political stability in Egypt. Forging a sustainable more inclusive social contract thus remains a major challenge the current regime needs to address.

Inequality in the Utilization of Rehabilitation Services Among Urban and Rural Households in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Demographic and epidemiological changes in the 21st century have created new challenges such as aging and the rising trend of non-communicable diseases. The high prevalence of disability (due to the growing aging population), non-communicable diseases, and accidents have increased the demand for rehabilitation services. However, there are not enough resources to meet all current needs in many parts of the world. The purpose of this study is to investigate the inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services between Iranian households in urban and rural areas. Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional design using the household expenditure, income survey data from the Statistics Center of Iran in 2018. The used instrument was a questionnaire surveying the expenditure and income of urban and rural households (social characteristics of household members, place of residence and main living facilities, food/non-food expenses, and household income), which was completed through interviewing the household head or a member over 15 years of age. The study samples were 18610 households in rural areas and 20348 households in urban areas. After extracting and refining the data, 38958 households were included in the study. Factors affecting their utilization of rehabilitation services and the inequality in utilization were analyzed using the Chi-square test and the concentration index (CI), respectively. Data were extracted in MS Access 2013 and MS Excel 2013 applications and were analyzed in STATA V.14.1 software. The geographic distribution of the service utilization was plotted using ArcGIS Map V. 10 software. Results: A total of 258 households (0.77%) used rehabilitation services. Of these, 226 (87%) had a male head, and 32 (13%) had a female head. About 60% had 3-4 members, and 239 (92%) had insurance coverage, and others (8%) had no insurance coverage. Also, 173 (67%) had an employed head. Finally, 55% were living in rural areas, and 45% in urban areas. Uninsured households had less use of rehabilitation services (P<0.05). Also, 1.32% of the fifth income quintile (highest income) used rehabilitation services, while this rate was 0.35% for households in the first quintile (P<0.001). Zanjan, Qazvin, Khuzestan, Isfahan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Semnan provinces had the lowest service utilization rates in urban/rural areas and the whole country. Qom province had a better status regarding service utilization in urban areas, while East Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Yazd, Fars, and Hormozgan provinces had higher service utilization rates in rural areas. Overall, East Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, and Qom provinces had a higher rate of utilization. The CI value for the whole country was reported at 0.24 (95% CI: 0.17-0.30), indicating a higher inequality in utilization in favor of the rich. The CI values for rural and urban areas were 0.27 and 0.19, respectively (P<0.001). Conclusion: There is inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services in favor of the rich households in Iran, and low-income households have lower access to these services. The inclusion of rehabilitation services in the primary health insurance package with appropriate pricing and population coverage, and fair distribution of rehabilitation services following the needs of public and private sectors, can increase the access and utilization of rehabilitation services.

Fish Consumption Behaviour and Perception of Food Security of Low-Income Households in Urban Areas of Ghana

This paper assesses fish consumption behaviour and perception of fish food security of low-income households using three season survey data from 839 interviews in Ghana. The study profiles the types of fish consumed and employs a modified Cobb–Douglas function to examine the determinants of household expenditure on fish consumption, whilst adopting a 1–5 Likert scale to analyze the perception of fish food security. The results confirm that poor households prefer cheaper and small pelagic fish. The mean expenditure on fish consumption per week is estimated to be GHS 31.15 (Euro 4.94 ≅ 0.16). Additionally, it is demonstrated that marital status, religion, occupation, proximity to local market, and city of residence have a positive and significant influence, whilst level of income, seasonality of fish, and the interaction of religion and seasonality of fish demonstrate a negative and significant influence on fish expenditure. Finally, the paper reveals that the majority of households have the perception that fish is readily available and can be obtained throughout the year in good quality. However, households have varied opinions on accessibility of fish. The paper recommends that the government should support and enhance the value chains of small pelagic fish species since they are preferred by poor households.

Correlates of access to hand hygiene resources in Ghanaian households: An exploratory analysis of the 2014 demographic and health survey

ObjectivesHandwashing with soap and water remains the most effective public health measure to reduce the risk of infectious diseases, which kill over 2.5 million people annually, mostly children in developing countries. The absence of hand hygiene resources in homes put many at risk of these infectious diseases. In the wake of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments around the world have stressed the importance of regular handwashing to prevent the spread of the virus. This suggests that research on water, sanitation, and hygiene issues deserve continuous scholarly attention. In Ghana, studies on household's access to hand hygiene resources are few and relatively old. Therefore, this study estimated the proportion of Ghanaian households with access to hand hygiene resources and their associated determinants using data from a recent national survey. MethodsThe study used the cross-sectional 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys dataset. We used STATA-14 to perform data analyses on a weighted sample of 11,710.06 households. We used complex samples analysis technique to adjust for sample units, stratification and sample weights for both the descriptive statistics and multivariate robust Poisson regression. ResultsThe result showed that about one fifth of Ghanaian households had access to hand hygiene resources. Households with heads who attained a Middle/JHS/JSS or Secondary/SSS/SHS/Higher level education, those headed by persons having at least 30–44 years, and non-poorest households, and from the Volta region were more likely to have access to hand hygiene resources. Further, households in urban areas, households that spent between 0-30 min to get to a source of water, and households in Eastern and Brong-Ahafo regions were less likely to have access to hand hygiene resources. ConclusionThis study identified key socioeconomic and demographic correlates of a household's access to hand hygiene resources in Ghana. In the interim, the government and development partners can provide hand hygiene resources to households with limited or no access. For the long term, we recommend that the government should implement measures and policies that facilitate citizens' economic independence and their attainment of higher formal education.

Consumer Preferences for Cooking and Lighting Fuels and Domestic Energy Transition: A Nyeri Town, Kenya, Perspective

Improving access to modern fuels in developing countries is crucial in mitigating unfavorable environmental and health impacts caused by the continued use of traditional fuels. Use of modern fuels lead to improved standards of living and gender equity of women and children. This paper estimates preferences for domestic fuels and reasons thereof by households in urban areas in Nyeri town, Kenya. The study uses Nyeri town micro-data to perform correlation analysis to determine the relationship between fuel preference and domestic energy transition. Transition is considered along three categories of domestic fuels: traditional -firewood and charcoal; transitional fuels- kerosene; modern fuels – Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), biogas, solar and grid electricity. The result findings show that urban residents use traditional, transitional and modern fuels through energy stacking theory with the transition to modern fuels following a consistent pattern. The major reasons for fuel preference were established as fuel convenience, affordability, ease of accessibility and cultural beliefs by 46.5%, 37.2%, 10.5% and 5.8% of the respondents respectively.

Can household dietary diversity inform about nutrient adequacy? Lessons from a food systems analysis in Ethiopia

This study examined the use of the household dietary diversity score (HDDS) to assess household nutrient adequacy in Ethiopia. It also examined the correlates of HDDS following the food systems framework. Results show that the average nutrient consumption in Ethiopia varies by place of residence and by income profile, where households in urban areas and those in the higher income quintiles rank favorably. Among 13 nutrients under study, we found nutrient inadequacy for fat, calcium, zinc, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin C and vitamin A ranging between 46% and 89%, and the prevalence of inadequacy for vitamin B12 to be up to 100%. Econometric results showed that HDDS is a strong predictor of a household’s mean probability of nutrient adequacy (MPA), and that an HDDS of 10 is the minimum threshold at which HDDS can improve household MPA. We found suggestive evidence within the food systems that improving household-incomes, access to health and transport services are beneficial to improve HDDS and nutrient consumption in Ethiopia.

Energy-related financial literacy and bounded rationality in appliance replacement attitudes: evidence from Nepal

AbstractAs countries develop, they are likely to face challenges in meeting growing energy demand and in ensuring energy security. Given this, and the problem of climate change, improving demand-side energy efficiency is pivotal to ensuring sustainable development. However, agents often underinvest in energy-efficient technologies due to behavioral failures such as low levels of energy-related financial literacy, defined as the combination of energy knowledge and cognitive abilities needed to evaluate the lifetime costs of durables. Using novel data, we analyze the levels and determinants of energy-related financial literacy of households in urban areas in the eastern lowlands of Nepal, and whether it is correlated with their attitudes towards replacement of energy-inefficient appliances. We find that respondents have low levels of energy-related financial literacy, and higher levels of literacy are associated with more rational attitudes towards appliance replacement. The findings of this study are relevant to addressing the energy-efficiency gap in developing countries.

Open defecation free: where do we need to focus ?

BackgroundDespite major national and international efforts, many households in Nepal (as in other low-income and middle-income countries) still lack toilets. This paper assesses various determinants that act as main contributing factors because of which households in Nepal still do not have toilets.
 MethodsData from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2016 was used for this study. Bivariate analysis was done to assess the association between dependent variables (toilet status- having and not having toilets in the household) and independent variables (demographic, socio-economic and geographical characteristics) using Chi-square test. Then, a multi variate logistic regression model was used to assess significant predictors for a household not having a toilet after controlling other variables.
 ResultsOut of the total number of sampled households (11040), nearly a fifth (18%) belonged to province no. 2, where nearly half of the households (49%) did not have toilet facilities. Similarly, households in rural areas were found to be less likely to have toilets than households in urban areas (aOR=1.56, CI1.35-1.80). In the Terai, households were almost ten times as likely not to have toilets (aOR=9.65, CI6.56-14.19) as compared to households in the mountain region. Furthermore, there is a strong positive association between households with toilets and their economic status. Poorest (aOR=15.19, CI11.26-20.47), poorer (aOR=8.75, CI6.89-11.11) and middle income (aOR=5.12, CI4.15-6.32) households were less likely to have a toilet than richer or richest households.
 ConclusionsDespite some real achievements and progress in Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, Nepal still has a large number of residences without a toilet. Thus, it is crucial to address all the multifaceted factors such as geographical, provincial and economic when considering sustainable ODF programming.

Broadband Internet and Household Welfare in Senegal

Senegal has experienced a rapid expansion in fixed and mobile broadband Internet infrastructure over the past decade. This paper examines the relationship between access to broadband internet and household welfare between 2011 and 2018 by integrating the latest two rounds of household budget surveys with data on the location of fiber-optic transmission nodes and coverage maps of third-generation (3G) mobile technology. Results show that 3G coverage is associated with a 14 percent increase in total consumption and a 10 percent decline in extreme poverty.These results are robust to controlling for spatial characteristics and access to complementary digital infrastructure, as well as to an instrumental variable approach that relies on distance to 3G coverage in neighboring areas. These effects are larger among households in urban areas and households headed by men or younger cohorts. Although in the same direction, welfare effects of proximity to fixed broadband infrastructure are not statistically significant.

The study of determinants affecting the worth of housing in Pakistan

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of quality of housing in Pakistan based on micro-level household data of 2004–05. This study analyzes the differences in quality of housing among different households in urban areas, rural areas and in overall Pakistan. The quality of the housing is estimated through Ordinary Least Square method. The results indicate that some variables have a significant effect on the quality of housing in rural Pakistan and some other variables are significant in the urban Pakistan and overall Pakistan. The stepwise elimination procedure is applied to drop insignificant variables. Household demography, education and income have strong influence on choice of quality of housing.

Diagnostic Accuracy of the Short Physical Performance Battery for Detecting Frailty in Older People.

The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is widely used to predict negative health-related outcomes in older adults. However, the cutoff point for the detection of the frailty syndrome is not yet conclusive. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of the SPPB for detecting frailty in community-dwelling older adults. This was a population-based cross-sectional study focusing on households in urban areas. A total of 744 people who were 65years old or older participated in this study. Frailty was determined by the presence of 3 or more of the following components: unintentional weight loss, self-reported fatigue, weakness, low level of physical activity, and slowness. Diagnostic accuracy measures of the SPPB cutoff points were calculated for the identification of frailty (individuals who were frail) and the frailty process (individuals who were considered to be prefrail and frail). Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed. Odds ratios for frailty and the frailty process and respective CIs were calculated on the basis of the best cutoff points. A bootstrap analysis was conducted to confirm the internal validity of the findings. The best cutoff point for the determination of frailty was ≤ 8 points (sensitivity=79.7%; specificity=73.8%; Youden J statistic=0.53; positive likelihood ratio=3.05; area under the curve=0.85). The best cutoff point for the determination of the frailty process was ≤ 10 points (sensitivity=75.5%; specificity=52.8%; Youden J statistic=0.28; positive likelihood ratio=1.59; area under the curve=0.76). The adjusted odds of being frail and being in the frailty process were 7.44 (95% CI=3.90-14.19) and 2.33 (95% CI=1.65-3.30), respectively. External validation using separate data was not performed, and the cross-sectional design does not allow SPPB predictive capacity to be established. The SPPB might be used as a screening tool to detect frailty syndrome in community-dwelling older adults, but the cutoff points should be tested in another sample as a further validation step.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FEATURES OF SMALL-SCALE FARMS IN POLAND AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF AVERAGE RESULTS FOR AGRICULTURE

The purpose of the paper is to determine the economic and social features of small-scale farms in Poland in light of the results for agriculture or the countryside, in general. Small-scale farms form an integral part of Polish agriculture. Thanks to the multifunctional role they play in rural areas, their functioning is crucial for the future of agribusiness, due to the growing expectations of society regarding traditional methods of food production, targeting agricultural policy to maintain the vitality of such entities, as well as limited possibilities of working outside agriculture. That is why, in the public debate, an opinion about the need for greater support of this group of farms takes place more and more often. Their closer familiarization will help direct the support in a more appropriate way. Basic characteristics of the surveyed entities, production and income data as well as conditions defining the standard of living are presented. The work uses the results of own surveys and data of the Central Statistical Office. A descriptive approach with elements of inductive reasoning, meta-analysis based on data from questionnaire surveys and comparative analysis were used. The data shows that surveyed small-scale farms achieve less favorable production and income results, have a lower production scale and are less specialized. Although the living conditions are similar to those of households in urban areas, and even better than among rural households, the assessment of the material situation of such farms is worse. This suggests that the assessment depends on the current income situation, rather than on the long-term standard of living.

Groundwater as a Source of Drinking Water in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: A Multi-Country Review of Current Reliance and Resource Concerns

Groundwater is widely acknowledged to be an important source of drinking water in low-income regions, and it, therefore, plays a critical role in the realization of the human right to water. However, the proportion of households using groundwater compared with other sources is rarely quantified, with national and global datasets more focused on facilities—rather than resources—used. This is a significant gap in knowledge, particularly in light of efforts to expand water services in line with the inclusive and integrated agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals. Understanding the prevalence of groundwater reliance for drinking is critical for those involved in water services planning and management, so they can better monitor and advocate for management of water resources that supports sustainable services for households. This paper contributes data that can be used to strengthen the integration of resource considerations within water service delivery and inform the work of development partners supporting this area. We approach this issue from two perspectives. Firstly, we collate data on the proportion of households using groundwater as their primary drinking water source for 10 Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, finding an average of 66% (range of 17–93% for individual countries) of households in urban areas and 60% (range of 22–95%) of households in rural areas rely on groundwater for drinking. Together, these constitute 79% of the total population across the case study countries. Secondly, we review current and emerging groundwater resource concerns within each country, using a systems thinking approach to assess how groundwater resource issues influence household water services. Findings support the case for governments and development agencies to strengthen engagement with groundwater resource management as foundational for achieving sustainable water services for all.

Decomposing inequality in catastrophic health expenditure for self-reported hypertension household in Urban Shaanxi, China from 2008 to 2013: two waves’ cross-sectional study

ObjectiveDespite the latest wave of China’s healthcare reform initiated in 2009 has achieved unprecedented progress in rural areas, little is known for specific vulnerable groups’ catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) in...

A Conceptual Time-Varying Flood Resilience Index for Urban Areas: Munich City

In response to the increased frequency and severity of urban flooding events, flood management strategies are moving away from flood proofing towards flood resilience. The term ‘flood resilience’ has been applied with different definitions. In this paper, it is referred to as the capacity to withstand adverse effects following flooding events and the ability to quickly recover to the original system performance before the event. This paper introduces a novel time-varying Flood Resilience Index (FRI) to quantify the resilience level of households. The introduced FRI includes: (a) Physical indicators from inundation modelling for considering the adverse effects during flooding events, and (b) social and economic indicators for estimating the recovery capacity of the district in returning to the original performance level. The district of Maxvorstadt in Munich city is used for demonstrating the FRI. The time-varying FRI provides a novel insight into indicator-based quantification methods of flood resilience for households in urban areas. It enables a timeline visualization of how a system responds during and after a flooding event.

Do Endowments Matter? Exploring The Gender Dimensions Of Poverty In Egypt

This paper investigates the gender dimensions of poverty in Egypt and examines the factors that contribute to poverty for different household types. Furthermore, it decomposes the poverty differential between household types into a component due to endowments and another due to the return to these endowments. I use data from five Household Income, Expenditure and Consumption Surveys, that span a period of far reaching economic, social and political changes, from 1999 to 2013. Results suggest that female‐headed households were poorer than male‐headed households for all years under study in urban areas; and slightly less poor over part of the period in rural areas. This difference is greater for widowed mothers. Most of the poverty differentials between female‐headed and male‐headed households cannot be explained by differences in endowments in all years. In fact, if female‐headed households had the same endowments as male‐headed households in urban areas they would have been poorer than they already were.

Material flow analysis for management of waste TVs from households in urban areas of Vietnam

Electronic waste has become one of the fastest growing waste streams in Vietnam, of which adequate information on its size and its flows is very crucial to efficiently manage it and prevent associated environmental problems. To obtain such information, Material Flow Analysis (MFA) was used to quantify and systematically analyze the flow of obsolete TVs from households in urban areas in Vietnam. The results showed a gradual increase of obsolete TVs during the period 1966–2035. Further investigation showed that 66% of the total obsolete TVs in 2012 was directly reused or reused after repair/refurbishing, 3% was domestically recycled or open burned to recover valuable materials, 9% was illegally exported and the rest of 22% was open dumped. Substance flow analysis showed that 75% of total base metals (i.e., Cu, Al, Fe/steel) contained in obsolete TVs was reused or recycled; the rest (25%) was exported or emitted, representing the loss of materials for the Vietnamese economy. For precious metals (i.e., Au, Ag, Pd), plastic and glass, a larger material leaching was noticed. About 34% was illegally exported (in case of precious metals and plastics) or open dumped (in case of glass). The analysis also revealed the heavy involvement of the informal sector in the TV waste management system, making it more complicated, difficult to control and resulting in potential risks to the environment and human health. Based on the above analysis, an integrated management system was proposed to manage the secondary material source and prevent potential harmful effects.