Public Housing Research Articles

Thinking Female Bodyspace and Housing Through Corporeal Feminist Theory

ABSTRACT This paper considers the intersection between female body, housing, and health, through the lens of corporeal feminist theory. It aims to build theory on the intersecting corporeal, material, and communal needs of women living in social housing by accessing contemporary literature on woman’s housing needs. Within Australia, the majority of social housing occupants are women, many of whom face unique and complex financial, emotional, physical and social threats to their health and bodies. Findings are discussed across the physical, psychological, and social needs of women in housing, including aspects of safety and security, stigma, and community integration. Overall, the paper examines how the female bodyspace in need of a home has the power to reassign norms and perform socially, while considering this bodyspace in its wholeness, as lived and living, affected by, and affecting women’s socio-physical environments.

Green Gentrification in Lisbon (Portugal): A Study about Marvila’s Riverfront

Lisbon is considered a green European city. However, some greening projects have generated extra rent and increased the prices of new urban developments, especially along the Tagus River, indicating a possible green gentrification process. Green gentrification is a recent concept designed to understand direct and indirect displacement and exclusion in an area after some environmental requalification project, the territorialization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and parks. A delimited case study was conducted in the area of Braço de Prata/Matinha in Marvila parish to recognize the existence and materialization of this contemporary type of gentrification in Lisbon. This new and original research was based on the analysis of references about green gentrification, statistical data analysis, real estate prices, and field observation. Absence of direct displacement data and interviews are acknowledged limitations. Marvila is an uneven area in the city, including many concentrated social housing projects as well as redevelopments along its riverfront with high premium residential units after the reconversion of a brownfield into a greenfield. A new urban green park changed the urban plan, which eliminated heavy traffic, connected the city with the river, and created the possibility of a permanent view of the Tagus. After the requalification and the implementation of environmental amenities, the local population, elderly working-class communities who had lived with the surrounding industries, pollution, and contamination for decades, could not afford to live in the area due to the high prices of green and sustainable housing based on green gentrification, which is an environmental injustice.

Evaluation of Passive Strategies for Achieving Hygrothermal Comfort in Social Housing Buildings in the Dominican Republic

In a building, the thermal satisfaction an individual may experience generally influences their health, well-being, productivity, and energy consumption. The concept of thermal comfort and its importance in buildings has been known for some time. However, in the Dominican Republic, discussing thermal comfort in social housing is a challenge since there have not been many studies applied to this context, especially to social housing. For this reason, this research analyzed the thermal behavior of a typical social housing building through energy simulation, aiming to highlight the importance of passive strategies to improve comfort in a warm and humid climate without using air conditioning. The simulation was conducted using OpenStudio v3.9, which utilizes the EnergyPlus v9.4 calculation engine. Three case studies were analyzed, implementing passive measures and seeking to achieve temperatures within the comfort ranges of the housing prototype. The results show that combining different passive strategies for warm-humid climates significantly reduces temperature, achieving reductions of up to 2.8 °C in the colder period and up to 3.2 °C in the warmer period.

Housing availability and birth rate

The issues of housing provision in Russia based on the results of the population censuses of 2002, 2010 and 2020 are considered. Data on the number of households and their sizes by the number of residents are provided. The trend of the rooms number changing according to the number of people living in them, in particular 1.02 rooms per person in 2021, has been revealed. According to this indicator, Russia is inferior to all European countries. The author points out the connection between housing provision and a decrease in the birth rate in Russia. The increase in housing construction in the country increases availability of housing for the country citizens, but mainly for the part of population that currently lives in normal conditions and has more rooms than the number of family members. If the number of family members exceeds the number of rooms in an apartment (house), this causes conditions for family growth to worsen because of the birth. It is proposed to accelerate creation of a unified register of citizens in need of better housing, creation of a social housing fund with no right to privatize, and the types of housing for the social fund.

Evaluation of Federally Mandated Smoke-Free Housing Policy and Health Outcomes Among Adults Over the Age of 50 in Low-Income, Public Housing in New York City, 2015-2022.

Effective July 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a rule requiring all public housing authorities to implement smoke-free housing (SFH) policies in their developments. We examined the differential impacts of SFH policy on hospitalizations for myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke among adults aged ≥50 years old living in New York City (NYC) Housing Authority (NYCHA) versus a matched-comparison population in NYC. We identified census block groups (CBGs) comprised solely of 100% NYCHA units (N = 160) and compared NYCHA CBGs to a selected subset of CBGs from all CBGs with no NYCHA units (N = 5646). We employed propensity score matching on distributions of key CBG-level sociodemographic and housing covariates. We constructed incident rates per 1000 persons by aggregating 3-month "quarterly" counts of New York State all-payer hospitalization data from October 2015 to December 2022 and dividing by the population aged ≥50 in selected CBGs, ascertained from 2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. We selected a difference-in-differences (DID) analytic approach to examine pre- and post-policy differences in incident hospitalizations between the intervention and matched-comparison groups. Matching results indicated a balanced match for all covariates, with standardized mean differences <0.10. In DID analyses, we observed small declines in both MI (DID = -0.26, p = .02) and stroke (DID = -0.28, p = .06) hospitalization rates for NYCHA CBGs compared to non-NYCHA CBGs from pre-to post-54 months' policy. SFH policies in NYC were associated with small reductions in CVD-related hospitalizations among older adults living in housing subject to the policy. Housing remains a key focal setting for interventions to reduce SHS exposure and associated morbidities. Ongoing monitoring is warranted to understand the long-term impacts of SFH policies in public housing developments.

Perceptions of dietary sugar consumption among public housing residents using a modified qualitative photovoice methodology

BackgroundConsumption of dietary sugar (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages and high sugar foods) is a predominant contributor to chronic health conditions, particularly in communities of low socio-economic position. Our objective was to explore social contextual influences on dietary sugar consumption among public housing residents in Boston, MA.MethodsThis study employed the use of photovoice, a qualitative technique involving participant photography and narratives. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted photovoice methods using Zoom. Adult residents of two public housing developments were invited to participate in pairs of online group sessions. The first session provided training on photovoice methodology and a discussion of example photographs and written narratives. Over the ensuing two weeks, participants took or identified stock photos as visual examples of personally-experienced barriers and facilitators of avoiding sugary foods and beverages. During the second session, study staff facilitated development of verbal narratives via group discussion. A total of 18 sessions were audio recorded, transcribed, and double-coded for themes.ResultsParticipants (n = 49) were predominantly women and identified as either Hispanic (61.2%) or non-Hispanic Black (30.6%). Approximately half of participants (51.1%) reported consuming sugar-sweetened beverages at least once per day. Qualitative analysis revealed participant-identified influences on dietary sugar consumption across multiple domains of influence, including individual preferences, beliefs, or circumstance, the social environment, the physical environment, and the macro environment.ConclusionsThe multiple social contextual influences on dietary sugar consumption identified in this study, particularly centrality of the home, cultural influences, individual-level sabotaging factors, may be useful for development of culturally tailored health promotion messaging and intervention through multiple channels.

Rebuilding for modern living: architectural typologies and reconstruction in postwar Tunisia

ABSTRACT This article examines the intellectual process and practical achievements of the team charged with reconstructing Tunisian cities heavily destroyed by bombardments during World War II. At the end of the brief but impactful Axis occupation of Tunisia, this French team hired by the Protectorate administration came together comprised of architects, urbanists, and public works engineers in order to remedy this wartime loss through the construction of new housing complexes, schools, and other civic structures. The first part of this article examines the historical referents, visual vocabulary, and vernacular architectural typologies which this team sought to emulate in their plans for reconstruction projects. The second part discusses a selection of their work – chiefly social housing projects – and analyzes how a minimalist, citational approach to extant architectural forms and a drive towards transplanting ‘modern lifestyles’ came to dominate their collective building praxis.

&lt;b&gt;A Study on the Future Development of the Real Estate Markets in China’s Hong Kong and Mainland&lt;/b&gt;

With differentiated development in the real estate market, this study delves into the future development of the real estate markets in China’s Hong Kong and mainland. The aim is to analyze the current development status and challenges faced by both markets and propose corresponding optimization strategies. The research method combines the latest policy trends and market data, with a comparative analysis approach. According to key findings of this study, Hong Kong faces issues such as high housing prices and insufficient land supply, requiring accelerated real estate tax legislation and expanded public housing supply. The Chinese mainland, on the other hand, must address challenges such as inventory pressure and fiscal dependency, requiring the promotion of asset-light transformation and universal access to affordable housing. The research results display that the real estate markets in both places urgently need policy optimization and model transformation to achieve sustainable development. The significance of this study lies in providing differentiated development paths for the real estate markets in China’s Hong Kong and mainland. This helps balance the efficiency and fairness of housing policies, exerting a great impact on the construction of a long-term real estate development mechanism, and realizing the social contract of “housing for all”. In addition, this study will offer theoretical support and practical guidance for the healthy development of the real estate markets in both regions.

Smart control of windows for intermittent ventilation in public housing in Hong Kong based on deep neural network models

Climate change has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, making Hong Kong particularly hot during summer months. As a result, residents in Hong Kong’s public housing buildings heavily rely on air conditioning, leading to poor ventilation when used for extended periods. To achieve proper ventilation, people often resort to intermittent ventilation, opening windows for short periods to allow fresh air to circulate. However, there is currently no specific guideline or approach tailored for public housing in Hong Kong. To address this issue, the study proposed a smart control strategy for windows to achieve effective intermittent ventilation with the shortest window opening duration for public housing in Hong Kong. First, deep neural network (DNN) models were developed to predict the ventilation rate for each unit of a public housing building in Hong Kong, with the database obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and multi-zone airflow models. Based on the trained DNN models, a smart window control strategy was proposed to minimize the window opening period for intermittent ventilation. The results show that, for the 12 studied cases, on average, the proposed algorithm minimized the window opening duration for intermittent ventilation to 9.5 min, which was 68% shorter than the 30-min guideline, while maintaining the same intermittent ventilation effectiveness. The proposed smart control strategy for intermittent ventilation can minimize the window opening period so that thermal discomfort and exposure to heat could be minimized, especially for the elderly, in public housing during hot seasons in Hong Kong.

Worker’s housing in Kristiania 1909–1913: garden suburbs by Morgenstierne and Eide versus reformed tenement blocks by Kristen Rivertz

ABSTRACT This article discusses different forms of working-class resident housing. The first part informs, and briefly comments on the historiography and the emergence of the garden city movement, the background to housing shortages, and Norway's breakthrough innovation of municipal housing (1910–1925). The greater part of the article concerns 1909 to 1913 just before the municipal housing construction in Kristiania (Oslo) started. Through lectures, articles, study trips, and some pioneering examples, the architects Christian Morgenstierne and Kristen Rivertz represent the two solutions: the suburban garden city as opposed to reformed city-centre tenement block plans. The well-traveled and internationalist Morgenstierne appears as a networker integrated into public and private initiatives and influential organizations. Morgenstierne & Eide's garden suburbs Egne Hjem Ekeberg (Arctanderbyen) (1909–1911) and Haslebyen (1911–1912) with rows of semi-detached houses, represented their ideal form. The suburbs were picturesque, with site plans adapted to curved street courses, varied housing types, and architectural styles inspired by contemporary German and English models. Rivertz's design of the Sagenekomplekset's (Det Rivertzke kompleks) (1911–1912) with parallel rows of residential buildings laid on a north-south axis, were an innovative alternative. In terms of the international practices, the Sagenekomplekset foreshadowed the later modernist Zeilenbau solution.

Assessment of housing resilience in relation to the impacts of aging

The increase in the elderly population can be observed in various countries around the world, including Brazil. Aging involves the individual as a whole, and there are natural structural and functional changes associated with this process. These changes correspond to impacts capable of reducing the independence of the elderly. For each impact, house renovation can be undertaken to compensate. Such renovations will possibly be simpler and more economical in a resilient house. Are current houses resilient to the demands of aging? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand what resilience is and then measure it. The objectives of this article are: (i) to expose the level of resilience of houses regarding the impacts of aging; (ii) to present and discuss the results; and (iii) to prescribe changes in the house to increase its resilience. For this purpose, two post-occupancy evaluation instruments were prepared: an impact questionnaire and a resilience ruler. This research was conducted based on the Design ScienceResearch method. Additionally, a case study was used to test the evaluation instruments and obtain specific data from Residencial Sucesso Brasil, part of a social housing complex located in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The primary factor contributing to the diminished resilienceof the residential units at Residencial Sucesso Brasil compared to the original design and the requirements of aging was the elimination of illuminating areas. It is necessary and urgent to establish a collaborative relationship between architects and engineers and the residents of the residential complex to facilitate the construction of more resilient housing.

Examining Factors That Predict Social Pairing Compatibility of Female Swine (Sus scrofa domesticus) in a Research Setting

Socially housing gregarious species enhances animal welfare by increasing affiliative interactions, exploratory behaviors, and other species-specific behaviors, while conferring decreased rates of abnormal behaviors. In addition, most regulatory guidelines promote social housing as a minimum standard to promote the wellbeing of the animals used in research. However, research performed to better understand the process of performing and evaluating social housing, particularly in research pigs, is severely lacking. Social housing does not come without risks, namely wounding during introductions. In this study, we aimed to assess predictors of agonistic and affiliative interactions between newly paired swine and to evaluate the use of a simple wound scoring system as a metric of the introduction process. We assessed whether the pigs’ relative weight difference or prior social experience influenced the behavior between pigs during the initial introduction and their longer-term compatibility as measured 72 h later. To further assess how stressful the pairing process was, we measured the pigs’ heart rate during social introductions. We accomplished this by recording data from 50 pairing events of female Yorkshire pigs. While agonistic behavior was observed in two-thirds of the pairing events, rates of agonistic behavior fell significantly by 72 h after pairing. In contrast, affiliative behavior was observed in more than three-fourths of the pairs at the initial introduction and rates remained equally high 72 h later. We found no correlation between the pigs’ weight difference and the rates of agonistic behavior observed, although prior pairing experience did mediate the rate of agonistic behavior observed such that previously paired pigs exhibited more agonistic behavior than did socially naive individuals. In addition, we validated the use of wound score as a proxy for more detailed observations of wounding behavior. Overall, we recommend socially housing female research pigs and allowing them to naturally sort out social rankings through interaction.

Performance evaluation of irrigation system in irrigation area, Aceh province, Indonesia

Abstract Irrigation areas generally need help with water distribution and suboptimal water flow, affecting agricultural activities that can impact farming productivity, leading to low yields. One of the causes is the deterioration of the condition and performance of physical infrastructure in the irrigation area. This study aimed to determine the irrigation system’s performance in an irrigation area, especially in Aceh province, Indonesia. The evaluated irrigation systems were the Krueng Aceh irrigation area in Aceh Besar district and the Susoh irrigation area in Aceh Barat Daya district. The choice of these two irrigation regions is to evaluate the efficacy of irrigation in disparate locales, specifically to compare the performance of irrigation system from the two locations. The method used to evaluate the performance of the irrigation system is Regulation No. 12/PRT/M/2015 of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) by evaluating six parameters, namely: physical infrastructure, crop productivity, supporting facilities, personnel organization, documentation, and water user farmer associations (P3A). The results of the study showed that the performance of the Krueng Aceh irrigation system was 82.14%, classified as very good, above the standard value of 77.5%. Furthermore, the Susoh irrigation system was 75.63% classified as good, slightly lower than the standard value. This indicates that the condition of the facilities and the management of the Krueng Aceh irrigation area is good and operates effectively and optimally, while the Susoh irrigation area is still lacking compared to the performance of the Krueng Aceh irrigation.

When land is not enough: Drawing in private investment to increase social rental housing in Spain

When land is not enough: Drawing in private investment to increase social rental housing in Spain

Can light gauge steel frame (LGSF) modular housing achieve net zero and support the UK social housing crisis?

Can light gauge steel frame (LGSF) modular housing achieve net zero and support the UK social housing crisis?

Application of ABS Financing Model in the Construction of Public Rental Housing in China

Housing is a fundamental issue affecting residents' lives. With the rapid acceleration of urbanization, low- and middle-income families in urban areas face significant housing pressure. The construction of public rental housing (PRH) aims to provide affordable housing below market prices for groups whose income exceeds the threshold for low-rent housing but who cannot afford to purchase commercial housing or economically affordable housing. However, relying solely on government fiscal investment to fund affordable housing not only leads to an unreasonable allocation of national finances but also hinders the sustainable development and construction of PRH. By introducing market mechanisms into the affordable housing system and utilizing the ABS (Asset-Backed Securities) financing model for PRH construction, a solid foundation is established for the sustainable development of this type of affordable housing. This paper examines the current status and challenges of PRH construction, analyzing the contradiction between high demand and insufficient supply, as well as the sources of funding for PRH. Furthermore, it explores the ABS financing model, its feasibility, and its advantages in PRH development. Through a case study of the Yueyanglou District Gulin Community Railway Block Urban Lowland Waterlogging Area Redevelopment Public Rental Housing Project in Yueyang City, this paper analyzes the application of ABS financing in PRH construction.

PrEP knowledge and perceptions among women living in North Carolina public housing communities.

Women in low-income communities are disproportionately affected by HIV yet have been largely left out of efforts to raise awareness about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). To inform future awareness campaigns, we assessed women's current knowledge of and attitudes toward PrEP. We surveyed 184 women living in public housing communities in North Carolina regarding PrEP knowledge, attitudes, and perceived norms, as well as reported HIV-associated factors and perceived HIV acquisition chances. 38 women participated in eight focus group discussions (FGDs) addressing personal and community PrEP perceptions. Survey participants were 46 years old on average, and 86% identified as Black/African American. Only 35% had heard of PrEP, yet, after being told what it was, 61% said they probably or definitely would take PrEP in the next 6 months. Most women believed that if they decided to take PrEP, their partner (72%) or their family (66%) would approve. When asked about the importance of factors influencing their interest in PrEP, women most frequently rated possible side effects as important or very important (76%), followed by cost considerations (67% for cost of PrEP, 74% for cost of clinic visits and labs). In the FGDs, women had limited PrEP knowledge, but several had heard of PrEP from television commercials, which gave them the impression that PrEP was only for men. Women were concerned about potential side effects, interactions with other medications, safety during pregnancy, and the burden of daily dosing. Most FGD participants expressed generally positive attitudes toward PrEP, but some thought other women would be uninterested due to low perceived chances of HIV acquisition. Overall, these results suggest that while few women had previously heard of PrEP, most were interested in PrEP after receiving information about it and perceived positive community attitudes toward PrEP. Our findings indicate the importance of community-based PrEP communication that speaks to cisgender women, provides information on side effects, and offers destigmatized messaging regarding reasons for HIV prevention for women to consider.

Urban Planning and Housing in Lisbon from the 1950s: Some Hidden Facts

Urban planning in the 1950s laid the foundation for innovative urban and architectural practices, not only by investigating the spatial and constructive aspects of housing, but also by attempting to expand and improve free green spaces. This paper aims to go deep into the theoretical principles of two Lisbon neighborhoods recognized as urban paradigms on public housing, namely, the Olivais Norte and Olivais Sul (1954–1964), trying to perceive a concept of living that interweaves the private and public dynamics through the green spaces. Digging into the municipal archives, the paper sheds light on the Gabinete de Estudos de Urbanização (GEU) (Urban Studies Office, 1954–1959) urbanistic contributions through its development of the 1959 Lisbon Master Plan and the creation of more than 100 urbanization plans for Lisbon. The Olivais were the only ones implemented, even though it underwent considerable transformations. The GEU vision for Lisbon included a population of up to 1,100,000 inhabitants and a green space ratio of 55 m² per inhabitant. The built Lisbon struggles to provide housing for approximately 534,000 inhabitants, with a green space ratio of 36 m² per inhabitant. Critically analyzing the (mis)steps of Lisbon’s planning processes through the lens of the 1950s experience can help guide current decisions and chart future paths.

Construction clients as drivers of change? How communities filter institutional pressures for sustainability

In recent years, global environmental health has rapidly degraded, making sustainability a common objective. In industries associated with significant CO2 emissions, this has prompted increased legislative efforts to coerce and incentivize companies to act. The construction industry, however, faces challenges in reducing its environmental impact due to its fragmented and decentralized structure. For this reason, construction clients have been identified as potential drivers of change, yet their ability to do so remains understudied. Drawing on institutional theory and qualitative methods, we examine how public, private, and social housing clients in Denmark respond to emerging sustainability pressures and explore how community affiliation influences these responses. Our findings reveal that different client communities filter sustainability demands differently, resulting in both converging and diverging organizational responses within the field. Despite field heterogeneity, sustainability initiatives often align with dominant community logics, resulting in the formation of islands of homogeneity. Additionally, we highlight the role of structural and governance elements, such as certification schemes and legislation, in shaping field dynamics. On this basis, we encourage future research to explore sources of isomorphic pressures and the consequences of organizational responses at the field level to provide more nuanced understandings of institutional change within the construction industry.

Government Liability Towards the Amount of Savings by Public Housing Savings Participants

Article 28H Paragraph (1) of the Indonesian constitution expresses that the government is responsible for the availability of housing. In line with that, the government launched solution by holding the People's Housing Savings (Tapera). This study aims to examine and analyze the appropriateness of the amount of Tapera participant savings reviewed from the perspective of good governance and the mechanism for suing the government. The method used is the legislative and conceptual approach. The results of this study indicate that the amount of Tapera participant savings in Article 15 of Government Regulation No. 21 of 2024 is not by the principles of good governance. This is because the high amount of participant savings is considered to burden the lower class, lose the opportunity to participate in the Tapera program, and favor the middle to upper class. Therefore, the community can sue the government through the civil law or Ombudsman.