• Housing sufficiency lacks agreed-upon metrics and criteria. • Identified and tested criteria result in very different levels of sufficiency. • Energy use intensity is a poor measure for evaluating energy consumption in homes. • Large, high-energy-consuming dwellings tend to have lower energy use intensities. The concept of housing sufficiency is rising as a strategy to reduce residential emissions; however, it lacks agreed-upon metrics and criteria. Only three metrics could be identified in the literature. This paper presents a unique comparative analysis of sufficiency metrics through an application to the US housing stock. The Residential Energy Consumption Survey database was selected for its detailed information on individual homes, their residents, and their energy consumption. The first metric, based solely on floor area, finds 2.8% of homes to be sufficient and does not consider broader housing trends. This is restrictive, unrealistic and neglects nuances in housing like climate and individual needs. The second and third metrics, based on an individual’s energy consumption, find 58.3% and 78.8% of homes sufficient, but neglect the effect of floor area on the embodied carbon in construction and materials. The findings indicate that definitions and metrics to measure sufficient housing vary widely. To accurately assess the level of sufficiency of individual homes, a consensus is needed for defining what makes a home sufficient. It was found that energy use intensity is a poor metric for evaluating energy use in homes, where larger homes tend to have lower energy use intensities but higher total energy consumption. Instead of energy use intensity, metrics such as energy use per person and floor area per person should be used in the evaluation of residences.

Public vs. private sector-led affordable housing: Evaluating implications for commuting length in Shenzhen, China

Will England's poor housing stock derail the "hospital to home" shift?

The article is devoted to the formation of a market for affordable and comfortable housing at the regional level, focusing on the problems of aging housing stock and insufficient rates of renovation and construction of housing, which creates additional pressures on the infrastructure and reduces the quality of everyday urban services and the comfort of urban space involved in the lives of citizens. The key aspects of urban planning policy necessary to create favorable living conditions for the population are considered. The authors emphasize the importance of integrated urban planning policy as a modern mechanism for the systematic development of urban areas, aimed at maintaining a balance between the interests of the population, authorities, and business and based on the integration of economic, structural, environmental, and socio-demographic factors. Modern urban construction policy is focused on the formation of a favorable investment climate, and the formation of a truly convenient and attractive area for living. The role of the national development goals of the Russian Federation aimed at providing comfortable housing and an environmentally friendly environment is highlighted, and a number of practical steps are proposed to improve the situation, including strengthening cooperation between the state, business and local communities. The formation of an effective regional construction complex is considered as the basis for the integrated development of territories and the sustainable development of urban space. Synchronization of investment, urban planning, housing and social programs will ensure effective integrated development of the territory, which together will make it possible to bridge gaps between individual housing projects and contribute to the formation of a unified approach to the development of not only cities, but also regions as a whole.

ABSTRACT Introduction Racial differences in exposure to area-level social determinants of health (SDoH) may contribute to distinct vulnerability profiles among people living with dementia. Methods This cross-sectional study used data from the OCHIN Community Health Equity Database to examine SDoH factors among patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment. SDoH measures encompassed social, environmental, and climate vulnerability factors. We trained Random Forest classifiers to identify the most influential SDoH features distinguishing racial groups. Results Common SDoH factors – those ranking among the top features across multiple racial groups – included percentage of minority populations, limited English proficiency, exposure to diesel particulate matter or fine particulate matter, impaired watershed, and frequency of extreme heat and wildfire smoke days. Distinct SDoH factors – those identified as top-ranked for only one or two groups – included unemployment and disability rates in ZIP codes where American Indian and/or Alaska Native patients lived; lack of walkability in areas where Asian patients resided; hurricane occurrences in ZIP codes where Black patients lived; low educational attainment in Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander communities; and housing cost burden, lack of internet access, and older housing stock in areas where Multiracial patients lived. Discussion These findings highlight the importance of incorporating multidimensional SDoH measures when assessing structural contexts in dementia research.

ABSTRACT Short-term rentals have become a prominent issue for both academic research and public policy. While the determinants and impact of Airbnb have been largely studied in touristic and major cities, there is still a lack of contextualized studies that focus on the activity of Airbnb in small towns and interior and rural areas. The aim of this article is to comprehensively analyse short-term rentals (STR) in Aragon (Spain), an interior region predominantly rural and mountainous. It explores the geographical distribution of STRs, their relationship with the hospitality sector, housing stocks and other geographic and socioeconomic variables. To do so, statistical analyses (Pearson correlation, Pareto and multiple linear regression models) were used. First, the results suggest that Airbnb overlaps the traditional tourist accommodation supply and has close links with second homes and empty properties. Second, the presence of Airbnb is denser in mountain towns, close to ski-resorts, nature and wildlife.

The deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is a critical challenge in modern construction practice worldwide. More than 38% of the housing stock in Kazakhstan and a significant share of infrastructure across the post-Soviet region was built before 1985 under outdated design codes. Traditional strengthening methods — steel jackets, shotcrete overlays, post-tensioned rods — significantly increase structural self-weight and require prolonged service interruptions. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) systems offer a compelling alternative combining ultra-high tensile strength (up to 3,450 MPa), negligible weight gain and full corrosion immunity, making them increasingly prominent in rehabilitation practice. This article presents research on two main methods of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) application: external bonding (EB), in which carbon tape or laminate is bonded to the beam surface, and near-surface bonding (NSM), in which a CFRP plate is embedded in a groove cut into the concrete pavement. The review focuses on mechanical properties, failure mechanisms, ductility, crack control, and design approaches for compliance with standards. BR 164.1325800.2014 и ACI 440.2R-17. According to the reviewed studies, one EB layer increases ultimate load-bearing capacity by 40–120%; two EB layers by 80–160%. The NSM method consistently outperforms EB by 20–35% at equal CFRP area due to superior anchorage and full utilization of fiber tensile capacity (90–100% of εfrp,u vs. 55–75% for EB). The ductility index μ decreases with increasing CFRP reinforcement but remains above the minimum threshold μ ≥ 3.0 for normal seismicity zones. Both SP 164 and ACI 440.2R-17 calculation models show deviations from experimental data within ±5%. CFRP technology reduces strengthening labor costs by 3.5–5 times compared to steel solutions and offers 12–18% lower full life-cycle cost. The NSM-1 scheme (one plate) provides the optimal balance of load-bearing efficiency (+150%) and ductility (μ = 4.1) and is recommended for structures in seismic zones up to intensity 8. Future research should address fire resistance, long-term durability of the adhesive interface and combined EB+NSM systems.

The article examines the genesis of the monotown (a mono-industry planned settlement) as a materialisation of the twentieth-century socialist urban utopia and traces scenarios of its “de-utopianisation” in the twenty-first century. The focus is placed on the spatial mechanisms of state-socialist industrialisation and centralised planning, as well as on the post-socialist trajectories through which monotowns have transformed across the former socialist bloc and the post-Soviet space. Monotowns are conceptualised as instruments of an industrial modernisation project, in which residential morphology, infrastructure, and networks of social institutions were subordinated to the logic of the city- forming enterprise and to the normative construction of everyday life. Methodologically, the study combines a critical literature review, comparative analysis of socialist new towns, case studies of Estonian monotowns, morphological analysis based on archival plans and fieldwork, and a synthesis aimed at identifying post-socialist transformation trajectories relevant to Ukrainian revitalisation practice. The comparative context of Central and Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet region provides the framework for analysing case studies from Ida-Viru County (north-eastern Estonia), shaped within the oil-shale industrial belt. Three monotown cases from this region are examined: Kohtla-Järve, Viivikonna, and Sirgala. Kohtla-Järve is interpreted as an industrial city characterised by resource dependency, demonstrating post-socialist reorganisation and shifting regimes of urban functioning; particular attention is given to the instrument of “managed shrinkage” – the ordered demolition of partially vacant housing stock as part of a regeneration policy. This case illustrates a hybrid trajectory in which infrastructural contraction coexists with selective reprogramming and strategic policy interventions. Viivikonna and Sirgala represent trajectories of long-term contraction, with Viivikonna discussed as an illustrative transition from a planned industrial settlement to a landscape of post-industrial degradation. On this basis, two polar trajectories of de-utopianisation—adaptive reprogramming and decline—are reconstructed as a foundation for transferring insights into the revitalisation practices of mono-industry settlements in Ukraine. The article thus contributes to a broader understanding of how socialist urban utopias are spatially reinterpreted, negotiated, or eroded under post-socialist conditions.

The transition to energy-efficient buildings, central to the European EPBD Directive, requires deep retrofitting to reduce consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. However, high construction costs and fragmentation of the supply chain limit its large-scale deployment. Therefore, it is essential to investigate whether the adoption of off-site technologies can reduce construction costs, increasing the efficiency of production processes and the financial viability of interventions. The study assesses the extent to which learning-by-doing mechanisms in off-site production processes have reduced the costs of deep retrofitting, improving efficiency and productivity. The research analyses 22 French social housing projects completed between 2018 and 2025, including single-family homes and multi-family buildings. Using logarithmic learning curves, the relationship between unit construction costs and cumulative production is quantified, considering the sample both in aggregate form and distinguishing between the two types of buildings. The results show a significant reduction in costs, with average learning rates of 7.7% for single-family homes, 12.4% for apartments and 7.2% for the aggregate sample. Although lower than typical values in other industrial sectors, the data confirm the impact of learning by doing on the economic viability of deep retrofitting. Overall, the estimated rates place the industrialisation process at an intermediate stage of technological maturity: sufficiently advanced to generate significant reductions, but still constrained by scale, supply chain fragmentation, and operational complexity.

ABSTRACT With the increasing ageing population, many older adults still live in the generally designed housing stock, which could be ‘unsuitable’ for them. One effective way to enhance their quality of life and independence is to renovate existing housing. The development of innovative technologies (e.g. virtual reality) and design approaches (e.g. co-design) can provide new strategies for housing renovation practices. However, the knowledge of synergising these technologies with design approaches remains limited, with the potential value yet to be fully recognised. This study explores and validates a method that synergises co-design, empathic design, and virtual reality within a senior social housing renovation project in the Netherlands, which focuses on three phases: a) translating the design ideas, empathic elements, and requirements of senior residents into digital models, b) developing virtual scenarios to illustrate design variations, and c) evaluating and modifying the design variations with stakeholders using virtual reality devices. Through data analysis of the semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, co-designed sketches, and communication transcriptions, the results reveal that customised renovation design enhances stakeholder engagement and improves the effectiveness of the design process, especially for the residents. This study provides a reference for future design research involving the use of VR with older adults.

• Compounded Urban Heat Island and heatwaves increase mean air temperature by ∼3.5°C by 2100. • Building morphology accounts for a 27% EUI gap under extreme heat stress. • 45% of CTE-compliant retrofits projected to fail regulatory cooling limits by 2100. • ML-GA optimization reduces EUI by up to 18% and carbon intensity by 22%. • A validated "form-first" framework identifies resilient Mediterranean housing design. The compounded effects of urban heatwaves (HW) and the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon threaten the thermal resilience of Mediterranean residential buildings; yet, few studies evaluate building performance under localized future climate conditions. This study addresses this gap by combining high-resolution climate projections (EURO-CORDEX) with UHI adjustments to generate localized weather files for Madrid across historical (2006–2020), mid-term (2040–2060), and long-term (2080–2100) periods under RCP8.5. Twenty residential building archetypes were simulated in EnergyPlus to evaluate energy use intensity (EUI) and operational carbon intensity (OCI) during peak thermal stress events. Key findings show that mean air temperature during HW events may increase by ∼3.5°C by 2100, potentially doubling cooling energy demand. The results identify a significant "resilience gap": compact, well-oriented buildings achieved up to 27% lower EUI compared to less resilient typologies under identical code-compliant upgrades. Geometry-optimized designs identified via machine learning and genetic algorithms reduced EUI by up to 18% and OCI by up to 22% relative to baseline designs. Notably, up to 45% of today’s retrofitted buildings are projected to fail compliance with future CTE cooling limits, highlighting a critical need for regulatory reform. This study demonstrates the combined value of localized climate data and generative AI to inform "form-first" resilience strategies. We propose a three-tier reform for building codes, incorporating morphological resilience coefficients and AI-assisted compliance probes to ensure Mediterranean housing remains habitable and sustainable under 21st-century climatic extremes.

Households’ perceptions of the efficacy of retrofit policies to boost efficient homes in Spain

Abstract While the literature has extensively studied the impact of immigration shocks on cities, we know surprisingly little about how cities absorb large immigration waves. This paper helps fill that gap by analyzing the neighborhood-level population dynamics among Spanish-born residents, non-EU15 immigrants, and EU15 immigrants in Spanish cities during the major immigration wave of 2001–2009. Drawing on the monocentric city model, and within a context of path-dependent urban development with outward city growth, we explore how different population groups sort spatially within cities. Higher-income Spanish-born residents tend to settle in more distant suburbs to access larger housing. In contrast, younger and highly educated EU15 immigrants concentrate in central neighborhoods to benefit from urban amenities. Initially, lower-income non-EU15 immigrants settled in central areas with deteriorated housing stock, but over time they increasingly moved to mid-distance neighborhoods with small dwellings built between 1950 and 1970.

ABSTRACT This policy paper examines the development and implementation of the Pla Metropolità de Rehabilitació d’Habitatges (PMRH) in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, the first long-term metropolitan strategy for housing rehabilitation and energy upgrading in Spain. Originating from a successful municipal initiative that exceeded local borrowing capacity once offered European Investment Bank financing, the PMRH illustrates how metropolitan governance can develop pragmatically through the need to scale local innovation. The programme introduces a needs-based, redistributive approach that directs resources toward municipalities and neighbourhoods with structurally deficient housing stock, lower incomes, and higher energy vulnerability, while providing technical assistance to municipalities with limited administrative capacity. However, its implementation has been significantly shaped – and constrained – by the arrival of Next Generation EU funds, which imposed higher technical standards, compressed timelines, and administrative pressures that reduced the programme’s initial scope. The paper argues that metropolitan authorities can play a strategic intermediary role in Europe’s green and just transition, particularly in connecting local retrofit needs with EU frameworks such as Fit for 55 and the Social Climate Fund. Strengthening metropolitan capacity will be essential to consolidate equitable and climate-aligned renovation pathways in the years ahead.

ABSTRACT Melbourne’s current metropolitan plan targets greyfield areas for urban regeneration to increase density, while relying on local governments to implement urban consolidation. This article evaluates the effectiveness of Melbourne’s metropolitan and local policies for greyfield urban consolidation and its implications for the future of the city. Melbourne’s middle ring suburbs are important areas of potential greyfield densification, containing large amounts of low density, obsolete ageing housing stock in high-amenity locations. This research however finds the quality of metropolitan and local planning policy is low, the integration between metropolitan and local policy is poor and that development outcomes do not reflect policy aims for greyfield urban consolidation. The paper calls for governments to adopt new policy approaches to greyfield planning as the current, fragmented approach appears ineffective in delivering urban consolidation in greyfield areas.

Decarbonising the existing residential sector is a central priority of European energy policy, yet masonry buildings from the early 2000s remain significantly underrepresented in net-zero energy building (NZEB) research. This study addresses this critical gap by evaluating a holistic deep retrofit of a representative single-family house in Cracow, Poland, providing a scalable model for the Central European housing stock. The methodology integrated structural and systemic interventions: eliminating thermal bridges via balcony removal, enhancing the envelope with 0.25 m of mineral wool (λ = 0.036 W/m K), and installing innovative active triple-glazed windows (Uw = 0.85 W/m2 K) with integrated electric heating foils. The energy system was transformed by replacing a coal-fired boiler with an 8 kW air-to-water heat pump and a 7 kWp photovoltaic array, complemented by a green roof on the western pitch for passive thermal buffering. Verified results demonstrate a radical reduction in the non-renewable primary energy (EP) index from 224.56 kWh/(m2·a) to 0.00 kWh/(m2·a), achieving full compliance with stringent “WT 2021” standards. Economic analysis reveals that the integrated approach is financially viable, with a simple payback time (SPBT) of 7.1 years when supported by available subsidies. This study concludes that the integration of active glazing, high-performance insulation, and nature-based solutions offers a replicable and economically sound roadmap for transforming legacy housing into zero-emission assets.

The UK’s social housing stock is widely recognised to be in poor condition, yet there remains a significant lack of empirical data on the indoor environments experienced by residents—many of whom are vulnerable due to financial hardship or health conditions. This study presents a longitudinal assessment of indoor environmental conditions in 23 EPC D- or E-rated social housing dwellings in Warwickshire, monitored over two consecutive winters (2021/22 and 2022/23). Temperature, relative humidity (RH), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations were continuously recorded in bedrooms and living rooms, while a subset of 13 homes was additionally monitored for particulate matter (PM 2 . 5 , PM 10 ) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in living rooms. Findings reveal a marked deterioration in thermal conditions during the second winter. Average living room temperatures fell by 0.7°C (from 19.2°C to 18.5°C) and bedroom temperatures by 1.9°C (from 19.0°C to 17.1°C), likely due to reduced heating use in response to rising energy costs and poor insulation. Indoor air quality (IAQ) was similarly concerning: CO 2 concentrations exceeded the 900 ppm benchmark for over 95% of occupied hours in nearly all rooms across both seasons, with average levels rising from 1193 to 1519 ppm. Limited ventilation and increased time spent indoors, as residents sought to conserve warmth, contributed to these conditions. Elevated PM and VOC concentrations were associated with occupant characteristics (smoking and pet ownership) and household activities, providing further evidence of insufficient air exchange. These results highlight the urgent need for holistic retrofit strategies that address both energy efficiency and IAQ. Prioritising improvements to building fabric and ventilation before heating system upgrades will be essential to safeguard occupant health, comfort, and well-being. The study provides rare empirical evidence and offers insights to inform policy and retrofit design for the UK’s most vulnerable households.

This article examines the policy drift of the 1st Right, Portugal’s main housing program, originally designed to guarantee the right to adequate housing for families in situations of severe deprivation. This study aims to analyze how the program’s integration into the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) reconfigured its redistributive objectives. Taking the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) as a critical case, this study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining systematic documentary and legislative analysis (2018–2025), discourse analysis of official communications, and empirical analysis of 18 municipal Local Housing Strategies, supplemented by financial execution data from RRP monitoring reports. The results reveal three interlinked forms of policy drift: (i) territorial deviation, driven by unequal municipal capacities and resource absorption; (ii) instrumental deviation, resulting from the prioritization of rehabilitation of pre-existent public housing stock over the provision of new housing; and (iii) social deviation, marked by the expansion of eligibility criteria that extend benefits to middle-income groups. Together, these dynamics demonstrate how a social-rights-based housing policy can be reshaped when integrated into a financial recovery framework, such as the RRP. This article contributes to international debates on housing governance by demonstrating how multilevel financing mechanisms can reinforce territorial inequalities, reorient policy instruments, and dilute redistributive objectives—even within ostensibly progressive recovery frameworks. It concludes by advocating for stronger social performance monitoring, differentiated instruments for distinct target groups, and improved temporal alignment between social policy objectives and EU funding cycles.

Karnataka state in southern India is an advanced regional economy with a higher Net District Domestic Product and higher Per Capita Income. This was achieved with the help of the well-positioned secondary and tertiary sectors’ contributions and employment opportunities. It is also largely urbanizing regional economy with almost half the number of households living in urban areas of different class sizes. However, the positive emergent economic strengths have kept social advancement at bay, particularly poverty and deprivations in human settlements remain unattended. Regrettably, the growing urbanization trend is highly skewed towards the metropolitan and major urban centers, resulting in the other tiers facing development starvations. Besides, it has accommodated a world of slums within the urban areas with substandard living of the dwelling poor families. Deficient housing stock as a principal source of poverty and deprivations of human necessities have left unaffordable poor households to face life threats and no access to amenities respectively. The poverty trap is very conspicuous in slums and informal settlements of poorer segments. This paper highlighted all these issues in greater detail with the help of the official data and offered a few policy implications for corrective public actions.

Abstract Population ageing represents the definitive demographic shift of the 21st century, necessitating a systemic transformation of residential environments to support health and independence in later life. This review presents a comparative analysis of divergent strategies adopted by the United Kingdom (UK) and China to develop healthy, age-friendly housing ecosystems. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study integrates a systematic policy review with text mining techniques to map the evolutionary trajectories of 12 UK and 81 Chinese policy documents. The analysis reveals distinct developmental paradigms: the UK model has evolved from a foundational welfare framework (1990–2000) into a complex, evidence-based system anchored by the ‘Decent Homes Standard’ and advanced data infrastructure—including Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)—yet continues to face challenges related to market fragmentation and an ageing housing stock. In contrast, China’s state-led model has transitioned rapidly from a passive response (pre-1999) to high-level strategic integration (2019–present), exemplified by the 2023 Law on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments. While China demonstrates exceptional capacity for large-scale infrastructure deployment—such as the “9073” three-tiered care system—it encounters persistent issues in service consistency and regional equity. The review synthesises these findings into a mutual learning framework: China could benefit from adopting the UK’s robust, data-driven evaluation mechanisms to improve service quality, whereas the UK could emulate China’s ability to implement coordinated, cross-sectoral policies to accelerate housing retrofitting. The study concludes by proposing a globally adaptable, data-informed housing policy blueprint, designed for scalability across diverse economic contexts, including middle-income nations.